Conducting a Meaningful Site Visit

A site visit can be one of the most important tools you use, as a grantmaker, in determining your ultimate funding decisions. For example, an in-person look at a potential grantee’s activities can complement a grantee’s written proposal and give you a clearer picture of their request. In fact, site visits can be one of the most interesting parts of the grantmaking process.

What makes a site visit meaningful? Careful preparation, mutually understood goals, a willingness to see the event as part of an ongoing relationship. So how can you be a "good guest" while conducting a structured, but not stifling, site visit? Here grantmakers offer some helpful advice for:

"It's not surprising to feel a little nervous about site visits. One way to orient yourself is to put yourself in the shoes of the applicant and imagine how you'd like to be treated. Often, puzzles about what to say or how to say it will become immediately clear."

— A grantmaker recalling a first experience with site visits

Managing Your Role

Since the business of making grants primarily involves establishing a relationship between the grantor and the grantee, grantmakers often conduct site visits precisely to develop firsthand relationships with leaders and organizations in the communities and fields on which they focus. As such, a site visit can serve as an open-ended interview that allows you to ask pressing questions you may have and let potential grantees discuss the things they love to do. Talking at length and in depth with applicants about their work, and making certain they understand the fundamental purposes of your grant-making program, can also sometimes lead to exciting new ideas.

It can be a mistake, though, to think of a site visit as a discrete, one-time-only event. Site visits and one-to-one conversations are more likely to be continuing activities — at least with organizations directly involved in your program areas. Consequently, you may decide to make your first site visit to some organizations before you circulate a request for proposals, as a get-acquainted step, or as an element of your overall reconnaissance. Later, another visit may be part of your consideration of the group’s proposal. If you decide to award a grant, there are likely to be other visits — within reason — down the road, either to monitor the grant or maintain good relations.

Bear in mind that few organizations turn down a funder’s request for a meeting. They may be in the midst of their busiest season, rushing to prepare a proposal for another funder, or simply overwhelmed with work — they’ll probably still set aside two hours for you. As valuable as site visits can be, therefore, it’s important to make sure you’re not imposing on the organization’s time or distracting its staff. Remember: the organization is not likely to tell you — at least at first — that your request for a meeting comes at a bad time. You need to be alert and sensitive, and hope that at some point the group feels free to be more candid with you about its schedule.

Before You Visit

If the site visit is a first contact, do some homework. If you have not yet received a proposal from the organization, visit its Web site, if one exists, or research its area of work. This preparation allows you to use the time you spend with potential grantees efficiently, to ask pertinent, informed questions, and to understand what they’re trying to accomplish.

Even if the contact isn’t a new one, prepare yourself and the grantee before the visit. Be thoughtful and clear. For example, you might explain that you want to learn more about a particular aspect of the organization’s work. In any case, let them know how much time you have, and whether there are particular people or activities you would like to see.

Formulate some preliminary questions — but be careful of coming up with a long list. Narrow it down to the three most important ones, so as not to overwhelm your host. Notify the potential grantee of your questions ahead of time. You might also suggest that the organization send you an agenda of its own for the visit.

If possible, schedule site visits at times when you can observe some type of program activity. It helps to experience the work of the potential grantee firsthand.

While it can be helpful to conduct your visit with other staff from your foundation — the added perspective may be valuable — remember that having too many additional people can make it hard to have an informative, relaxed conversation.

Be aware that a site visit is a very important event to potential grantees. They will quite likely put a lot of energy into planning it and will hope to have your full attention. Difficulties in scheduling can create a misleading impression, as one grantmaker learned: "I remember a time when one of our team had to leave after half an hour. It wasn’t disrespectful; it was just someone juggling a tough working schedule. But it seemed as though perhaps we weren’t really that interested."

During the Visit

Begin by reminding people of the reason for your visit and about your role. You may have explained these points already, but nonprofits often play host to visitors, and may not remember what you told them. Be sure they understand that you’re there not only as an interested individual, but as your organization’s representative.

