Why your office needs an away day in the Highlands

Why your office needs an away day in the Highlands - and 1 great team building exercise you can try

Away days are usually a great way to get people out of the office, where you can rebuild and rejuvenate your staff after long periods of working together in the same place, but maybe not working together as a team.

Of course, not many of us have been in the same place for quite a while now. Most of us have been working from home on our own, and are maybe only just getting back to the office now. As the world reopens and teams come back together, an away day in a beautiful environment could be exactly what you need to help your team reconnect, build back relationships and rekindle friendships. 

If your office is based in the city, letting us look after you at the Badaguish events centre will be exactly what you need - breathe in some fresh air, take in the mountains, walk by lochs and use the fantastic variety of outdoor providers in the area to get stuck into a series of fun, challenging activities which will help you team think even more creatively.

On an away day your team will be able to

Celebrate - away days are a great way to mark an important milestone in your workplace, like finishing a project, reaching a big target or something even bigger, like coming back to work in the same place after a pandemic!

Build moral, build motivation and bond - case studies have shown how productivity can increase massively after an away day. When a team feels more connected and happier to be with each other, their work improves massively. It makes them use skills they need every day, but for something creative and different - once they know they can tackle a crazy challenge together on an away day, it’s even easier for them to do it back at the office.

Foster new skills - your away day can be targeted at something you think your team needs to work on, like leadership, organisation or communication. Stuck on a project? It could help them engage their minds in something new and expand their blue sky thinking.

Learn more about each other - communication can break down when teams haven’t had chance to get to know each other. Often the more we understand each other, the easier it is to empathise and work together through times when communication could be difficult. 

An amazing team-building challenge you can try

When you are building a team at work, it is extremely important to build opportunities for members to interact and know each other better. Nothing builds positive communication better than food!

Away days typically include a lot of activities outside, especially if you come to the beautiful Cairngorms to do it. Or, you’ll be working together in a new space to think creatively at a business meeting or conference. We suggest that alongside these challenging activities, you add something a little different into the mix and break up your day or weekend. 

A few weeks ahead of your event, ask all your members to write down a food item or a dish that represents something to them. Pick a topic such as:

1. Culture

2. Personality

3. Dream

4. Favourite travel destination

5. Favourite holiday memory

6. Childhood

7. What inspires them

Use the answers to then work with us here at Speyside Kitchen to design a custom menu for your team. You’ll gather for lunch or dinner and be presented with an array of incredible dishes. 

You can then 

  • Ask each of your team members to guess whose dish is whose favourite. 

  • You can write the answers down on pieces of paper, or by getting people to talk about it and call out answers, or work in teams.

  • Once you know who each dish belongs to, ask the team if they want to tell us more about their particular dish

  • Adding prizes could elevate the experience, making it more fun and memorable

Think an away day sounds like a great idea? Contact us and we’ll start helping you plan your day. Email info@speysidekitchen.co.uk or call +44 1479 861387 / +44 7925 544473.

Speyside Kitchen: helping busy individuals and groups alike achieve memorable life events by providing first class event planning and catering service that prioritises customer service and customer experience.

Enjoy an away day in spectacular settings

Man with mountain bike outside building

Take part in fun activities like mountain biking

We’ll be able to create a range of fantastic dishes for you to try

Track leading to mountains and a loch

Breathing in the fresh air of the Highlands will help promote blue sky thinking

Claire Mackenzie