3 Keys to Creating an Agenda for Your Next Team Offsite
Planning
3 Keys to Creating an Agenda for Your Next Team Offsite
BoomPop Team · 6/19/2025Build a team offsite agenda that sparks connection and purpose.
Putting together a team offsite agenda is more than scheduling meetings and organizing lunch breaks; it’s an essential element of ensuring your event creates the ideal experience for your team to connect, grow, and recharge. With a thoughtfully crafted agenda, you can transform a routine offsite into a valuable and memorable experience for your team.
Not sure where to start? Here are three key strategies for building a team offsite agenda that wows.
Align Your Offsite Agenda with Your Event Goals
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again — it’s absolutely critical to clarify the purpose behind every team offsite, and your agenda is a key element in making sure that goal clearly translates into the event itself. Is the ideal outcome of your event to provide space for innovation and decision-making, an opportunity to have fun, or something else?
Your goal may be to give teammates time to connect, gain clarity on a major project, provide a chance to unwind before a particularly hectic time of the year, introduce new team members, or some combination of any of these. What’s important is to identify the objectives of your offsite, discuss them with your team to make sure everyone’s on the same page, and then begin to shape your agenda around them.
For example, working on projects or making major decisions might mean you need more dedicated work hours and space to accommodate discussion, whereas a more social event would mean more unstructured time and group activities. Sorting out your goals beforehand will make your planning choices easier every step of the way.
Building your agenda from the foundation of your event’s goals - rather than trying to work backwards and align them last-minute - will save a lot of time, ambiguity, and serve as the North Star guiding many (if not most) of the key decisions you’ll need to make in the agenda-setting process.
Prioritize a Balanced Team Offsite Agenda
Once you’re ready to start building your team offsite agenda, aim for a balanced approach of programming, co-working time, engaging team activities, social events, workshops, and more—to support the ultimate vision for your event.
It’s important not to get tunnel vision when it comes to how you fill your agenda. Though you might have a very specific goal for your next offsite, creating some level of variation is essential to keep the experience engaging and dynamic. A successful company offsite should have at least some combination of business, fun, and wellness, even if it’s more heavily weighted one way or the other.
For example, an offsite aimed at setting goals for the coming year may by necessity include a lot of programming, presentations, and workshops, so add in some moments of fun and connection to keep guests engaged. An event that’s more focused on team building and a break from the daily grind may prioritize experiences, excursions, down-time, and fun, but a little bit of programming can go a long way in tying the experience back to the business.
It’s also important to avoid the instinct to over-schedule an event with back-to-back activities or working sessions, taking advantage of rare in-person time across the team. Here again, balance is key. A too-aggressive schedule can shift the experience of your event from inspiring to tiring, backfiring on an otherwise well-intentioned agenda. To avoid this common mistake, consider dedicating a quiet space for unplugging, offering movement options for all abilities (like walking meetings or gentle yoga), and building in breaks for meditation or simply to recharge throughout your agenda. Team offsites should leave your staff feeling recharged, not exhausted.
Personalize Your Offsite Agenda to Your Team’s Interests
Especially with many companies today having teams that are at least partly remote, it’s important to consider the different challenges that may arise from hosting an in-person company offsite.
Travel, new environments, and meeting people in person for the first time can all be stressful, so it’s important to try your best to make the experience as seamless and easy as possible. One of the easiest ways to shape your offsite agenda in a way that works for your team is to simply ask what they’re interested in doing. Employee surveys are a great way to check in with staff and can take some of the guesswork out of your decision making.
Ready to Plan Your Next Team Offsite?
Planning and coordinating a company retreat and setting your team offsite agenda can be a huge, complex undertaking. If you’re still unsure of where to start, BoomPop’s expert planners and easy-to-use platform makes the process simpler from start to finish. Schedule your free consultation with us today.
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