Team action days | Social Farms & Gardens

Spending time in nature improves our mental wellbeing.
Colleagues can be motivated and inspired by the impact their work has on the local community and environment.
Working as a team in a different environment enhances working relationships. For example, your team will need to collaborate to find creative solutions to achieve your tasks and communicate with each other in new ways
Individuals will learn new hard and soft skills.
Prospective employees are attracted to employers that provide the opportunity to give something back.
Your company leaves a positive legacy with the local community and reaches potential new customers.
Together these elements can help your business meet internal targets. For example, as well as environmental benefits, feedback shows that team away days can help improve gender equality in the workplace, get teams mixing and allow junior and senior staff to learn more about each other’s roles and responsibilities.

Use our map to find contact details for an SF&G member in your local area and ask whether they offer team action days.
Arrange a budget to pay your host so they can give a professional and enjoyable experience. Costs of the day are normally around £40pp (and higher in London) – you may use your training, sustainability, equality and diversity or charity budgets. You could even do some fundraising to support the day and bring staff together.
Agree a date with your host – we recommend at least 6 weeks preparation time.
Agree a team size – we recommend 8 - 30 for most sites so that colleagues can fully engage.
Agree a schedule – we recommend around 9.30am – 4.30pm to allow travel time and sufficient time to make an impact.
Consider how your will feed your team (packed lunch, takeaway or use the host organisation’s café facilities).
Hosting an enjoyable, effective and safe team action day requires a lot of input from community organisations – please ensure you stick to your agreement and make prompt payment of any invoices (including an upfront deposit) to avoid causing cash flow problems for your host.
Your host will provide details of the day to share with your team including suitable clothing, refreshments, behaviour expectations, personal belongings, tasks and travel instructions – make sure you share these with all team members in advance.

An invitation for your team lead(s) to attend a site visit.
A single point of contact to arrange your day.
Booking confirmation with details of your day and payment schedule.
Simple, clear information about the day to share with our team (including suitable clothing, refreshments, behaviour expectations, personal belongings, tasks and travel instructions).
Adequate insurance and a complete risk assessment.
Full PPE, tools and materials to complete the task.
Welcome and introduction including health and safety talk at the start of the day.
A senior member of staff to support your team throughout the day to try new things in a safe way and work together.
Photos of the day and feedback from colleagues for your records.
Bespoke requests can be made so that the day meets your company needs.
An understanding of your team and company aims for the day.