Cumberland Lodge is a great venue for staff away days. From our setting in Windsor Great Park with a range of spaces for activities, our wide variety of rooms for discussions, training and presentations, and our on-site accommodation and dining facilities. We can provide everything you need to stage an enjoyable, productive and memorable staff away day.
What is a Staff Away Day?
The term ‘away day’ has come to mean several quite different things in today’s corporate world. It can mean something as simple as a group outing or activity (often something luxurious or indulgent – think gourmet cookery, wine tasting, a dance class, clay pigeon shooting and so on) to let off steam, socialise or as a reward for achievement and effort.
More usually, and correctly, a staff away day means a chance to get away from the places, routines and duties of the ordinary workflow and go to a new environment. Socialisation and relaxation can be key parts of a staff away day – and should be, since these factors are great for morale and interpersonal relationships – but away days should also have a professional purpose.
They could be a way to discuss projects or ideas in a less formal environment and at a time and place free from distractions, phone calls and meetings. They can be a chance for teams or crews to reflect on their performance, their processes and their outcomes as a collective rather than as people focused on their own workflows and areas of expertise. Team leaders and management can use staff away days to engage staff on broader issues and even seek suggestions, input, feedback and buy-in for plans and strategies. Staff away days are also perfect for developing broader skills and qualities, from teamwork and communication to professional training and insight from external guest speakers.
What makes a good staff away day?
A lot of people may look unfavourably on staff away days, having been dragged to too many that were generic, uninspiring or awkward and which had little relevance to their jobs or the situation in the workplace. An away day consisting entirely of ‘team building’ sports or physical activities will not be enjoyable to everyone. Building a raft on a lake is a cliché, as is management setting a brainstorming task for ideas which is presented and then never heard of again. These are all examples of a bad staff away day.
A good staff away day is the opposite. Here are some attributes that can make your next staff away day both successful and enjoyable:
- Planning: With a staff away day booked in the calendar, get your people involved in planning it. Seek ideas for activities and get suggestions for skills or areas that people feel they need improvement in, or that would benefit their work. What insights or clarifications would people like from their leadership? Is basic teambuilding really necessary or can you focus on further development?
- Venue: All the best staff away day ideas are for nothing without the right venue. It should be somewhere different from your people’s normal routine and environment – somewhere special. It should be somewhere away from the rush of the modern world so they can focus on the day, each other and the tasks at hand. It needs space – a variety of space. From outdoor areas to big indoor spaces to small breakout rooms. It should also have areas to socialise and relax outside of the timetable of the day.
- Purpose: Too many staff away days fail to make an impact because they do not have an overall purpose. The day should have at least one desired outcome, or maybe several different ones for different parts of the group. Whether it’s to improve communication skills, get better relationships between marketing and sales, come away having optimised your department’s workflow for the next year or with a full understanding of the company’s strategic goals, there needs to be a reason to motivate everyone, guide the planning and measure the result.
- Variety: Away days are often associated with physical tasks – ‘friendly’ sports or games or outdoor challenges and construction tasks. These can be great fun and effective, but they’re not for everyone. Try to incorporate a range of activities for staff away days. Mix physical, creative, intellectual, educational and practical aspects to cater to everyone’s strengths and give everyone a chance to shine. Don’t get carried away with the fun stuff- if your goal includes dedicated time to attend to work-related matters like planning, feedback or learning, make sure this is included. The schedule should include plenty of time for unstructured socialising, relaxing, conversation and fun.
Activities for staff away days
Cumberland Lodge has plenty of experience of hosting staff away days. We have an entire blog dedicated to staff away day ideas to inspire you and start the creative planning process for the best possible staff away day.
It’s always best to start an away day with some icebreaker tasks, even if you’re in a group that’s already familiar with each other as colleagues or friends. Not everyone in an organisation works closely with everyone else, and it helps get people into the mindset for the day. If your business has different departments – technical, sales, creative, accounting, customer service etc. – these can be a good way for people to see what everyone brings to the table and how. They range from straightforward questions (“Do you prefer tea or coffee?” or “What book are you reading at the moment?”) to little tasks like speed networking or tying (and untying!) a human knot.
When it comes to activities and games, there is a world of possibilities out there. Cumberland Lodge’s stunning natural setting and easy access to Windsor Great Park make outdoor activities, like a scavenger hunt or a tug of war, a clear favourite. Indoors, our many meeting rooms and other spaces are ideal for hosting workshops, brainstorming sessions, seminars and presentations.
You don’t have to stay within Cumberland Lodge for your away day, either. We have another blog suggesting team activities around Windsor that can be part of your staff away day.
After the activities
Cumberland Lodge can be far more than just a venue for staff away days. Cumberland Lodge itself offers spaces for socialising, entertainment (including a casual room with a movie projector, pool table and table football in The Vaults) and dining. Our Mews Conference Centre doesn’t just contain a range of meeting rooms, but also en-suite bedrooms to accommodate overnight guests. So, whether your staff away day actually runs over multiple days, you want a big evening meal to finish off the day or give the option of staying overnight before heading home, we can handle that too.
Cumberland Lodge for your staff away day
A staff away day can be a hugely valuable and enjoyable experience for your people. Contact us at Cumberland Lodge to learn more about our unique venue and to discuss your requirements.