Since everyone's time is scarce, you may want to focus on what you most need to know to make a good grant, and on matters that call for the prospective grantee's impressions, interpretations, and personal reflection. In other words, the site visit is not usually the best time to bring up small, detailed matters that may require the applicant to do research or analysis. It is an opportunity to get to know the organization in a more personal way than is possible on paper

As the Visit Concludes

Don't forget to use the visit as an opportunity to expand your knowledge of the broader community or field. Ask applicants for suggestions about other organizations or activities that you should be looking at, or other people you should get to know.

Leave room for excitement: surprisingly good things can happen during a site visit. "I remember one visit," notes an experienced grantmaker, "when, after about an hour-and-a-half of talk and examination of the premises, the prospective grantee deferred going to another meeting so he could fill us in on his ideas for several different possible grants. It was a lively discussion, and I think curtailing it would have curtailed the making of the grant. You have to leave room for excitement."

And a final note. If the first one or two visits start off stiffly, don't worry. It takes more than an hour or two, and often more than a single visit, to establish the kind of trusting, open relationship in which a real exchange of ideas — the "excitement" — can take place.

MORE ON THIS SUBJECT

Learning from Site Visits (Funding Community Organizing) Managing Expectations: Site Visits (Saying Yes / Saying No)

Takeaways are critical, bite-sized resources either excerpted from our guides or written by Candid Learning for Funders using the guide's research data or themes post-publication. Attribution is given if the takeaway is a quotation.

This takeaway was derived from Building Community Inside and Out .

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8 Reasons Why Site Visits Are The Best Learning Experience

Whether you are just starting out in the field of architecture or an architect with 40 years of experience, site visits play a central role to our professional development. Most of the times, site visits take place during the construction phase of a project. It is during this stage where a team of multidisciplinary professionals physically get together to realize things previously drawn on paper in real, three-dimensional space. This long and complex process inevitably presents a series of challenges, but precisely so, it offers unique learning opportunities for architects , designers , and everyone else involved. From gaining professional knowledge to developing important life skills, here are eight reasons why site visits are the best learning experience:

1. Site visits allow for an authentic and accurate experience of the space.

While we may think we know a space or building inside out from all the overtime put into drawing plans, elevations, and sections, not to mention creating photorealistic renderings, site visits might prove that the actual space turns out looking and feeling a lot different from what we had envisioned. Physical factors such as time of day, temperature, and human traffic all affect our perception of a space or building, but the effects of these can never be conveyed sufficiently through mere two-dimensional drawings and it is by being on-site that we experience these factors at work and get an accurate understanding of the space.

2. Sometimes, site visits before the design phase of a project is crucial in helping us understand the local culture of a place.

When a project is located in a place unfamiliar to us, a site visit not only allows us to conduct site analysis, but also exposes us to the local way of life and the unique culture of the place. No amount of research in the office can beat being on-site and being physically and psychologically immersed within the environment. This is important so that we can create design solutions that are sensitive and responsive to the particular needs and characteristics of a place.

3. We learn most of the specifics of construction and construction methods on-site.

It is widely agreed among professionals that architectural education in schools rarely does a good job of exposing students to methods of construction. Schools are focused on teaching students to think conceptually and to sell their architectural designs, but when it comes to actual materials and construction, being on-site lets us witness how different materials and components come together and the processes and mechanisms involved in building. In fact, ask any professional in the field and they are likely to tell you that most of their knowledge of construction came from years of on-site experience.

4. Site visits allow us to learn from the expertise of other professionals.

Most of the times, site visits mean meeting professionals of other fields. Through our discussion of problems and solutions with professionals such as engineers, contractors, and electricians, we not only gain knowledge of other disciplines that will be helpful to our work, but more importantly see their expertise being applied in real life on the job site. Understanding aspects of a design from their perspective also helps us foresee and prevent potential problems in our design proposals.

