The average company now has 2.6 offsites per year. They’re increasingly becoming social activities, with just 36% of team offsite time being used for work. The policy must be working, too, as companies that have more frequent offsites are more likely to exceed their financial targets.
On top of that 79% of people find that traveling for work boosts job satisfaction. In Europe, it’s 83%, and in Asia that figure is 96%.
Here’s how to get more from a team offsite to supercharge your company culture.
Company offsites aren’t the only way to connect employees. Employee groups foster connections before and after your team offsite, developing relationships that can improve employee communications and create a more welcoming workplace. Discover how to run your employee groups with less effort — while getting more information — using Workrowd. Get in touch to book your free demo today.
Set a budget
If you want employees to travel for work, they shouldn’t have to foot the bill. Yet 65% of employees experience some level of personal financial impact. Not everyone can afford that. Many will be living paycheck to paycheck. Factor that in when budgeting for your team offsite. Ensure it’s as easy and fast as possible for employees to book or expense what they need.
Tools are available where employees can book through them. That means they don’t need to use their own money to organize anything — it comes straight out of the company account. They still get all the travel information to their contact details, but the bill goes directly to you.
Hire someone to organize it
An overworked employee isn’t the best person to organize a team offsite.
Someone whose job it is to organize offsites means they have more time to research locations that can accommodate everything you need. They have dedicated time to read TripAdvisor reviews and contact venues to find out if they have space when you want it.
As this is their sole job, they can also respond to queries faster. That means things can be dealt with and organized sooner, too.
Pick somewhere with good transport links
There’s nothing worse than having to travel to the middle of nowhere, and change at multiple stations or airports, to get to where you need to go. Make travel less stressful for your employees by picking somewhere with good transport links.
It’s why a lot of people meet in or near major cities in the US. They have the best transport links.
If you’re too far from the airport, it’s a nightmare to get everyone where they need to go. US transport — regardless of how you travel — is mostly centered around urban areas. It can be challenging, and your venue may be more expensive, but factoring these things in will make your employees’ travel time shorter and tickets less expensive.
Change locations
Changing the location each time you hold a team offsite makes it fairer for employees who had to travel farther for your last one.
It’s not just the cost of travel, but the time and energy that it takes, too. Jet lag hits some people harder than others. Sometimes even a long train journey can be stressful, especially if there are multiple changes or delays.
If you want employees to enjoy your offsites and get more from them, ensuring they don’t dread them because of stressful travel is a contributing factor.
Consider travel limitations
To be an inclusive employer, you have to consider someone’s travel limitations if you expect them to travel more for work.
For example, I enjoy traveling, but it triggers my chronic fatigue. Especially if I have to navigate train stations alone.
How can you help employees mitigate things like this?
Train stations often offer assistance for disabled people traveling with or without support. That means there’s someone to help with luggage, find the next station, etc. These small things can make a big difference.
Accommodate dietary requirements
I have heard too many stories from friends who have gone to a team offsite and ended up starving because everything is full of gluten and they’re celiac, or it’s full of dairy and they’re lactose intolerant or vegan.
It shouldn’t be that hard to accommodate dietary requirements in 2026. Especially when fruits and vegetables are naturally gluten and dairy free and just about everyone can eat them.
Support venues that can and do cater, not just for your employees but because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. These companies get more attention and customers, so then their competitors see this and start to get better at accommodating, too.
Nobody wants to be ill when traveling, let alone when traveling for work.
Or even have the stress of carrying medication or supplements when traveling in case they eat something that triggers them. Save them the stress, seriously. Most people won’t. I guarantee you they’ll appreciate it.
Invite family
If employees have to travel for a team offsite, inviting their family along can be a cheaper way for them to explore new locations with their family.
In a cost of living crisis, this is a much cheaper way for people to get a vacation in. Obviously you don’t have to pay for family, but even one cheaper flight can make a huge difference.
Remember those who can’t come
For whatever reason, there will be people who can’t come. For example, childcare, parental care, or their own health issues. Find ways to include them, such as through video calls.
One way I found that worked well at a past team offsite was for each person who couldn’t come to remote in via an assigned laptop. Someone was in charge of the video call on that.
We then broke off into small groups, so it was easier for those laptop people to voice their thoughts and opinions even though they weren’t physically in the room.
Conclusion
Company offsites help employees connect with their colleagues on a personal and professional level. It can be a way to get things done faster, or brainstorm ideas for the next year.
Wherever you decide to organize your team offsite, remember to make it inclusive. The more inclusive you make it, from travel arrangements to dietary requirements, the better an experience it will be for your employees. Meaning they’re more likely to enjoy it and want to stay working for you, rather than dread the next time they’re in the same room as their colleagues.
