Remote and hybrid working have transformed how teams connect. While technology keeps us productive, it can’t replace the trust-building and creative energy that comes from being together in person. Those spontaneous conversations, the shared laughter over coffee, the ability to read body language in a difficult discussion — these moments don’t happen organically anymore.
As organisations settle into hybrid work rhythms, many are discovering worrying gaps: teams that rarely see each other, new starters who’ve never met colleagues face-to-face, and relationships that exist only through screens. This is why strategic away days have moved back to the top of HR and leadership agendas — but they need to deliver more than “a jolly” to justify the investment.
At Let’s Talk Talent, we help organisations become irresistible places to work by designing experiences that enable people to thrive. A well-designed away day isn’t just about team building — it can improve performance, alignment, and engagement.
In this article you’ll learn:
- What is a corporate team away day?
- The 5 elements of a kickass away day
- Purpose – be clear on what your away day must achieve
- Balance – get the mix right between corporate and fun
- Environment – pick the right space for the work you need to do
- Schedule – pace your away day for energy and impact
- Follow up – turn away day energy into sustained change
- How Let’s Talk Talent runs kickass away days
- FAQs about corporate away days
What Is a Corporate Team Away Day?
A corporate team away day is a structured, intentionally designed offsite that brings people together to reflect, align, and plan. It’s not just a social event with food and activities tacked on — it’s a purposeful intervention designed to address specific team or organisational needs.
Organisations run away days for many reasons: to reset strategy after change, build trust in newly formed teams, break down silos, kick off major programmes, work through conflict, or celebrate success. The best away days speak to heads, hearts, and hands simultaneously — addressing strategy and logic, emotional connection and trust, and practical next steps that people can act on immediately.
If your away day lacks clear purpose or feels disconnected from business priorities, it risks becoming exactly what sceptical team members fear: an expensive distraction. That’s why our strategic team away days are designed from first principles: what does your team need to achieve, and how can we create the conditions for that to happen?
For more guidance on timing, read when should you run a team building away day?
The 5 Elements of a Kickass Away Day
There is no universal formula for the perfect away day. Every team is different, every context is unique. However, we’ve identified five elements that consistently make the difference between a memorable, impactful experience and a forgettable box-ticking exercise.
These elements are:
- Purpose: Define the “big exam question” your away day needs to answer
- Balance: Get the mix right between structured work, reflection, and connection
- Environment: Choose a setting that supports your objectives and includes everyone
- Schedule: Pace the day for sustained energy and different learning styles
- Follow-up: Turn insights and decisions into lasting behaviour change
Get these five elements right and your away day becomes a catalyst for improved trust, clarity, collaboration, and performance.
Purpose – Be Clear On What Your Away Day Must Achieve
The first and most critical element is purpose. What are you trying to achieve? Or as we like to frame it: what’s the big exam question you need to answer by the end of the day?
Vague objectives like “improve teamwork” or “boost morale” aren’t enough. You need a specific, focused question. Here are three examples:
- “How do we reset our strategy and priorities for the next 12 months in response to market changes?”
- “How do we rebuild trust and psychological safety after a difficult restructuring?”
- “How can we break down silos between departments to deliver our new customer experience vision?”
The Danger Of “And… And… And…”
One common mistake is trying to achieve too much. If your main objective has multiple “and…” clauses, you’re probably overloading the agenda.
Ask yourself: is a single day the right format? Could spreading goals across several shorter sessions over six to eight weeks be more effective? A series of focused 90-minute sessions or a team development bootcamp can often drive deeper, more sustained behaviour change.
Tailor to Your Team’s Stage and Context
The purpose should reflect where your team is in their development journey. A newly formed team needs different interventions than an established team hitting the storming phase of team development. Consider these four factors:
- Purpose: What’s the one big question or outcome you need?
- People: Who needs to be there, and what do they need from this day?
- Position in wider plan: How does this away day fit into your broader strategy or people development work?
