The Power of Facilitated Collaboration
Offsite Goals
This month, our team facilitated an offsite for a senior HR team at a healthcare organization that spans across 6 states and employs more than 60,000 people. These leaders are tasked with the invaluable responsibility of supporting employee benefits and compensation, work ecosystem, professional development, health and safety, and wellbeing.
The weight and urgency of these responsibilities to the business and its employees must take priority; this often means the team’s time for in-person connection, alignment, and strategic work gets put on the back burner to address emerging personnel or business concerns.
An upcoming company-wide HR centric meeting coupled with the understanding of how crucial team connection and alignment are to the teams and organizations success provided the perfect opportunity for this HR team to prioritize intentional, distraction-free time together to strategize and connect. The HR leaders worked diligently and ensured they were able to get the entire team together for a two-day in-person offsite ahead of the meeting.
The goals of the offsite were to develop and set the 2025 strategy, establish and define core team competencies, and strengthen meaningful bonds across the team. And they did just that – at the end of the two-days together, the group not only left feeling confident that they had identified and were aligned on the actionable commitments necessary to move key priorities forward, but well-equipped for success at the company-wide meeting.
Our Role and Approach to Facilitation
Nearly anyone who’s ever facilitated a group discussion will tell you it’s extremely challenging, if not impossible, to successfully facilitate and participate in a discussion at the same time. This is because as a facilitator, your goal is to prompt discussion, maintain neutrality, build positive group dynamics, create space for all voices to be heard, and manage time, all while holding focus on the big picture. Contrarily, the role of the participant is to not worry about any of those things, and instead focus on the nitty gritty. Participants’ energy should go into voicing their thoughts and opinions, bringing forward the wins or challenges of the team and department, and using the roots the facilitator plants to grow individually and collectively.
The time this team gets to spend in the weeds together is both limited and sacred, and each team member’s perspective was essential in achieving the goals of the offsite. To ensure everyone would be able to be fully present in the discussions and optimize their time together, they brought two of our facilitators in to facilitate the offsite.
As facilitators, our goal is to create an environment and establish a cadence that results in an offsite that exceeds its intended purpose. The first step in doing so was to meet and work closely with the team leader to design an agenda aligned with the team’s goals and needs.
With this initial framing in mind, we then conducted an anonymous survey of all team members to better understand their expectations and priorities for the offsite. The survey results further informed the agenda design – we focused on building in opportunities for team connection, peer coaching, and full group discussion around strategic planning and team leadership.
After the data and information gathering stages of our offsite design process, we held one final alignment call with the team leader to ensure the agenda was still reflective of their goals and expectations. This offsite design approach, where agendas and discussion topics are co-created with our stakeholders, guarantees we remain aligned with client expectations throughout the design and delivery process.
Offsite Outcomes
At the start of the offsite, and many other offsites, some people expressed skepticism, worrying about the growing list of work waiting for them or that spending two days focusing on team alignment and connection together wouldn’t result in tangible forward progression.
However, as the offsite concluded, they noted feeling the opposite; instead, they found it to be incredibly helpful and impactful, going as far as to say they got more done there than they would have had they spent the day at their desk. Because the offsite was tailored to fit the teams collective and individual needs and priorities, participants reported feeling like they made more progress on key topics in two-days than in the months they’d spent wrestling with them prior – specifically in terms of team communication and working norms.
Through facilitated conversations, the team identified key areas to focus on to improve their ways of working, prioritization, and cross-functional collaboration. Committing to these topics during the offsite gave the team time and environment to discuss and explore without the distractions of competing priorities and daily projects. Offsites are about much more than getting together to bond, forge connections, or build trust – they create space to have the difficult conversations and time to sort through and iron out all of the details that often get overlooked or go unnoticed.
We’re all familiar with the notorious saying that says to take care of others, you have to first take care of yourself, right? The same goes for teams working toward organizational goals and priorities. By putting the team’s needs above all other competing priorities for just two days, you not only can remove the roadblocks that are preventing progress but unlock new superpowers across the group, equipping each team member with the tools and resources for success.
Curious what a customized offsite experience might look like for your team and how it could increase performance? Reach out today!
Author: Erin Kerr
Client Strategy Manager
