• Agile & Scrum Basics

How do you organize an effective team session with results?

An effective team session, offsite meeting or heath day is organized by defining a clear goal in advance, choosing action-oriented working methods and securing the result. Focus the team session on one concrete theme, translate ideas directly into action points and plan a follow-up to follow up on agreements. This way, your conference day with the team will not only be inspiring, but will also deliver real results. Yet in practice this often turns out to be more difficult than it seems. Read along?

That was quite confronting: great plans, but what actually came of them this year? Perhaps you recognize this thought when you open the document with the results of last year’s team session. At least half of them could be put on the agenda of the next meeting. Fine of course, but ask yourself one important question: ‘How do you translate ideas directly into new behavior?’

Inspiring location, check. Good lunch, check. Cool energizer, check. Everything has been arranged for this year’s team session or heath day. You’ve put in the necessary hours of preparation. Not only for the prerequisites, but also for the work formats. Because it has to be an inspiring day, but also a day that actually delivers something.

What is a process improvement session?

A process improvement session is a focused team session or heath day in which you explore as a team how to work smarter and get more results. Instead of just making new plans, you take a critical look at your current work process: what works well, what can be improved and how do we translate ideas into concrete behavior?

During a team session focused on process improvement, for example:

• scrutinize the work process around last year’s plans;
• discuss how to better follow up on the best new ideas later after the heath day;
• look at how you can improve the overall meeting structure for greater effectiveness.

It may not sound like the sexiest topics for your heath day with the team, but I promise you; it’s incredibly valuable. Why? So you start working Agile in a very small and accessible way. So a sneaky team day Agile. Here’s the thing: during the heid day, the team discovers what it is like to look back together more often, to adjust where necessary and to prioritize ideas.

What is the 1111 points plan?

Let me start by saying: there is nothing at all wrong with creative brainstorming, of course. It gives energy, fresh impetus, brings ideas and it often seems that the noses are in the same direction. Great! But those good ideas alone are not enough. How do you implement ideas in the team? The 1111 point plan can provide the answer to that question, so be sure to include it in your ideas for the day.

I like to explain this plan using a version that you can perfectly take to your heath day, team session or team day Agile. It works like this, you get:

• 1 point for a super good idea. For the spark, the first thought and inspiration that comes to the table. Raw but with potential.
• 10 points for the plan of how you will implement it. Who will do what and when? Up to here it’s still theory. Now into practice with the following points.
• 100 points for doing it. The idea is alive now, has already been tested and the results are hopeful for the next step.
• 1000 points for implementing in the new normal. This is where the idea entered your way of working. Into your system and culture. And that’s what you want.

From creative heath day to Agile in 1 day

So ask yourself: what is good to do during a heath day? Then, in addition to the creative sessions, don’t forget to look at the processes (for example, with the 1111 point plan). That’s actually already starting small with Agile, without a consultant. And then maybe next year you’ll look back and see that this time your heath day actually delivered results. Do you want more certainty about that? And do you want to deal with processes during the conference, but with fun interactive methods? Then there are great programs for that. Like Agile in 1 day. And the Kickstart for teams.

Customized program for your heath day

Now I understand that you don’t drag such a program directly into your shopping cart. Neither would I. What I would do? Just get in touch to discuss your idea of a results-oriented heath day. So email, call or schedule an appointment. Then I’ll think with you about how you go from brainstorm to action during this year’s heath day.