Boosting Workplace Morale and Productivity with Team Away Days
Corporate away days are often associated with rewarding activities or celebrations such as meeting revenue goals or getting the team together in December for a works party. Then you have the more strategic work outings known as “team away days,” which can be organized to achieve general or specific objectives. Whether your team’s away days are celebratory or for skill-building, their general objective will always be centred on improving workplace morale. Many companies insist on holding annual Christmas parties for their teams even if their sales turnover has been dismal; this is because they want to prevent low morale when everyone returns to the office in January.
Good morale in the workplace translates into optimal productivity most of the time; it is a core element of employee wellbeing that the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) describes as being crucial to keeping your teams connected and engaged. Team spirit is always at the heart of away days; whether they are celebratory or strategic, they provide excellent opportunities for enhancing the type of morale and motivation all business enterprises can benefit from.
What Can You Achieve With Team Away Days?
Taking teams out of the workplace for away days can be done for many purposes beyond celebrations. Away days can be scheduled for training, team-building exercises, wellness, brainstorming, workshops, inspiring, planning, or strategizing. The implied aspects of away days include encouraging interpersonal communications and providing a relaxed and enjoyable setting where team members can form closer bonds.
Most businesses who arrange team away days have team-building activities in mind. Escape rooms, scavenger hunts, creative workshops, adventure challenges, cookery classes, and country sports are popular activities that elicit fun collaboration between team members. The goal is to present teams with fun challenges and clever tasks that they must face and complete together. This team away strategy fosters cohesion by encouraging collaboration in situations that do not typically unfold at the office.
A change of scenery and engaging activities can boost employee morale and motivation. When teams feel valued and supported, they are more likely to be productive and engaged in their work; you can achieve this with away days that allow employees to have more open and creative discussions of business matters. You can schedule a team away day to announce a new project or hold a regular staff meeting. This can lead to new ideas, problem-solving approaches, and innovative solutions.
Team Away Days for Leadership Development
Communication, delegation, motivation, analysis, and decision-making are vital skills in effective business leadership. With team away days that involve team-building activities, you have an opportunity to see how your managers apply their skills. Obstacle courses and escape rooms are situations that your teams do not encounter at the office, but they can certainly get through them. With these activities, you can observe how your managers communicate, delegate, motivate, and supervise; plus, these problem-solving situations let you see other team members naturally stepping into leadership roles.
Tapping Into Creativity and New Ideas
Thoughtful executives know about the importance of tangential inspiration. Let’s say your company is set to go through major restructuring and significant changes; this is the type of situation that requires fresh perspectives from your team, so you can organize a team away day with activities that will foster creativity. Examples include painting workshops and culinary classes that will require team members to tap into their creative sides and learn from their peers.
On the surface, a cookery class or a team painting party may not seem to be closely related with the implementation of a new CRM system or sales process, but such activities can help break down the mental barriers that often hinder creativity and get in the way of change. By engaging in a new and unfamiliar task, participants can approach problems from fresh perspectives. Painting and cooking can encourage experimentation and risk-taking, which are essential for innovation.
By Andrej Kovacevic
Updated on 14th October 2024