A few years ago, a business leader I know took every employee in his tech start up to Japan for an extended stay to work and ski. It seemed both amazing and like a pretty big commitment all around at the time. But looking back, he was just ahead of the trend.

His team was dispersed across the U.S. They were on the bleeding edge of computational linguistics, but didn’t get to sit and talk to each other much. They didn’t experience the serendipity of colleagues collaborating by just bouncing ideas off of each other or even having fun together. They didn’t have a social network.

Recently, we shared that the Wall Street Journal reported that “group travel is buoying the hotel business,” noting that this sector is now outspending 2019 levels, and outpacing other kinds of travel expenditure. 

Then, the Harvard Business Review weighed in with the article, “Why Offsites Work – and How to Get the Most Out of Them.” Those of us in the incentive travel and corporate events industry have been proving that with our clients for decades and have seen it in action as they achieve results with events.  

The Harvard Business Review points to offsites as meaningful because they, “allow them to reshape employees’ informal organizational networks to facilitate more sharing of ideas and expertise. For managers seeking to rejuvenate collaborative culture and capitalize on the expertise of its employees.”  

We agree. The opportunity to get to know one’s peers or customers, to share experiences, and to socialize best practices and ideas is invaluable. Even communications in the lead-up to the event create focus and mindshare, build excitement and anticipation, and provide a uniquely engaging chance to deliver the organization’s message.    

The researchers have uncovered another incredible benefit: post-program collaboration. Their research showed that “Attendees saw the biggest benefit to their collaborative networks. After the event, they received 24% more new incoming collaborative work requests compared to before the offsite. This boost was most pronounced for those who had been at the firm for fewer than five years. And the requests they received were more likely to come from a different business unit.” In an environment where early career employees and new hires can struggle to make social connections in a hybrid or remote workforce, an event can shape their connections and their future success.  

Past research by SITE showed that exposure to those who earned an incentive trip increased motivation for not only those individuals, but everyone around them. The Harvard Business Review researchers identified a similar phenomenon, noting, “Non-attendees seemed to get the message that collaboration is important and wanted to demonstrate their commitment to being collaborative team players, despite their non-attendance. Additionally, even non-attendees reaped the benefits of an improved collective understanding of who knows what in the firm.” 

What’s more, the researchers quantified the ROI to the organization they studied, “Our analysis of company records revealed that each offsite we studied generated over $180,000 in revenue from new collaborations within the first two months. And that represents just the beginning of the collaborative ties — 17% of the new connections were still active two years later, significantly multiplying their value.”  

Although their research seems to be primarily focused on meetings or other corporate events, we look forward to more details on their study to understand how this may – and likely does – relate to incentives. With incentive travel, a well-designed program typically pays for itself with the incremental revenue gained by the drive to hit targeted goals. It is not much of a leap to think that the experience of the program acts as a springboard to the relationships and knowledge needed to succeed in the months and years beyond. Whether it’s a month in Japan or a weekend in the Bahamas, your organization can benefit from building the social connections made with face-to-face events. 

Let’s talk about how we can help you build a culture of collaboration with engagement, recognition, and incentive travel for your next corporate offsite event. Contact us today.