Reimagine your away day: reset, refocus, and reconnect with purpose.
“Another away day. Another flipchart. Another round of icebreakers that no one remembers the next week.”
It’s a familiar scene. A well-intentioned team development day is organised, agendas are set, breakout sessions planned, and lunch is ordered. Yet, a week later, little has shifted. The same patterns play out, the same tensions linger, and the same untapped potential remains just that—untapped.
In a sector where pressure is high and time is limited, public sector teams can’t afford to waste these moments.
At Strengthify, we believe away days can and should be more than a temporary morale boost. Done right, they can reset relationships, re-energise teams, and re-align people to work that matters. And the difference comes down to one thing: a strengths-based approach.
The Challenge: Disengagement in the Public Sector
Employee disengagement is not just a morale issue—it’s a financial one. According to the 2025 Public Sector Engagement Insights Report, disengagement costs the UK economy an estimated £14 billion per year.
When teams don’t feel seen, heard or valued, performance drops and turnover rises. One of the strongest predictors of retention in the report was this:
“I feel trusted to make decisions, and my input is taken seriously.”
Yet, 82% of public sector managers lack formal training, and many team away days fail to address the deeper cultural challenges that contribute to disengagement.
Why Traditional Away Days Often Fall Short
Despite the good intentions, many away days don’t move the needle because they rely on:
- Generic activities – broad exercises that miss the unique dynamics of the team.
- One-size-fits-all tools – typologies like DISC or Myers-Briggs that box people in.
- Lack of follow-up – no structure to embed insights into daily work.
- Surface-level connection – without psychological safety, real conversations don’t happen.
Above all, traditional approaches often focus on what’s not working—instead of building on what is.
A Different Approach: Strengths-Based Team Development
A strengths-based away day reframes the conversation. It asks:
“What are we already great at—and how can we build on it?”
At Strengthify, our Discovery Workshops help teams:
- Identify individual and collective strengths
- Build shared language around differences
- Explore how strengths show up under pressure
- Improve collaboration—especially in hybrid, remote, or siloed settings
This creates the conditions for sustainable engagement, not just short-lived motivation.
“The workshop helped us develop a deeper understanding of each other’s strengths. That’s changed how we work together—every day.”
– Workshop Participant, Higher Education
Real-World Results: University of Westminster’s Digital Transformation Team
Before: Siloed working, stalled projects, staff burnout and disconnection.
After: Increased collaboration, faster delivery, and stronger culture.
Strengthify’s Discovery Workshop revealed underused strengths, followed by team sessions to realign work around those strengths. With ongoing support, the shift was sustained.
“It’s helped us embed a strengths-based culture that’s transformed our daily work.”
– Rosey Murdie, Head of Digital Transformation
What the Data Says
Strengthify’s research and external benchmarks show the measurable power of this approach:
- +23% motivation when recognition is tied to strengths (CIPD)
- -30% burnout with strengths-based task alignment (CIPD, 2022)
- +70% of engagement variation driven by the manager (Gallup, 2023)
- +20% performance lift in cohesive teams using a strengths-based model
These outcomes make strengths-based development not just feel-good, but evidence-based.
When to Use a Strengths-Based Away Day
This approach is especially effective when teams are:
- Navigating change, restructuring, or onboarding new staff
- Lacking trust, cohesion or shared communication styles
- Recovering from high turnover, burnout, or poor engagement
- Working remotely or across dispersed sites
- Ready to align around a shared sense of purpose
In short: when teams need to reconnect—quickly and meaningfully.
What Happens After the Workshop?
A successful away day is just the beginning. The key to real success is keeping it going and truly embedding it in the team culture. There are potentially many way that Strengthify can support this:
- Follow-up sessions to embed learning
- Tools for managers to align tasks and check in regularly
- Recognition strategies that honour individual strengths
- Team support to keep collaboration evolving
This turns “good session” into lasting cultural change.
Final Thought: From Icebreakers to Impact
It’s time to expect more from away days.
Not just a break from the day job—but a better way to do the day job.
A strengths-based approach helps people see themselves and each other more clearly. It fuels trust, reduces friction, and unlocks the potential that already exists inside your team.
Because when people understand and use their strengths, the possibilities are limitless.
Ready to Reimagine Your Team Away Day?
Let’s create a session that sparks real change—and sustains it.
- Explore Discovery Workshops
- Get in touch to plan your next team development day
Because away days should do more than bring people together.
They should bring out the best in them.