5. Site visits expose us to concerns of safety.

Probably one of the first images that comes to mind when we speak of a construction site is that of people wearing helmets, and this shows just how important safety is on-site. When drawing or specifying a curtain wall glass panel on the computer, we do not have to personally deal with the physicality and weight of this massive material. At a site visit, however, the physical presence of large and heavy materials poses an immediate threat to our safety. An awareness of on-site safety is crucial to a smooth and successful construction process.

6. Site visits train us to think and make decisions on our feet.

When a project runs into a problem at the construction site, architects and designers often need to have discussions with other professionals to arrive at a decision on the spot. From a substitution of materials to signing an agreement, these things force us to be alert to various factors and consequences under a tight time constraint. Many of these decisions have major impacts on a project timeline and cost, so it is important to have the critical awareness and thinking skills needed to make such decisions when they are required of us.

7. Discussions and negotiations during site visits build our interpersonal and communication skills.

As different disciplines often have different methods of working, discussions and negotiations with a multidisciplinary team on-site require us to have good communication skills so that we can effectively convey our thoughts and relate to everyone involved. These conversations allow us to build interpersonal skills and learn from the various communication and working strategies of other professionals so that we become better at collaboration, management, and leadership.

8. When things do not go as planned, site visits let us understand why and how a design failed.

Sometimes, what we draw as two-dimensional plans, elevations, sections, and construction details fail to translate successfully into three-dimensional realities. It is useful to see the physical space or materials and talk with other professionals on-site to understand exactly how and why a design did not turn out the way we envisioned. Such experiences will give us the necessary foresight to prevent similar mistakes in the future projects.

Ultimately, site visits not only allow us to gain more technical and practical knowledge about materials and construction processes, but also offer opportunities to build valuable life skills that we can apply in our daily lives. Nonetheless, all these learning opportunities are only as much as we make of them. By paying more attention to the processes and complexities at a site visit, we might make our experience much more interesting and meaningful than it appears to be.

Lisa graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in interior design and a few internship experiences. She is currently completing her Master’s degree in art history and studying architectural renderings for her thesis. Her passion is thinking critically about everything architecture: from architectural movements to contemporary professional practices.

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7 Steps for Planning a Successful Virtual Site Visit with Your Funder

July 27, 2020

In the era of social distancing, nonprofits across the sector are having to act quickly to move in-person events online — and for better or for worse, it’s likely that this will be our new normal for the foreseeable future.

Some of the types of events impacted by this are immediately obvious; things like fundraising events, galas, and in-person programs have demanded quick pivots and adjustments in order to make up for potential losses in earned revenue in response to covid..

But as we’re seeing, site visits are another example of a once-standard practice that now require some flexibility and creative adjustments. And regardless of how long the effects of this pandemic last, knowing how to plan and execute a successful virtual site visit could still be an asset even when things return to normal.

Before we get too far, let’s establish exactly what we mean when we talk about site visits.

What is a site visit?

According to Exponent Philanthropy, a site visit is defined as a meeting with one or more staff, board members, or clients of a nonprofit organization, with the goal of understanding more about what they do and how well they do it. Site visits are often part of a funder’s vetting or decision-making process for a grant, or they may be used to help monitor a current grantee at the midpoint or end of a grant cycle.

At Elevate, we also leverage site visits in our work with nonprofit clients that are based outside of the DC Metro region. The primary purpose for these visits is to enhance our services to our clients by understanding their programs in more depth, seeing their programs up close, and building rapport and goodwill with our points of contact.

A virtual site visit has very similar goals, and may even look quite similar to an in-person site visit, with one obvious exception: the meeting takes place in a virtual forum.

As you think about how to make this shift for your organization and begin planning for upcoming virtual site visits with your funders, here are some ideas you might consider :

1. Start from scratch

Tempting as it might be, we do not recommend simply converting a previously-planned site visit into a virtual one. Instead, take some time to consider which aspects of your programs are easiest to showcase virtually, and how best to do so. For example: if you typically do a tour of your office or campus, will you try to do something similar via phone? Or does it make more sense to offer a tour via PowerPoint presentation?

