Introduction: The importance of the beginning of the year for teams

The beginning of the year represents a unique opportunity for companies to renew their energy, set new goals and promote cooperation. After the Christmas holidays, which are usually a period of rest and family gatherings, it is important to ensure a smooth restart so that teams can get back into the rhythm of work. A proper start to the team increases motivation, engagement and readiness for the new challenges that the year will bring.

Communication strategies, plans and goals

New Year’s company meetings are an ideal opportunity to present the strategy, plans and key goals for the coming year. Most successful companies emphasize transparent communication – not only in the form of a presentation, but also by actively involving employees in the discussion. Connecting the corporate vision with the team’s daily work is essential for understanding and adopting strategic directions.

Employee involvement in the discussion of strategy can be supported, for example, through Q&A blocks, interactive applications such as Slido or Mentimeter, where employees can anonymously ask questions or vote on priorities.

Other, more complex, options are facilitated games like Big Picture or Animate, which help visualize strategy and engage participants in creating a shared vision in a playful way that creates not only an experience and connection but also something tangible that you can install in offices, such as a picture from the Big Picture activity, or animated videos of what the vision means to different teams.

Energizers during the program

For all-day programs full of presentations, we recommend energizers that help maintain attention, motivation and a positive atmosphere. At least one per day will help the engagement of the whole group much more than an evening DJ, although the costs can be comparable. Short movement breaks, quizzes can be created by yourself in cooperation with an extroverted colleague. Catalyst goes further and offers programs like Haka Action (inspired by Maori martial dance) or Crescendo, where, under the guidance of a lecturer, participants play a violin piece together for 45 minutes, which will wake them up and tune them in for the next part of the program.

Slido and Mentimeter can be used in this case not only for collecting feedback, but also for fun competitions or quizzes that these applications have directly prepared for their users. Energizers should mainly be short, dynamic and customized in composition – the goal is to get energy flowing, support engagement and create a team atmosphere for continuing the day’s program.

Specific activities

Years often bring changes – new projects, reorganizations or innovations in processes. Adaptation to change is a challenge for teams, which can be supported by targeted target activities. Programs such as Chain Reaction or Orchestrate are focused on developing the ability to cooperate in new conditions, learn quickly and respond flexibly to changes.

Chain Reaction supports team communication, finding compromises and accepting changes by building interconnected mechanisms, where each link is important for the success of the whole. Orchestrate teaches participants to listen, improvise and compare themselves with the result of the entire company. These programs bring not only fun, but also practical experience with adapting to change, as well as for the proper functioning of successful teams.

The role of management

Management involvement is essential for a successful start-up of teams at the beginning of the year. Management should be visible, communicate the strategy and be open to questions and suggestions from employees. If management also participates in team building activities together with the team, it strengthens trust, respect and willingness to cooperate, which is also expected from the employees themselves.

Recommendations for New Year’s meetings and the benefits of team building

We definitely recommend making the New Year’s corporate meeting special with a team building program that combines the presentation of the strategy with the active involvement of all participants. The combination of guided discussions, energizers and targeted activities to cope with new challenges leads to greater motivation, cohesion and readiness of the team in the new year. Do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to prepare a tailor-made program and ensure a real restart of the team – not just a formal start of the year.