15 types of team gatherings and corporate events explained
15 types of team gatherings and corporate events explained
BoomPop Team · 6/8/2022
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Your guide to some of the most common—and lesser known—types of team gatherings, from offsites to company retreats and many more.
In-person team and company gatherings have reemerged as one of the most common ways to build a better company culture, no matter your team set up.
Companies are relying on these events for all kinds of benefits: improved communication, better team culture, new social bonds, and more. All of these ideally lead to a healthier, more stable business environment in the short and long term.
But as the events become such a crucial way to bring remote and distributed teams together, the terminology and classifications around them have evolved.
We’ll use our first-hand experience working with organizers, managers, and planners to try and help you understand the many different types of team gatherings that are common today.
Most common types of corporate team events
Team gatherings, company gatherings
Gathering is a catch-all term commonly used to describe any number of events, from a single group activity to a week-long retreat. It can be useful as an umbrella for purposes of budgeting, organization, and communication, but it’s important to get more specific when you start planning an actual event.
Team offsite, company offsite
The meaning of “offsite” has transformed significantly over the last decade. It once referred to a more business-oriented gathering focused on strategy and clear outcomes. Today, it’s used to describe a wide variety of team and company events, some of which aren’t actually “off site” at all.
Most often, we find this term being used to describe a 2-5 day event that requires most team members to travel and includes coworking, team building activities, social events, and more. How heavily focused on each of these components an offsite may be depends heavily on the individual team and company.
Companies today use offsites as a critical way to build connections among their employees and foster a sense of community and belonging. They can also be an incredibly useful time to collaborate and make progress on major projects in a new setting, particularly for remote and distributed teams.
Team onsite, company onsite
An onsite can refer to any event that takes place at a company’s own offices or HQ, from a special day of strategies and activities to bringing distributed team members to one central office location for a week. These events are generally more business oriented and are commonly used for quarterly check-ins, strategy sessions, onboarding of new employees, and anything else that makes the most sense to take place in-office.
Naturally, the fact that some “offsites” take place at offices or HQs can lead to confusion between the two terms.
Team retreat, company retreat
“Retreat” is a common but somewhat unclear term. Like offsite, it can sometimes refer to an event that is exclusively focused on business outcomes, one exclusively focused on leisure, or a combination of the two. One constant is that it almost always includes some degree of travel for the majority of attendees.
Although offsite has risen in popularity, retreat remains arguably the most popular term for multi-night team gatherings that require travel or take place away from the office.
Corporate getaway
Corporate or company getaways are sometimes referred to interchangeably with retreats. However, getaway sometimes indicates a larger emphasis on fun and non-business related activities.
Team overnight
A team overnight is essentially a truncated offsite or retreat where employees gather for fun, business, or some combination of the two. Generally these events will not require international or out-of-state travel, but rather be located close to a central office. They can be a more affordable way to reward employees or bring them together to connect.
Other important types of corporate team events
Company kickoff
Company kickoffs are one of the most consistent and important types of team gatherings across companies. They can range from a single-day virtual webinar to a multi-day live event, but are generally used to reflect on wins, energize employees, and inform teams about the company’s vision for the coming year.
How, where, and when you do a company kickoff depends largely on your goals for the event. It can often be effectively combined with an offsite or retreat, especially for smaller companies where all employees are able to attend in person. At large companies with distributed teams, a hybrid option might be most appropriate.
Annual meeting
An annual meeting can sometimes serve the same function as a company kickoff. However, many companies treat them as two separate events. In some cases, an annual meeting will have a more strategic focus and be less centered on invigorating employees.
Sales kickoff
Sales kickoffs are essentially identical to company kickoffs, except that they are specifically oriented around the sales organization. They are a longstanding part of many companies’ strategy to engage and incentivize their sales teams for the year to come.
Incentive trip
Incentive trips are also oriented around the sales organization. Typically, they require a sales person to hit a certain quota in order to qualify for attendance. These trips are an important way to provide rewards and recognition for top performers.
Team away day
A team away day is a short excursion to do activities or attend social events with your team. Oftentimes they are used as a way to help reward employees for a job well done, blow off steam after a busy period, or foster better connections through team building exercises.
Hybrid team gathering
A hybrid team gathering is a way to bring together in-office and remote employees simultaneously. They can be hosted at the office or another location, what matters is that the space used has the audio and video capabilities needed to connect everyone effectively.
Leadership summit, executive summit
A leadership or executive summit is a gathering of key decision makers to discuss the state of a company, strategize for the future, and roll out any changes that might be necessary. Though primarily focused on business outcomes, these events generally also include fun and recreational activities to help leaders get to know one another and build a rapport.
New and emerging types of corporate team events
Workcation
“Workcation” refers to the emerging trend of events that blend business outcomes and coworking with fun and socialization. Its use indicates travel to a desirable destination where teams or companies will get to have new experiences together.
Bleisure
A “bleisure” trip is almost synonymous to a “workcation” in its common usage. However, it may or may not include a travel element, whereas a “workcation” almost always does.
Planning the right gathering for your team
Every team and company are unique. Your event strategy should be tailored to the specific goals, needs, and desires of your employees. Boombox Events can help you every step of the way, from planning the perfect experience to day-of management onsite at your event. Start planning your offsite or retreat today.
Explore planning resources.
Featured resources
8 Steps for Planning Your Company Retreat
A resource for new organizers on creating fun, productive, and successful corporate events.
