In-person onsite for remote team: Which items should be on the agenda?

Philipp Schwengel
8 replies
We are organizing an onsite meeting in early September where the whole team meets in-person for the first time. I was wondering what we should definitely do during those days that is more effective when being done in-person vs. online.

Replies

Brenna Donoghue
Fun... this will be so great for the team! 1. Unstructured social time 2. Hard conversations... the topics that may draw out emotions or tension within the group. Those big debates are so much easier to do with care and intentionality in person
Philipp Schwengel
@brenna_donoghue Thank you so much for your input! 1. The addition "unstructured" is really interesting 2. I absolutely agree, definitely something we should have
Brenna Donoghue
@phil_schwengel I have a personal vendetta against organized fun when it comes to relationship building!
David Berens
How exciting Philipp! I've worked with a few remote companies over the years. Here's a general structure that I've found helpful when planning onsites: 1/3: Work oriented 1/3: Intentional 1-on-1's 1/3: Group socials (games/activities/etc.) Here are some planning questions that might be helpful: -How can we increase the team's trust in one another? -How can we promote more candid transparency on the team? -How would we know if the onsite was "successful?" (What metrics/outcomes come to mind?) Here are some onsite group discussion questions that might foster interesting conversations: -What can the company do better on? -If you could change 1 thing about the company, what would it be, and why? -What have you enjoyed most about working here so far? Hope this helps!
Philipp Schwengel
@david_berens That really is helpful! Thank you so much for the thoughtful input! I also believe that increasing trust in one another should be one of the main goals of onsites
Great. This activity is very important to build trust and a friendly environment among the employees. You can plan some fun games or a speech session where top management will speak to the audience in an informal and friendly manner. Emptying the minds of yours as well as your employees from the daily work pattern or thoughts for that day is essential.
Akshay Thakor
Rave parties! 🔥