Do I need a Facilitator for my Away Day or Offsite?

Team away days, off-sites, leadership strategy sessions, brand or culture workshops can be brilliant opportunities to reconnect, realign, and refocus your people. Taking time away from everyday pressures and distractions is valuable, whether you're celebrating success, developing a new strategy, reviewing your brand or culture, or bringing teams together through growth, change or other challenges.

Today we tend to have less time for face-to-face time with colleagues, and it's all too easy to hide behind emails, Teams messages or at best a video call. So there's never been a more important time to bring people together in person to build that human-to-human connection.

But if you’re investing time and money in an off-site, you want more than just team bonding and pizza. You want to be sure that you'll achieve your objectives for the day and gain clarity, alignment, and tangible outcomes.

So, how do you make sure your Team Away Day, Offsite or Strategy Workshop is more than just a chat over a nice lunch that leads to more questions than answers?

When Meetings and Offsites Go Wrong

We’ve all sat in meetings that feel like a waste of time. We’ve all had discussions that get lost in detail or where a dominant voice or two takes over. Sometimes, the biggest blocker isn’t what’s on the agenda. It’s unspoken tension, competing priorities, or confusion about the direction.

According to research by Doodle (State of Meetings Report 20204), poorly organised meetings cost companies over £400 billion globally in lost productivity. Meetings without purpose leave people frustrated and disengaged, and that’s before you factor in travel, venue hire, and time away from the day job.

Usually, that's not because the intentions aren’t right, but because the meeting lacked structure, safety, and focus.

Facilitators Make Things Easy

Of course, you could run the session yourself. But bringing in an experienced facilitator makes everything easier - by definition - Facilitation comes from the Latin "Facilis", meaning easy.

Our job is not just to set the agenda and manage the logistics, we are there to create a safe space where all voices can be heard and the gathering feels inclusive. We'll work with you to design an effective way to structure the agenda, and that will deliver clear outcomes and results.

Here’s why working with a professional facilitator to design and run your off-site is worth every penny.

1. Clarity of Purpose
   Faciliators help you get crystal clear on why you’re bringing people together. Not just the logistics, but the objectives and desired outcomes. What do you want people to think, feel or do differently by the end of the session? We then design around that.

2. Objectivity and Neutrality
   Facilitators are completely independent and bring a fresh perspective and challenge the status quo. We encourage creative and critical thinking that leads to new ways of thinking, rather than being stuck in the 'that's just how we've always done it' mindset.

   Facilitators are trained to spot what's lurking under the surface - the elephant in the room - and create a safe and gentle space for honest conversation.

3. Equal Voices
   Facilitators make sure everyone’s voice is heard, not just the louder voices in the room. We create a safe space and Psychological Safety where people feel more comfortable being honest especially when difficult topics come up.

   We build trust, ownership and better outcomes. We manage the energy in the room and design inclusive activities to engage everyone.

4. Structure with Flexibility
   We create bespoke agendas that flow naturally with the right mix of structure and space and we keep things on track so the group doesn’t get lost in circular conversations or lost down rabbit holes. That means your day is purposeful but not rigid. If the energy shifts, we adapt in the moment.

5. Follow-through & Accountability
   A good facilitator doesn’t just spark good conversations, we help translate those into decisions, actions and next steps. So your day doesn’t end with vague intentions but with clear actions and SMART goals that have clear ownership, timeframes and accountability.

6. You Get to Join In
   When you’re managing or chairing the session, it's difficult to fully participate and contribute when you're trying to listen to everyone, take notes and watch the clock. As facilitators, we hold the space so you can step back, contribute, and connect with your team, instead of worrying about timings or post-it notes.

7. Navigating Conflict
   Facilitators manage conflict constructively – allowing disagreements to be aired and explored without derailing the session.

When to Use a Facilitator

Facilitated Culture Workshop

A well-designed off-site can help you:

• Developing or launching a new vision, brand or strategy

• Clarify your goals and direction

• Define or reconnect with your purpose, culture, values and behaviours

• Navigating change or restructuring

• Building stronger cross-functional collaboration

• Boosting team morale and motivation

• Planning for growth or setting ambitious goals

• Breaking down silos and strengthen trust and team dynamics

• Supporting new leadership or team dynamics

• Inspire fresh thinking and motivation

Why It Matters More Now

The way we work has changed – and so has what people need from time together.

“In the age of hybrid work, face-to-face time is no longer default – it’s a strategy. Teams that use it well gain a huge edge in trust, creativity, and performance.”

— Harvard Business Review

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Ready to make your next team off-site meaningful, motivating and memorable?

Whether you’re planning a leadership strategy day, team away-day, or any other workshop, I’ll help you design and facilitate a session that delivers real outcomes and brings your people together with purpose and produces tangible results.

We're human so we like to chat on Teams or Zoom (or better still in person), so if you have ideas, plans or challenges you think could be resolved by getting people togeher in the same room, let's chat!

• Give me a call on 07966 475195.

• Book a time to speak on Zoom straight into my diary - Calendly >

• Email polly@pollyrobinson.co.uk

• Read more about Growth Space Bespoke Workshops & Facilitation >

• Planning an Offsite or Away Day? Start With These 10 Questions >

Don't just take my word for it!

Polly is a superb facilitator - warm and approachable but with enough firmness to keep a very dynamic session on track. She clearly has deep listening skills and can help uncover meaning and trends where they may otherwise go unnoticed. I highly reccomend Polly for any facilitation needs, specifically in the workplace values space - she is brilliant."