How to Design an Effective Company Offsite Agenda

Why most offsites miss the mark

After working with teams at Airbnb, Bacardi, Nike, JP Morgan and some of the most ambitious companies in the world, one thing has become clear: a great offsite isn’t just a break from the office! It’s a chance to build clarity, culture, and momentum that lasts far beyond the event itself.

But here’s the truth:

Most offsites are pretty….cr*p! Because they’re not designed with intention. They’re packed with too many sessions, vague team-building activities, and not enough space for meaningful connection or growth.

So in this post, I’ll walk you through how we design the perfect offsite agenda, the kind that creates alignment, unlocks potential, and gets talked about long after the last session ends.

Step 1: Start with a single strategic goal

Before you book the venue or write your welcome speech, ask yourself:

What’s the one thing we want people to walk away with?

It could be:

• A stronger sense of team trust

• Alignment around new strategic priorities

• Confidence in their ability to lead through change

• Energy and belief after a tough quarter

At Tempest Experiences, we call this the 'Core Shift'. What emotional or mental shift do you want the team to experience? Every session, every speaker, and every activity should ladder up to that.

Step 2: Balance structure with space

The biggest mistake we see in company offsite agendas? Over-scheduling. Death by a million panels.

Here’s a simple rule we use:

No more than 4 core blocks of content in a day.

You need time for informal connection, recovery, and reflection.

Here’s a sample 1-day flow we often use:

🕘 Morning

• 08:30 – Arrival & Breakfast

• 09:00 – Opening Keynote (Yes we are biased, usually a The Tempest Two keynote)

• 10:00 – Interactive Experience or Breakout Sessions

• 11:30 – Regroup & Sharing

🥗 Lunch

Keep it social. Get people talking across silos. But do not skimp on food, it's such an easy win to have lovely catering.

🌄 Afternoon

• 13:00 – Workshop or Offsite Challenge (e.g. Resilience experience, Culture design session)

• 15:00 – Fireside Chat or Story-Led Panel

• 16:00 – Reflection + Commitments

• 17:00 – Close + Free Time

At night, we always recommend a hosted dinner or social experience that ties back to the day’s theme, this is where the real bonding happens.

Step 3: Make it experiential, not just informative

Forget another slide deck. People don’t change because of information, they change through emotion and experience.

That’s why we use:

• Adventure-led learning (e.g. challenges that teach trust and grit)

• Cold exposure and mindset sessions

• Storytelling keynotes that create emotional anchors

• Interactive tools like our Expedition App, which turns cities into immersive playgrounds for teams

These create what psychologists call “peak moments”, emotional memories that shape how people think and behave going forward.

Step 4: End with a clear takeaway and commitment

The final 30 minutes of your agenda are crucial. This is where you:

• Reflect as a group

• Capture individual commitments

• Reinforce the shared language, story, or value that emerged during the day

We always ask teams:

“What’s the one behaviour you’ll take back into the business?”

Document it. Share it. Revisit it a month later.

Final thoughts

A company offsite isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a strategic lever. But only if it’s designed with precision.

At Tempest Experiences, we’ve built offsite agendas for fast-moving startups and global enterprises alike, and the best ones always share the same DNA:

✅ Clear goal

✅ Emotional connection

✅ Memorable experiences

✅ Tangible commitments

If you want help designing yours, that’s what we do.

👇 TL;DR: How to design the perfect offsite agenda

• Start with a Core Shift (not just “team building”)

• Don’t overschedule: 4 key blocks max per day

• Use experience and emotion, not just slides

• End with clarity, commitment, and momentum