Choosing novel locations for team workshops offers better impacts

Novel locations allow team workshop participants to separate from their devices and pressing interruptions long enough to embed useful insights and take-away tools.

Barwon Heads overlooking Bass Strait in Victoria was recently a nice relaxing and scenic location for a full day Belbin intensive workshop with a Government client.

We get to visit some truly great destinations to deliver our team workshops, and picturesque or novel locations can be a nice way to separate participants from their devices and their distractions. It's always nice to watch the participants unwind and properly engage with one another and the workshop content.

All too often clients will run workshops on-site at their own training rooms, which is fine and still has value, but making the effort to get people off-site to somewhere that enables a real disconnect from day-to-day stress is always worth the expense in our experience. 

Engagement at an off-site meeting in a novel location tends to be more effective than because it creates an environment more rapidly conducive to focus and collaboration. The familiar surroundings can also encourage routine thinking, stifling creativity and engagement.

By moving the meeting to a fresh, off-site location, participants are taken out of their usual context, which can help them disconnect from routine distractions and open up to new ideas and the building of deeper inter-personal connections. Novel environments stimulate curiosity and focus, making it easier for people to engage fully with the workshop content and objectives. Without the usual office interruptions—like emails, phone calls, or impromptu meetings—participants dedicate their attention solely to the subject at hand.

Additionally, the informal atmosphere of a team building off-site location often fosters stronger working relationship foundations, encouraging more open discussions and creative problem-solving.

We have seen key leaders taken away from an important team workshop delivered on-site ‘just for a quick call or catch-up’ to break the flow of the workshop and also see them miss key moments and insights.  When at an off-site location these temptations are harder to have manifest, and engagement is always better.

On-site team building workshops can still be effective of course, but wherever possible good offsite locations enable better and deeper impacts from any team or leadership development workshop.