- Payoff: How will you know the day worked? What will be different?
If you’re struggling to define your core question, our team performance consultants can help you cut through competing priorities.
Balance – Get the Mix Right Between Corporate and Fun
Kickass doesn’t mean gimmicky. It means energising, memorable, and impactful. The right balance between structured content, creative activities, reflection time, and social connection depends entirely on your objectives and the personalities in the room.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
One of the biggest mistakes is applying a one-size-fits-all approach. Forcing a team of introverts into an escape room can feel excruciating rather than bonding. Similarly, a team of extroverts might find quiet reflection exercises frustrating.
Get to know your team. Ask people in advance about their preferences. Design an agenda that includes different modes of engagement. Consider including:
- Structured presentations for clarity
- Facilitated workshops for problem-solving
- Reflection time for processing
- Social activities for relationship-building
- Creative methods like LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® or the Emotional Culture Deck to surface perspectives that traditional discussion might miss
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Too many slides are the death of engagement. If your away day consists of back-to-back PowerPoint presentations, you’ve created a glorified all-hands meeting. Similarly, activities that embarrass people or have no clear link to your purpose will undermine trust.
Avoid activities that often backfire — gimmicks might look fun on paper but often create awkwardness in practice.
Environment – Pick the Right Space for the Work You Need to Do
Where you hold your away day matters. The environment shapes behaviour, influences energy levels, and signals whether this is genuine thinking time or business as usual.
Office vs Offsite vs Hybrid
Holding your away day in the office rarely works. People will slip back to their desks or check emails. An external venue signals that this time is different and removes distractions.
That said, not every away day needs to be fully in-person. Hybrid working is here to stay, and some away days need to accommodate remote attendees. The key is designing for genuine inclusion, not retrofitting remote participation as an afterthought.
Key Criteria for Choosing Your Environment
When evaluating venues, consider:
- Accessibility: Can everyone get there easily, including those with mobility needs?
- Comfort: Natural light, fresh air, suitable seating for a full day
- Tech-ready: Reliable WiFi, screens, video conferencing if needed
- Space for different activities: Breakout rooms, wall space for post-its and flip charts
- Minimal distractions: Away from day-to-day interruptions
Making Hybrid Away Days Work
If some team members will join remotely, actively design for their inclusion. This means:
- Proper camera and audio set-up
- Assigning a co-facilitator to monitor the online experience
- Using digital collaboration tools
- Creating virtual breakout groups
- Allowing for asynchronous contributions
Done well, hybrid away days work. Done badly, remote participants become passive observers, which damages inclusion and trust.
Schedule – Pace Your Away Day for Energy and Impact
The most common mistake is trying to pack too much in. Teams leave exhausted rather than energised. The schedule needs breathing room — space for reflection, informal conversation, and unexpected moments where real breakthroughs happen.
A Typical Structure for a One-Day Away Day
While every agenda should be tailored, a well-paced day often follows this flow:
9:00 – 9:30 | Open and set context
9:30 – 11:00 | Align on current reality
11:00 – 11:30 | Break
11:30 – 13:00 | Explore possibilities
13:00 – 14:00 | Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 | Decide on priorities
15:30 – 16:00 | Break
16:00 – 17:00 | Commit and close
This structure builds from understanding to exploration to decision-making, with clear breaks to maintain energy.
Design for Different Learning Styles
Some people think out loud. Others need quiet time to process. A good schedule accommodates both by:
- Including individual thinking time
- Varying between paired conversations and whole team discussions
- Mixing active and reflective exercises
- Building in thinking breaks
Alternatives to the Traditional One-Day Format
Consider these alternatives:
- Bootcamps: spread content across four to six weeks with weekly 90-minute sessions
- Sprint series: combine focus with space for implementation between meetings
- Extended offsites: longer sessions (1.5 days or more) allow for deeper work without rush
Let Leaders Fully Participate
If you’re a team leader, resist facilitating the entire day yourself. You can’t simultaneously lead discussions, manage timing, and participate authentically. Use a professional facilitator so you can be fully present as a team member.