2. Prepare an agenda

We strongly suggest you spend time putting together an appropriate agenda for the site visit ahead of time. We often think it’s best to ask funders if they have a standard agenda they’d like to use, or any questions they’d like to go over first; if they say no, that’s a great opportunity to share an agenda of your own.

When you do share your agenda, that’s a great time to ask your funder if there’s anything missing, or anything else they’d like to go over. This helps them to prepare a little on their end, and gives them an opportunity to offer more meaningful feedback about how they’d like to spend their time .

3. Bring in your participants’ voices

We always like for funders to hear directly from our clients’ program participants, volunteers, and/or recipients whenever possible. Depending on the options available to you, it may be fine to use a video or video excerpt if you have that prepared. However, if you’re able, you may want to invite a few volunteers or participants who are also working from home to join you. Not everyone needs to attend the full duration, but including others can lend more structure to the site visit and help make the tone less meeting-like.

If you do decide to include others, be sure to offer them a good range of topics or talking points ahead of time, to help clarify expectations. We recommend scheduling a meeting or prep call with everyone who will be in attendance, to walk through all the details together ahead of time.

Want this list in the form of a downloadable checklist?

We’ve turned this blog post into a downloadable checklist you can use as you start planning out your next virtual site visit, to make sure you’ve covered all your bases. Download the checklist below!

4. Consider inviting a Board member

Having a Board member join your site visit is an excellent way to demonstrate that the Board is engaged, and that they find it important enough to carve out time from their day to meet with a funder. When selecting a board member to invite, choose someone you can trust to stick to the agenda and talking points, and who is in-the-loop enough to answer questions that might be asked of them.

If inviting a Board member isn’t an option — or even if it is! — you can also have a staff member join you. If you end up having both a Board member and a member of your staff, it’s a good idea to prep them in advance, so everyone is clear about who should field which types of questions. Typically, staff will take on the more detailed questions, while a Board member’s role is more about lending support and credibility.

5. Find ways to break up the monotony

Without having something to do or to look at, virtual site visits run the risk of feeling like a long drawn-out meeting. To help break up the monotony, think about introducing elements like a slideshow of photos to introduce your programs, or give a virtual tour of your space.

At a typical in-person site visit, we sometimes worry about focusing too much on having a PowerPoint prepared since we think it’s more important for people to have a conversation. While this is still true in principle, we also think having some prepared content to walk through can offer a welcome sense of structure and dynamism in a virtual setting. For example, you might break up a 60-90 minute site visit into a few phases, like:

Introductions
A virtual tour via PowerPoint/screen share
A volunteer or participant joins and speaks about their experience for 10-15 minutes
Q&A with the funder

6. Prepare thoughtful questions

This applies to a ‘normal’ site visit too, but the point stands: make sure you take time to prepare insightful questions to ask your funders as well. During the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, we’d recommend asking them about their future funding strategies and what is top-of-mind for them, if you haven’t already had that conversation.

7. Have a solid game plan for (and TEST) your technology

Hosting a site visit in a virtual environment is likely a new experience for you, so you’ll want to make sure you have a clear and thorough plan for how things are going to run from start to finish. Start by thinking through any apps and/or equipment you’ll need, and who on your team will be responsible for what components of the day. From there, we recommend doing at least one internal test run to make sure things run smooth, and nothing was overlooked.

We all know technology can be fickle, so having a contingency plan is key. What will you do if a team member loses their internet connection, or if that video doesn’t load properly? Once you’ve decided on what your backup plans look like for various scenarios, discuss them with your team and make sure you’re all on the same page. You’ll also want to make sure you have email addresses from all parties involved, in case you need to quickly share any documents or materials that fail to load properly. Finally, we recommend sharing a phone number with everyone who will be attending, that they can call in case of any unanticipated interruptions or hiccups.

