Corporate away days are a terrific way to facilitate team collaboration. Team productivity is not just about individual skills. A high-performing team works well together by communicating effectively and having deep levels of mutual understanding, trust, and respect. But these things don’t happen by accident. Getting your people together for informal activities outside their normal working environments can bring a crucial boost in motivation and team performance.
Here we highlight three key reasons why your team needs a corporate away day.
Builds Relationships and Enhances Communication
An away day allows employees to step outside their day-to-day responsibilities and meaningfully interact with their colleagues, especially those they might not usually have the opportunity to work or spend time with. While this time needn't be directly or explicitly dedicated to talking about work, quality time together can help build stronger relationships that will inevitably result in tangible benefits for workplace performance.
When employees engage in team activities, it can help them to lose some of their inhibitions and step outside of their comfort zone, allowing individuals to get to know each other in new ways and even providing opportunities to give honest and constructive feedback, all of which opens communication and builds trust through shared experiences.
Helps Develop New Skills
Away days can encompass many kinds of activities that can help teams to explore and develop their skill set. As a training company who has facilitated experiential learning for over three decades, we can attest to the impact that practical exercises and team challenges can have on developing tangible skills that can easily be applied back in the workplace, whether it’s learning new leadership techniques, developing creative thinking and decision-making, or enhancing personal resilience and self-awareness. Simply stepping outside of the office into a new environment can also help to shed fresh light on old problems, generating innovative ideas that might not have been possible back in the workplace.
So, whatever the occasion, corporate away days are a great way to have fun and foster skill development among your people.
Serves as a Welcome Reward
Away days should be a fantastic experience for employees and are often included as part of a generous benefits package. Offering your staff enjoyable days outside of the office shows that you appreciate their hard work and recognise their achievements. You needn't necessarily worry about whether there is a clear business rationale for the activities, sometimes it’s beneficial just to offer employees the chance to let their hair down, have some fun, and recharge their batteries!
GRA's Team Building Activities
With a wide range of team building activities, both indoor and outdoor, GRA is your perfect partner for your next corporate away day. We have two established centres, in Reading and Burton-upon-Trent, and our mobile service also allows us to provide a wide range of team challenges at locations of your choosing. Please call us today to find out more.
Image source: Grahame Robb Associates Ltd
