Planning an Off-Site Meet: What Discussion Topics Can Boost Team Success?

Hi! Could someone please help me out in identifying certain topics of discussion that I could give to a cross-functional team that would be going out of the office for a day (off-site meets) and come back with a meaningful outcome that would be of benefit to the organization? Business efficiency, employee performance, organizational communication, etc., are a few that come to my mind.

Thanks in advance,
Srividya

Hi Srividya,

"Hi!! Could someone please help me out in identifying certain topics of discussion that I could give to a cross-functional team that would be going out of the office for a day (Offsite Meets) and come back with a meaningful outcome that would benefit the organization. Business efficiency, employee performance, organizational communication, etc., are a few that come to my mind. Thanks in advance! Srividya

I'm sure you would find many topics. If they go off-site, it might be treated as a fun day unless HR is moderating the group discussions. Rather than discussions that could be taken lightly, ask them to decide the topics themselves and suggest areas of improvement.

A method I would suggest is to conduct a training program on Six Thinking Hats - a lateral thinking method. Believe me, it's such a powerful technique for focusing the minds of employees on a particular problem. I had conducted the same in my organization on a day-long offsite meeting, and the MD presented six different topics. The discussions were so fruitful, and the MD received all the solutions (in just 4 hours!) which he wouldn't have received in a normal business meeting.

For more information, watch my column on Lateral Thinking.

Cheerio, Rajat"

Hi Srividya,

"Hi!! Could someone please help me in identifying certain topics of discussion that I could give to a cross-functional team that will be going out of the office for a day (Off-Site Meets) and come back with a meaningful outcome that would benefit the organization? (Business efficiency, employee performance, organizational communication, etc., are a few that come to my mind).... Thanks in advance. Srividya.

I'm sure you would find many topics. If they go off-site, it might be treated as a fun day unless HR is a moderator of the group discussions. Rather than discussions that could be taken lightly, ask them to decide the topics themselves and suggest areas of improvement. A method I would suggest is to conduct a training program on Six Thinking Hats - a lateral thinking method. Believe me, it's such a powerful technique for focusing the minds of employees on a particular problem. I had conducted the same in my organization during a day-long meet outside the office, and the MD presented six different topics. The discussions were so fruitful, and the MD got all the solutions (within 4 hours!) that he wouldn't have received in the normal course of business meetings. For more information, watch my column on Lateral Thinking.

Cheerio,
Rajat"