Off-site meetings can give your team a different perspective, resulting in inspiration and motivation all around. If locating and booking the perfect meeting space is a stumbling block for you, here’s a piece of information you might be interested in: you don’t have to do all the legwork it takes to find the perfect meeting space.
Instead, check out Meetinkz, a site that offers a convenient solution for planning and booking off-site meetings. Once there, you’ll define your goals for the meeting space you’re looking for, be able to browse your options and choose the space that will work the best for you. And if you’re worried that the cost of an off-site meeting won’t be worth what you receive in return, here are just a few of the benefits you — and your team — can reap by occasionally holding meetings away from the office.
1. Build and Reinforce Relationships
Off-site meetings are the perfect opportunity to practice team-building and make your team more effective. They give participants the ability to interact on another level and get to know each other outside of their typical roles. Even though employees may spend a great deal of time with each other on the phone or over conferences, the impact of those interactions is limited.
Non-verbal communication is often responsible for over 90 per cent of communications. But bringing people together face-to-face allows them the opportunity to get to know each other and glean nonverbal cues that are missed over the digital channels they are used to communicating through. Depending on the activity or exercise, off-site interactions can demonstrate an individual’s strengths and weaknesses while encouraging bonding as the team comes together to solve a common goal.
In addition, building camaraderie isn’t something that goes away once you leave the space. These off-site exercises will transfer back to the workplace and encourage new relationships and cooperation. The bottom line is that a whole new dynamic will be created.
2. Utilize New Amenities
Often times, workspaces are not equipped with the most up-to-date amenities to foster engaging and productive team meetings. Whether you need to plan a small group meeting, a large conference, presentation or workshop, you can secure an off-site venue that will offer you the perfect advantageous amenities and technologies. Different locations will have different things to offer than your regular office, so do your research to find the best amenities to help you meet your goals.
3. Foster Creativity
The same chair view and the stale routine of ritualistic meetings can quickly become a burden and dampen the imagination of your workers. A simple change of scenery is a small alteration that can have a much larger impact. One of the biggest reasons to get your staff out of their routines and into a new physical space for an of-fsite meeting is to breed creativity. Seeing things in a different light will invigorate the team and stimulate everyone’s creative energy.
4. Increase Focus and Productivity
Being in the same office or workspace every day can become mundane and distracting. Your mind can wander easily from the tasks at hand as distractions creep in. Workplace routines can often get in the way of employee engagement — especially when things move at a fast pace. Taking people away from their regular office environment reinforces the importance of the time being spent and sets an agenda in place. Setting clear expectations and goals for a special meeting off-site can refocus and reinvigorate your team to really engage and accomplish the goals you have set.
Going the extra mile by booking an off-site meeting can inspire employees to put their best foot forward. Plus, it shows your commitment to the success of the group and your interest in and attention to their contributions.
The Takeaway: Off-site meetings can be well worth the investment
Too often, meetings can become tedious and counterproductive. Instead, meetings should be more than a task that’s on everyone’s to-do list. Not only is a new venue perfect for incorporating a fun team-building activity, but a new atmosphere will encourage the flow of ideas and increase your employees’ ability to focus. And a change of pace and scenery is almost never a bad thing.
Cutting down on distractions and emphasizing the importance of successful meetings can make working together a lot more productive. Being in a new and more relaxed environment can also encourage employees at all levels to fully participate. Off-site team meetings are well worth the added investment as you will likely walk away with a new sense of direction and a more focused team.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
