This is how you create a sensational offsite: A page out of Edelman’s playbook
- Date: February 24, 2016
- Topic: Uncategorized
- By: Peerspace
Offsites and retreats are a rapidly growing trend amongst top startups and large corporations alike. And for good reason. The benefits of breaking out of the day-to-day to look at the big picture and bond with your team are clear and abundant.
However, for companies that host regular offsites, it can prove difficult to choose new activities each month that still feel fresh. We teamed up with Edelman, a leading global communications and marketing firm, to see how they keep their employees inspired and creative.
Download The Definitive Guide to Offsite Planning.
When it came time to bring 30 team members from Edelman offices together in San Francisco, Executive Vice President Paige Young wanted to create a memorable event for the team. She knew that she wanted an activity that would showcase their innovative culture while allowing employees to relax in a beautiful location.
“Edelman employees value a highly personal and bespoke approach,” Young said when discussing her approach to finding the perfect venue and activity. “A defining aspect of Edelman is maintaining a competitive edge in a collaborative, friendly environment. So this creative offsite embodied our values while encouraging team bonding outside the office.”
Explore unique team building locations in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle.
Here, Young shares her approach to building a unique and creative offsite:
1. Brainstorm
Think about what your team has done before – and don’t be afraid to try something new. After brainstorming creative team building ideas, Edelman partnered with Wine & Canvas, an experience company that provides an expertly-guided artistic workshops to help bring out people’s creativity.
2. Align vision & values
Keep in mind that your offsite should align with the team’s vision and values. Since the Edelman team works closely with Adobe, a client that values creativity. They chose a painting class where participants would each be instructed on painting the Golden Gate bridge.
3. Execute – but don’t forget to have fun
Some offsites should be agenda-heavy with focused agendas and goals. But other times it’s okay to just have fun and reward a team for their hard work. That was Edelman’s approach for this offsite. Their approach paid off. It fostered a creative process that was educational, inspirational, and most of all, fun.
