How to organise a team day: goal, agenda and tips
· By BookWorkations editors
A team day, or heidag, is one day away from the usual routine, spent on a few questions that the team cannot settle in its normal meetings. This article explains what makes a team day work, how to set its goal and how a sample agenda can look. Use it as a starting point and adapt it to your team.
What is a team day?
A team day is a single day on which a team works together on a few clear questions, away from the usual meetings and the inbox. It is not a social outing, although there is room for connection. Its strength is time: there is enough space to think, discuss and decide on things that keep being postponed.
A team day works best with one clear purpose. A day that tries to cover strategy, planning, a new process and team building all at once usually leaves each of them half done.
Set the goal first
Before you choose a date or a venue, write down what the team should have at the end of the day. A useful test: which question would you be annoyed to still be discussing next month? Then answer three questions:
- Which decision or result must exist by the end of the day?
- Which questions can wait until a later meeting?
- Who has to be in the room to decide, and who only needs to be informed afterwards?
A sample agenda for one day
This is an example for a team of about 10 to 15 people with one main question. Adjust the times and blocks to your goal, and keep room for breaks: a day without pauses tires people out before the afternoon starts.
- 09:30 Arrival, coffee and a short round of introductions
- 10:00 Opening: the goal of the day and what we will decide
- 10:20 Quick round: what is on each person's mind?
- 11:00 Working session 1: list the options and choose the priorities
- 12:30 Lunch, with room for informal conversation
- 13:30 Working session 2: make a plan for the top priorities
- 15:00 Break
- 15:20 Presentation of the plan and feedback from the group
- 16:15 Closing: agree on owners, dates and the next meeting
- 16:30 End of the day
Practical tips
Small details decide how the day feels. These points are easy to forget:
- Choose a venue with a separate room for group work, not only one large hall, so that small groups can talk without disturbing each other.
- Appoint one person to lead the day and one to take notes, so that the facilitator can focus on the discussion.
- Share the goal and the agenda at least a week ahead, so that people can prepare questions and input.
- Ask in advance about food and drink wishes, and keep that information to what the caterer needs.
- Keep one or two open slots in the afternoon for questions that come up during the day.
- Write down the outcomes before everyone goes home, with one owner and one date for each action.
After the team day
Plan the follow-up before the day starts. Send a short report within two working days, with the decisions, the open questions and the owners. Review progress at the next regular meeting. Without follow-up, agreements tend to fade quickly.