Download the Virtual Site Visit Planning Checklist

About the author:.

Alayna Buckner

President & CEO

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Event Basics: Making the Most of Your Site Visit

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Schedule Site Inspections and Stay Overnight

At each hotel, make certain you do the following:.

Spend time with the chef and taste multiple food samplings of the type of menu your attendees are most likely to enjoy.
Meet with the catering manager and review food and beverage minimums. Go into every area of the hotel, from the parking deck to the lobby restroom.
Ask yourself: does the atmosphere and cleanliness measure up to your standards? And,
Does the meeting space flow? In other words, is it easy to get from the general assembly to the breakout rooms, to the food and beverage stations and then back to the guest rooms?
If possible, briefly sit in on a live meeting in the event spaces the venue quoted. Take notes about the acoustics, visual appeal and audiovisual use – including lighting and monitors or screens. Can you hear and see the speaker?
Will your event theme work within the parameters of the space? For example, if one of your functions is holding a black-tie gala, is there a room that looks as elegant as your guests will be?
What sort of technology options do they offer? It is estimated that attendees will bring up to three devices with them – their smartphone, tablet, and laptop. If so, it would be ideal if the hotel and convention center offers charging stations. In lieu of that, attendees need ample electrical outlets within the meeting space where they can plug in. Also, does the hotel have spare chargers? Research says phone chargers are the most forgotten item by business travelers.
Does the hotel and convention center have branding options available? Can you display your meeting and logo on the digital marquee out front? What about opportunities within the lobby or entrance area?

When You Arrive, Validate the Following Things

At the airport, look into the number of flights to and from major cities. In addition, are there any major renovations going on? What about cleanliness, flow and ground transportation? Is the destination close to the airport?
If possible, arrive at the destination at the same time of year you are planning your convention. What is the weather like? What sort of weather problems could you experience (hurricanes, tornados, monsoons, etc.)?
Check in with the local CVB. How many meetings of your size does the destination hold per year? Is there any chance there will be another large meeting at the destination at the same time as yours? How will that affect flights, ground transportation, and service levels?
Once on the property, validate their guest room rate from the RFP. Does that rate include Wi-Fi, taxes, parking, and access to all the amenities? If not, what are those individual charges?
What is the parking situation? How far away is it? Do they offer valet service?
Are there any renovation plans on the horizon for the convention center or hotel? What are those plans and when will the work start and end?
Is public transportation close by? If it makes sense, go on the subway and bus line – how long do you have to wait? Do you feel safe? Is it straight forward to get to your destination?
Walk several blocks around the convention center and hotel. What exactly is available within a 3-, 5- and 10-block radius? Count the number of restaurants, attractions and nightlife options. Check on Yelp regarding star ratings and comments. If staying overnight, try to do this in the evening with your group. Do you feel safe moving in and around the destination?

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A site inspection checklist helps event planners remember every little detail, no matter how small, when visiting a venue. It also helps to keep uniform records of site inspections as a future reference for both yourself and other team members.

Organized and extremely detailed records like these are a huge asset to event planners, regardless of whether they ultimately choose the venue this time around.

In an ideal world, you’d schedule your site inspection a year out from your event, with follow-up visits six months and one month out.

But the new norm seems to be a single visit just a few months away from the event. Not to worry though ” a site inspection checklist is a great tool for this situation since it helps to make sure you get all your ducks in a row in just one visit.

A site inspection checklist helps event planners remember every detail, no matter how small, when visiting a venue. Click To Tweet

2. Scheduling

Event planners can typically schedule a site inspection through a sales representative at the property via phone or email. If it’s a hotel, they might also coordinate your complimentary room at this stage, although not all sites offer free rooms with every inspection.

3. Preparation

Conducting a site visit requires time management skills from both the planner and the venue itself. Make sure you’re prepared with your site visit checklist and preliminary research completed before you arrive. And if the visit feels rushed, make a note of that as well.

