Planning Your Offsite Training

Posted on December 9, 2022

Companies large and small are increasingly turning to offsite training programs instead of onsite training to help improve employee performance and retention. These types of events allow employees to attend without having to travel far distances or miss important deadlines to get the practical training they need.

Benefits of Offsite Training

Offsite training is usually more memorable because it breaks from the usual routine. Conducting training at an offsite location can help participants remember the training sessions better and make them feel more enthusiastic about taking part in the training. Providing an environment where your staff feel valued and appreciated can also improve morale and even increase productivity. Employees can also see this meetings conducted in this way as the company going above and beyond to invest in them and their careers.

When you have people from different geographical locations participating, offsite training is often a preferred solution. Offsite training can also be leveraged in a local venue, which is often beneficial simply because it is not the office, which allows for a better concentration during the training session because of its ability to reduce daily work disruptions.

Planning Offsite Training

When planning your offsite training, the first thing you need to do is find out what type of training you want to offer. Do you want to provide basic skills training? Or would you like to teach people how to use new software programs? You may even want to give your employees tips on how to save money at home. Whatever it is that you decide to provide, you’ll have to know what your audience needs before you can begin planning your event.

The best way to get started with this is to create a list of all the things you want to cover during your meeting. This could include topics such as company culture, goals, vision, mission statement, values, etc. Once you’ve created this list, you should then start thinking about who might benefit most from attending these meetings. For example, if you’re looking to train managers, you might consider inviting only those who report directly to you. If you’re trying to boost sales, you might invite only those who sell products to customers.

Choosing an Offsite Training Venue

Once you’ve decided what kind of employee training you want to conduct, you will need to choose a suitable venue to serve as your training center. The ideal venue for offsite training should be one that has enough space to accommodate everyone involved. It’s also important that the room is well lit so that attendees don’t have any trouble seeing each other. When choosing a venue, you should also take into account whether there are any special requirements or restrictions that must be met. For instance, some venues provide catering, while others require that you bring in your own food and drinks. Some may ask that you keep noise levels down because of others who may be working in the building, while some anticipate that group training activities may get a little loud.

Consider Accommodations

If you plan to host your offsite training at a hotel, you should always check ahead of time to ensure that the facility meets your expectations. For example, many hotels charge extra fees for using conference rooms, and some may charge for parking. Make sure that you understand exactly what you will be charged for when you book your reservation.

You should also think about how much you want to spend on accommodations. While it’s nice to stay at a five star hotel, you may be able to find a cheaper alternative. In addition, you may be able afford to pay for own transportation to and from the location where you hold your training sessions.

Providing Content During Your Meeting

Now that you’ve chosen a venue and determined who will attend, you can begin preparing content for your meeting. While you may already have a lot of information prepared, it never hurts to review it again just to ensure that everything is up-to-date. You can also add additional information to your presentation depending on what you think will be useful.

You should also make sure that your meeting agenda includes a clear outline of what you plan to cover during the meeting. This will help attendees understand what they can expect when they arrive.

You may also want to prepare a few handouts to distribute to attendees. These could include copies of your company policies, employee manuals, or any other materials you want attendees to have for the training and/or keep for reference after the training.

Finally, you should try to avoid making last minute changes to your presentation. Doing so can cause confusion among attendees and disrupt their ability to focus on learning. Instead, try to stick to your original plans whenever possible.

Plan for Breaks

When planning your offsite training session, you’ll likely want to schedule breaks throughout the day. If you’re conducting a multi-day event, you might consider having lunch and dinner breaks as well.

While you may not want to break too frequently, it’s important to give attendees time get up, move around, and perhaps refill their water or coffee. Besides, brains fatigue after a certain threshold of continuous input. Planning for breaks can help with content retention general attentiveness. Another popular options is to limit each topic to an hour session when possible to avoid information overload. If need be, you can provide additional support material online or as a handout.

In Conclusion

Your offsite training session will be more successful if you follow these tips. By following them, you’ll be able to create a productive environment for both yourself and your attendees, while giving them a great alternative to standard onsite training.

If you are a looking for a meeting room for your off site training, contact the Commonwealth Commerce Center in Jackson, MI or call us at (517) 784-0059 today.