Are off-sites off for the foreseeable future? During the pandemic, social distancing recommendations and travel restrictions made it difficult, if not impossible, for many organizations to convene teams of any size within their offices, much less at sessions outside them. Not surprisingly, the initial reaction for most was to postpone or cancel those events, over concern that working together by phone or videoconference wouldn’t be as useful or productive as the in-person meeting would have been.
But some of the meaty, controversial types of topics often reserved for the rarefied atmosphere of off-sites still need to happen. Companies need to learn how to do them virtually, just as they have for other work processes.
The foundation of an effective virtual off-site remains basic meeting management: clear objectives, a well-crafted agenda, concise pre-reads, a well-chosen group of attendees, documented decisions, specific next steps, etc. But with a longer time commitment and a long list of strategic priorities to discuss, it can still seem overwhelming. After all, virtual off-sites were, until the pandemic, a rare exception, and many executives convening or designing these sessions felt they were in uncharted waters. How do you get started?
Drawing from our decades of experience running both in-person and virtual off-sites, we’ve distilled some practices—over and above the basics—that you can employ to help make yours effective.
As with any off-site—in some ways more so with a virtual one—success hinges on what happens before it begins. Here are five steps to take ahead of time:
Whether detailed in the pre-read or in a brief pre-meeting session, instruct everyone on exactly how to install and set up the software and video technology needed to participate. One client even provided a high-definition webcam and an extra monitor to each attendee, which allowed them to see participants on one screen and the shared document on the other.
Provide opportunities to practice using all the features to be utilized during the off-site. In Zoom, for example, you can set up a test “lobby” so that attendees can familiarize themselves with how to “raise hands” or use the chat function.
For each section of the meeting, start with what you want to achieve, initially sketch out each exercise independent of the technology, and then consider what’s possible with the software. Make sure you keep the activities simple enough for your least technologically advanced attendees. Meeting organizers and facilitators should practice every module of the meeting exactly how it is envisioned. Given technology limitations, it can be more difficult in a virtual setting to shift and redesign a meeting on the fly, so make sure you are equipped with plans B and C if needed.
Like a movie production, individuals running the offsite need to be clear on who should do what. Who facilitates each conversation? Who handles the technology, including screen sharing, monitoring chat, and calling on attendees who “raise hands”? Who should attendees contact if they have technical difficulties? Who steps in for the facilitator if he or she encounters technical challenges?
A common mistake made with off-sites is to invite too many participants. In a virtual setting, with no physical or cost constraints, it is even easier to just send a link to expand the invite list, and before you know it, you’re having a town meeting rather than a carefully designed conversation. Use the scope and objectives as a guide to determine who should attend.
Great off-sites require everyone’s full engagement and active participation, which proves even more challenging in a virtual setting. Off-site leaders should consider the following:
As attendees sign on, welcome them with specific instructions or reminders on the screen to ensure they are set up for the session. For example, in a recent off-site, attendees were greeted with the following message: Welcome! Please exit full screen (but maximize your viewing window), open your chat window (by clicking on “chat” in the toolbar), and raise your hand (by clicking “raise hand” in the toolbar).
We recommend an activity or icebreaker at the beginning to connect participants and make them comfortable with the virtual setting. One client asked each individual to take a minute and share what had been happening in their lives professionally and personally. She went first and modeled the tone and candor of the exercise, explaining that a loved one was ill and describing how it had affected her. Others followed suit, and immediately the group felt more connected and comfortable with each other.
Like any off-site, you need ground rules. Typical ones we use for in-person off-sites still apply—return from breaks on time, be candid and honest, headline your comments, use tricks for cutting people off, etc. Others will be specific to virtual meetings—“raise hand” instead of jumping in, stay on video throughout, mute when possible (but no need to apologize for the occasional barking dog or crying baby).
Because participants are sitting in front of a screen for the duration, we find that 15-minute breaks every 90 minutes give people time to reset, handle other business needs, and deal with issues at home. One client has the group take an hourly 60-second “pit stop” together to stretch, do jumping jacks, or take a walk around the living room.
