Do you love an away day because it energises the practice, or hate them because of the damage they do? If it’s the latter, you need to change your approach.
It's not just team building, it’s a day to get together to plan strategy or discuss a particular issue. It’s an opportunity to be open, honest and always deliver a positive outcome.
Have an objective. Business strategy is always a good idea, but other areas work well; defining vision & values, creating a clinical governance strategy, introducing innovation or identifying efficiencies. It should never be used to name & shame, control the conversation or to pay lip service.
Communicate the aim. Be clear what you hope to achieve, it builds trust and engagement and if openly shared, attendees will be more motivated to succeed. Make sure those attending are the people you need and design the activities to suit them and your culture.
Good facilitation is essential. Having facilitated and used a facilitator, both can work but whichever approach they have to be ready with ideas and activities to generate energy, ideas, raise morale and ensure the desired outcome is achieved.
Follow up. It's easy to bask in success but it soon fades if you don't ensure all the actions are carried out.
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