3 site inspection tips

Ask smart questions. Ask questions that can’t be answered by any materials you already have. Also, remember to time your questions well. Some questions are better to ask during a tour, while others are more suited to ask during a break.
Connect with at least three other event planners. Most often, a site visit will involve a group of people. Talk to as many event planners as you can and exchange contact info. After the inspection, you can connect and discuss your points of view about the venue and whether you’ll each move forward with it. They might even have some insider info to pass along.
Have a checklist ready to go. As we’ve already mentioned, having a checklist with you is one of the most important steps to a successful site inspection. Use our checklist as a jumping-off point and be sure to include additional questions of your own.

Try the world’s most popular event diagramming

In addition to bringing a checklist like the one below, you’ll also need to do each of the following:

Research, research, research. Look at specifics about the venue and the surrounding area. Review all resources (like virtual tours and downloadable floor plans) the venue provides ahead of time.
Check in with your team . Go over your inspection checklist to see if they have any further recommendations or requests for you.
Prepare business cards . You can give them to the venue’s sales rep and other tour members for networking purposes.
Pack the right tools. You should always bring a camera (that has plenty of available storage) with at least one backup battery just in case. Also, remember to take your checklist and an organized list of your event needs and wants.
Know what you need to see and what you don’t need to see. If the gym and pool areas aren’t necessary for your guests, make sure your contact at the venue knows that ahead of time. Be sure to have a must see list and kindly insist on visiting these areas during the visit.

Remember, the point of the site inspection is to leave with all the info you need to make a decision about the venue. So prepare accordingly. In addition to this list, you can also prepare by getting to know what separates a good inspection from a bad one.

Hotels and other event venues should do their best to impress event planners during site inspections. But there are some telltale signs that a venue is going truly above and beyond (or not).

Here are some signs that the site knows how to lead a quality site inspection:

They are honest about hidden costs or availability. The sales rep should tell you about pricing options and fees upfront.
They ask for event specifics before you arrive . Venue reps should already be familiar with your event needs and how they can accommodate them ” even if they have to get a little creative to do so.
They provide full access to updated and accurate floor plans . To-scale floor plans are a must for event planners, and venues should go out of their way to make sure you have them so you can successfully plan table layouts .
They don’t overpromise. If the venue isn’t able to fulfill things like food and beverage requests or equipment availability, they should be transparent about that. They should also provide all the possible alternatives they have on hand.
They provide a custom, tailored experience for your visit. Their site inspection agenda, room set-ups, and walk-throughs should all mirror your event vision.
They give you a single point of contact. Having one team member you can contact before, during, and after the site visit makes it easier to communicate with the venue.

Once you know these telltale signs, it’s time to prepare your own checklist.

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Site inspection date
Contact information
Venue availability

Event logistics

Nearest airport & distance from venue
Nearest hotel (if venue is not a hotel) & distance from venue
Parking fees
Valet parking availability
Freeway accessibility
Directional signage
Recreational services available

Food & beverage

Continental breakfast
Full breakfast
Coffee (per gallon)
Service charge
Guarantees needed by
Overset guarantee by (%)
Special packages
Presentation

Audio & visual

Equipment provided
Equipment quality
Equipment availability
Rental rates
Labor rates
Are union rules applicable? If so, what are the requirements?

Additional checklist items for meeting rooms

Space availability
Room rental charge
Set-up charges
Cleanliness
Soundproofing
Ceiling height
Temperature control
Sound system
Presentation equipment
Number of elevators and proximity to space
Nearest restroom proximity
Nearest restroom cleanliness
Catering availability