We’ve said this before, but long presentations can really destroy a meeting’s momentum. Background information, whenever possible, should be well edited and provided in advance. If a brief presentation or update is required, use screen sharing to show the material so that everyone can follow along.
Gathering input constantly during a virtual off-site is critical, especially since visual cues are more difficult to read. The features included in videoconferencing software and other easily accessed survey and collaboration tools provide numerous easy-to-use techniques to take everyone’s temperature and capture the thinking of meeting attendees, going beyond seeing faces and interpreting body language. And if used correctly, they allow all attendees to more easily put their opinions on the table. Here are a few techniques we’ve employed during virtual off-sites:
As we learned in chapter 16, putting attendees in small virtual groups helps to break up the day and provides a more intimate setting to solve problems. One client was amazed when—with the push of a button—20 meeting attendees suddenly found themselves each transported into five-person videoconferences, with our facilitators dropping in and out of their conversations. After 20 minutes of drafting their approach to a problem and writing it up on a PowerPoint slide, they were brought back to the larger group. While breakouts need to be planned well (we find filling out a common template to be a great addition), they can be as much a part of a virtual off-site as a traditional one.
Poll people early and often. Technology embedded in most videoconference systems or phone-based tools such as Poll Everywhere allow participants to respond anonymously to questions in real time. Remember, don’t just ask yes-or-no questions. Questions that ask attendees to indicate the extent to which they agree with a statement, on a 1-to-5 scale, often go further in teasing out opinions virtually.
Similar to placing dots on a wall chart in an in-person off-site, allowing participants to annotate or “stamp” a shared screen is a powerful way for all attendees to provide feedback, indicate preferences, or identify where they have questions. In a recent off-site, a client shared a slide containing 20 potential products and asked each attendee to place a stamp (a star in this case) on the five the organization should pursue over the next 12 months. Very quickly, it was apparent where the group was aligned and where opinions differed.
Most videoconferencing technologies offer a chat function. While you might need some ground rules to prevent the conversation from becoming unruly, chat provides an additional forum for attendees to offer opinions to the full group or directly to the meeting facilitators. For instance, as part of one exercise, we asked attendees to submit new growth ideas to the full group via chat, which allowed us to more efficiently develop a consolidated list to review with the group.
Solicit attendees’ feedback while the experience is fresh in their minds. Going back to the very beginning of the meeting—from the moment they received the invitation through the pre-meeting survey, the pre-read, the agenda, the technology, the discussion—ask them questions like: What could be improved? If we could “run the tape” over, what would be different? Then ask: What went well? What should be repeated? What did you like?
It’s impossible to replicate the experience of an in-person off-site in an online setting. But with the right preparation, a focus on good meeting practices, careful use of various tools, some rehearsal, and a willingness to experiment as a team, it’s not only feasible but relatively easy to conduct virtual off-sites that allow you and your team to productively tackle even the toughest issues. And it’s likely you may have to do just that for quite some time.
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Bob Frisch is the managing partner of the Strategic Offsites Group. He is the author or coauthor of four Harvard Business Review articles, including “Off-Sites That Work” (June 2006) and “When Teams Can’t Decide” (November 2008), in addition to numerous articles for hbr.org. Bob is also the author of Who’s in the Room? and coauthor of Simple Sabotage.
Cary Greene is a partner of the Strategic Offsites Group. An expert in strategic alignment and facilitation, he is a trusted adviser to leaders of public, private, and family-owned organizations. Cary is coauthor of Simple Sabotage, the Harvard Business Review article “Leadership Summits That Work” (March 2015), and over 10 articles for hbr.org.
Dan Prager is a senior manager at the Strategic Offsites Group, a Boston-based consulting firm focused on designing and managing strategic conversations for executive teams, directors, and boards of some of the world’s leading organizations.
Adapted from “Virtual Offsites That Work” on hbr.org, March 25, 2020 (product #H05HZH).