A team day away from your usual desks can achieve more in a few hours than weeks of video calls: decisions get made, people who only know each other on screen actually talk, and plans become concrete. It can also turn into a long day of slides that nobody remembers.
Tirana works well for this kind of day. It is compact, easy to walk and has green space right in the city. Here is how to plan a team day or offsite that people find genuinely useful.
Start with the outcome, then the agenda
Before you book anything, write down what the team should leave with. Two or three outcomes are plenty, for example a decision on next quarter's priorities, a shared plan for a launch, or a clear split of responsibilities.
- Morning: the hardest topic, while people are fresh. Keep the opening short: context, goals and how the day will run.
- Late morning: working sessions in small groups on specific questions.
- Afternoon: groups share back, the team decides, and you agree on owners and next steps.
- End of the day: a short round where everyone says what they will do first when they are back at work.
Send the agenda a few days ahead, along with anything people should read before they arrive. That saves an hour of explaining on the day.
Set up the room for the work you plan
The layout should match the kind of session you are running.
- For a small group: a meeting room with one shared table works well for discussion and decisions.
- For larger groups or mixed formats: a hall lets you switch between a presentation layout and tables for small group work.
- Screen and connection: test the screen, the cables and the Wi-Fi before people arrive, and have a plan for remote colleagues joining by video.
- Walls and paper: whiteboards, sticky notes and markers still beat slides for group work.
- Quiet corners: someone will need to take the odd urgent call, so know in advance where they can go.
Plan breaks and a walk in the Grand Park
Energy drops fast in a room with no breaks. Plan a short break every 60 to 90 minutes and a proper lunch away from the table.
One of the best things you can add to a team day in Tirana is a walk. The Grand Park and its lake are right in the city, and a 30 to 45 minute walk after lunch works very well. Give pairs one question to discuss while they walk, for example what is the one thing we should stop doing, and ask them to bring one answer back to the room. Walking side by side often makes people more open than sitting across a table from each other.
If you have more than one day, a ride up Dajti mountain on the Dajti Express cable car, or a day out at Krujë castle, can be a good team activity once the work is done.
Follow up within a week
The real result of an offsite is what happens after it. Without follow-up, good decisions fade quickly.
- Write up decisions, owners and next steps the same day or the next morning, and share them with everyone, including people who could not attend.
- Put the first check-in on the calendar before everyone leaves the room.
- Ask for quick feedback: what worked, and what to change next time.
- Keep photos of the whiteboards and the notes in one shared folder.
Hosting your team day at n'Zon
n'Zon Coworking Space Tirana, on Rruga Him Kolli in Myslym Shyri, has two meeting rooms for smaller groups and a conference hall for up to 35 people, which suits workshops, trainings and larger team days. You have high-speed Wi-Fi, air conditioning, coffee, tea and water, a kitchen, and an outdoor terrace for breaks. The space is open 24/7, so an early start or a late finish is not a problem.
Planning a team day or offsite in Tirana? Contact us with your preferred day, group size and the format you have in mind, and we will help you plan the room.