There are many businesses that don’t organise away days at all. Instead, they sit in their offices doing the same thing day in, day out. It’s hardly the type of environment that gets people’s creative juices flowing. And neither is it the sort of situation in which most people want to work.
Then there are the businesses that do away days but do them badly. These are the businesses where the staff aren’t really engaged. They’re just desperate for a chance to get out of the office and have a drink or two. These away days turn into one long drinking session, and the company picks up the tab. At the end of it, it’s hard to see what it was all about.
Finally, there’s a group of businesses for whom away days actually work. These are firms that are genuinely stronger for their experience. But that’s only because they go into their away days with proper planning and execute it. So what do they do differently?
They Set The Scene
Finding the perfect place for an event is tricky. You don’t want somewhere that’s down market. But you also don’t want a place that’s got too much of a party atmosphere. Ideally, you’d find somewhere that is the perfect balance of professionalism and luxury. Employees need to feel that they are being pampered. But they also need to know that they are there to work. The Bristol Events Venue – Clevedon Hall – provides an example of what I mean by this.
The Paint The Bigger Picture
Away days are a great opportunity to bring together the bigger picture of the business. Often, there are pockets of employees working away feverishly on one thing or another. But they rarely have a sense of the overall direction of the company. Even CEOs can sometimes be worryingly out of the loop.
Keeping everyone up to date all the time would be a time-consuming process. So that’s why away days can be so helpful for painting a bigger picture. Away days are an opportunity for every team to show off what they’ve been working on for the year so far. And it’s a chance for others to find out about all the initiatives their work might feed into.
Reduce Recruitment Costs
Most CEOs and HR professionals are still surprised by just how much it costs to hire somebody new. Estimates suggest that even for middle paying jobs it can be north of six month’s pay. And right now a lot of companies have a problem with retention.
Away days are a good way to address this issue. More engaged employees tend to be happier employees who will be less likely to leave your company. And when employees get a chance to be personally recognised at an away day, they’re less likely to leave.
What’s more, this positive culture can actually reduce the costs of finding new talent, should the need arise. Employees will tell their contacts on social media that your firm is a great place to work. And talent will come knocking at your door.