🗺️ Team offsite planning checklist

Organised by lead time. The venue and the dietary questions have to happen first because they are the ones that cannot be fixed the week before.

40 items

1. Eight weeks out
2. Agree the purpose in one sentence
3. Dates in everyone's calendar
4. Budget agreed and signed off
5. Shortlist venues and visit or video-call one
6. Ask about step-free access, lifts and accessible toiletsAsk the venue directly, and ask the team what they need. Neither answer is guessable.
7. Collect dietary requirements and allergies
8. Four weeks out
9. Venue booked and confirmed in writing
10. Travel booked, or a travel budget communicated
11. Accommodation, with quiet-room options for those who want one
12. Draft agenda shared for comment
13. Ask what people want to get out of it
14. Book any external facilitator
15. The agenda
16. One or two big topics, not seven
17. A real break every ninety minutes
18. One unstructured block, deliberately
19. Something that is not work, that is optional to attend
20. An evening plan people can leave from
21. A named owner for each session
22. Food and drink
23. Every meal confirmed, including the first evening
24. Vegetarian and vegan options as standard, not on request
25. Allergies communicated to the caterer in writing
26. Non-alcoholic drinks that are not just tap water
27. Coffee, and more coffee than you booked
28. Snacks in the room
29. The week of
30. Send the plan: address, times, what to bring, what to wear
31. Check the room's screen, cables and wifi
32. Print anything you need printed
33. Whiteboard, markers and sticky notes
34. Name badges, if people do not all know each other
35. A contact number for the day
36. Afterwards
37. Write up the decisions within three days
38. Every action has a name and a date
39. Ask what to do differently next time
40. Expenses submitted