Follow up – Turn Away Day Energy Into Sustained Change
The work doesn’t end when the away day does. Without deliberate follow-through, even the most powerful day will fade. The follow-up is where insight turns into impact.
Capture Decisions Before People Leave
Before the day ends, clearly document:
- Key decisions made
- Actions identified with owners and timelines
- Success measures
Capture this visibly during the day on flip charts or shared documents to create shared ownership.
Communicate Outputs Within a Week
Send a concise summary to all participants within three to five working days. Include key decisions, action owners and timelines. Also share relevant outputs with stakeholders who weren’t present but need to be informed.
Build in Structured Touchpoints
Schedule follow-up check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days to review progress, troubleshoot blockers, and evaluate impact. These don’t need to be long — even 45 minutes maintains accountability. Put them in the diary before people leave the away day.
Integrate Into Ongoing People Development
The best away days connect to your broader learning and development plans. If you identified capability gaps, commission targeted training or coaching and assessment support. Embed new ways of working into team rituals and performance expectations.
At Let’s Talk Talent, we often follow up strategic away days with ongoing interventions: bootcamps that spread learning over time, leadership coaching, or people development consulting.
Track Impact with Simple Measures
Track straightforward indicators:
- Qualitative feedback from conversations
- Behavioural changes in meetings and communication
- Engagement signals
- Over time, improvements in retention and team performance
The most powerful evidence often comes from team members themselves: “We’ve never felt like a team until now.”
How Let’s Talk Talent Runs Kickass Away Days
There is no perfect, one-size-fits-all formula. That’s why our approach starts with understanding your unique context: What stage of team development are you in? What’s the organisational backdrop? Where are relationships strong, and where are they fragile?
Only then do we design the day — choosing the right blend of the five elements mentioned to create an experience that delivers against your goals.
What We Bring to Your Away Days
- Strategic design: We help you define the right purpose and design an agenda that serves your objectives
- Expert facilitation: Our consultants manage energy in the room, surface unspoken dynamics, and keep discussions productive
- Unique tools and methods: We use powerful techniques like LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and the Emotional Culture Deck
- Follow-up support: We help you plan and deliver the follow-through with bootcamps, coaching, or management and leadership programmes
For more guidance, read how to make your team away day time well spent, not just a jolly and what you should know before organising a team away day.
Let’s Start the Conversation
A kick-ass corporate away day could be exactly what your team needs to reconnect and refocus — get in touch with our team to start planning yours.
FAQs About Corporate Away Days
What is a corporate away day?
A corporate away day is a structured, purpose-driven offsite experience designed to bring teams together for reflection, alignment, and planning. The best away days connect heads (strategy), hearts (trust), and hands (practical next steps).
How far in advance should we plan a corporate away day?
For a straightforward team away day with 10–20 people, allow at least six to eight weeks. For larger or more complex events, plan three to six months ahead.
Who should attend a team away day?
This depends on your purpose. If you’re aligning a specific team, invite everyone. If you’re working through a cross-functional challenge, include representatives from each affected area. Be thoughtful about inclusion: if someone’s absence will create issues later, they probably should be there.
How do we make sure our away day is inclusive?
Inclusion starts in the design phase. Consider the full range of personalities, preferences, and needs. Introverts need thinking time. Neurodivergent team members may need advance sight of the agenda. Create multiple ways to participate: paired conversations, written contributions, and visual tools. For hybrid away days, design for remote inclusion from the start.
How do we know if our away day worked?
Revisit your original purpose. Did you answer your big question? Gather immediate feedback at the end of the day. In the following weeks, look for behavioural evidence: Are people referencing insights from the day? Are agreed ways of working happening? Are relationships stronger? The most powerful signal is often team members saying “That day changed something for us.”
