Although our company name is Conferences UK, we don't just deal with booking meeting rooms for conferences, we can also help with spaces for events and team building retreats as well. If the job of organising your companies team building retreat has fallen into your lap, then read on to discover out complete guide.

Team building days are more popular than ever, as they can help to boost team performance, creativity and communication. So, it should come as no surprise that more and more companies are choosing to extend it into an overnight away day. There are so many amazing venues for UK conferences out there that it is easy to not only plan a day that everyone will find enjoyable, but do it in a way which doesn't cost the earth either.

Why should you plan a corporate retreat?

One of the hardest things to do when it comes to planning a corporate retreat, is to get everyone's buy in. Here are some great reasons you can use to tell your employees and colleagues why it is such a great idea:

- Motivation - Taking your company away on a trip is a bold move. By investing your money into your company like this, however, you are telling your employees that not only are you passionate about the company, but you are passionate about their role within the team. This is one of the reasons that a team away day is a great motivator. If you show the company how much you care about them, they will return this favour and work harder for your company.

- Information - It is not often that all of the employees in your company have the chance to work and socialise on the same level. A team building away day is a great opportunity to get everyone in the same room and inform them about what is going on in the company. This means that those who may normally feel "left out" when it comes to knowing what the big picture decisions are realise that they are getting the same information as everyone else.

- Development - Not only can your team building away day help broaden your employees understanding of the company, it can also provide the perfect setting for developing better relationships between employees, thereby improving company culture.

- Innovation - If you incorporate some team building exercise which encourage your employees to work together and use their skills, then they may just surprise you and come up with some innovative solutions to some of the problems you've been facing.

How to plan the perfect team building retreat

So, now you've got everyone's buy-in, how do you make sure you plan a retreat that no-one will ever forget?

- Location, location, location. As with most other events, location is one of the critical things you need to get right. Your team building retreat will be a flop if none of your employees can get there. Your venue needs to be exciting and fun but also accessible, so the nearer it is to major transport hubs such as an airport, train station or bus station the better.

- Plan out your goals & agenda. Make sure you know exactly what your goals for the day are and then plan activities in that work towards that goal. A well-planned agenda is critical if you want to keep the team engaged and motivated.

- Delegate some responsibility. A team away day is a great opportunity to show your employee's how important they are, and a great way to do this is to delegate responsibilities to them such as cooking or running a team activity. Everyone will feel involved (and it will also lessen the load on you a little!)

- Plan your activities. Make sure you include both educational and energetic activities throughout the day to keep everyone engaged (more on that below).

- Make it fun. Don't forget to make time for some all-important socialising so your employees can let their hair down and have some fun.

Some activity ideas for your team building day

If you are stuck for ideas to focus and energise your team, then check out some of our favourites below. They are a mix of activities that combine brain engagement with some networking potential - the perfect mix of fun and business:

- Pitch your favourite app. Not only is this one perfect for tech companies, but also anyone who is in sales or marketing as well. Actually, we all tend to be on our phones 24/7 so pretty much anyone can get involved. All your employees have to do is to pitch their absolutely favourite app - one that they use every day. This will not only cause them to think more about what makes a product appealing, plus you will get an insight into what people are looking for in their technology.

- Talent Show. Whether it be 'Strictly Come Dancing' or 'Britain's Got Talent' everyone has their favourite talent show, and their own little party trick they are just dying to show off. It can cause some people some stage fright though, so make it less scary by breaking people down into small groups.

- Last Meal. Maybe a little bit morbid but it can give an insight into people. Ask everyone to share what they would have for their last meal.

- 10 things they have in common. Divide everyone into groups, and give them 15 minutes to find ten things that they all have in common. This will generate a lot of laughter for sure, but everyone will really know each other a lot better at the end of the fifteen minutes.

- Human bingo. Prepare some bingo cards with attributes that you think your employees might share, such as "can roll your tongue" and "am left handed". Hand the cards out, and get people to go around the room finding people with the attributes on their cards and ticking them off. Great networking opportunity!

If you are looking for more inspiration for where to hold your next team building retreat, then take a look at some of our venue suggestions, such as conference venue London. Once you have got the venue sorted, everything else will fall into place.