Additional checklist items for hotels

Is complimentary transportation to/from the nearest hotel and/or airport available?
Approximate taxi fare from the nearest hotel and/or airport
Total number of sleeping rooms
Total number of suites
Rooms with king beds
Rooms with queen beds
Rooms with 2 double beds
Rooms with twin beds
% non-smoking rooms
Rack rate for singles, doubles, and suites
Group rate for singles, doubles, and suites
Complimentary rooms available
Plus over and above
Room tax rate
Additional tax per room per night, if applicable
Room block by day (list each date and corresponding number of rooms)
Cut off date
Are rates available after cut off date?
Proximity to meeting space
Cleanliness & appearance
Square footage of each room type
General amenities
Bathroom conditions & cleanliness
Is there a workspace or desk available inside rooms?
Is there a sitting area available inside rooms?
Number of restaurants in hotel
Number of lounges in hotel
Public restroom proximity
Public restroom cleanliness
Fire safety
Handicap accessibility

Guide: How to Create an Event Planning Checklist

5 important questions to ask at every site inspection

There are certain questions that, regardless of what type of venue you visit, are required for any event. Here are 5 questions that should give you greater insight into what the site can provide:

How late can events run?
What is the max capacity for each room?
What permits are required for events?
Are there designated areas for storage, green rooms, and/or back-of-house?
What branding opportunities are available inside and outside of the venue?

If you want to make the most of your site visit, you must also think ahead to what you’ll need to do once it’s over. Make sure to address each of the following:

Review your visit with key stakeholders by forwarding them a summary of your findings along with a meeting request.
Hold an in-person meeting to go over details, share your site inspection checklist, and answer any questions your team might have.
Make a decision on whether or not to move forward on this venue together.

You can find even more amazing tips for site inspections and event planning with our free event planning checklist .

Final thoughts

Checking out a new venue for the first time means managing a lot of moving parts with a site inspection checklist. It also means trusting your gut and picking a venue that aligns with your event goals. Knowledge is power for the modern event planner. So be sure to include any other questions you may have that are specific to your event or your location needs. Now that you’ve read the site visit guide , check out tips for how to negotiate event contracts.

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Smart Meetings

The Importance of Site Visits for Meeting and Incentive Planners

by Guest Author (Michelle Thornton)

January 23, 2020

Most planners travel a lot. They are productive people, making it happen from California to Paris and everywhere in between. Traditionally, sourcing venues starts when a meeting or event is presented (or assigned), we seek out the right venue and then book the perfect space. One secret for finding that just right venue is maintaining a practice of continually seeking out other spaces to site while traveling.

There are many positive reasons to do an additional site or two when you are on the go, but none more important than having your own virtual filing cabinet in your brain of the places you’ve been and seen first-hand. Here are some secrets to developing your own resource treasure trove.

Know what’s in the market

You’re hosting your meeting or event at what’s known as the best hotel in Atlanta…but do you know who their competition is? Have you seen their space? Many suppliers make it a practice to ‘shop’ their comp set. Yet, very few planners do unless we’re sourcing a specific program and city. If your client says, “I heard that XYZ property has a rooftop terrace where we can host a dinner,” you want to be able to confidently respond, “I was actually there last month and yes, it’s outside but it’s a horrible view and wouldn’t work for more than 100 people.” That requires checking out more than just the host venue.

Utilize your partners

Make site visits productive and timely. I love working with my convention and visitor’s bureau and trusted hotelier partners for this. I let them know when I have 2 hours and want to see a variety of (insert group specifics). I give them insight to who could potentially be the client but let them know I am scouting for ‘future’ clients as well. Great CVBs will identify the “where” and help you can see and experience the space in real life, an experience much more powerful than any website floor map or 360-degree view.

Do a quick on-site

Short on time? Can’t get to another location during the meeting or event you’re managing? Then make an effort to take in all of the possibilities where you are. Is a board meeting for 15 people in your future? Cruise by the ballroom when your group is in session to take in what ‘could be’ for another client that hosts galas for 500. Take a walk to the event lawn and imagine the possibilities of events that could happen in that spot. Work with your sales manager at the property to ensure you’ve seen it all. You don’t know if you don’t ask and I love to explore the space on my own to absorb the observations. Note how the staff works, the other events happening and how they are designed…be a sponge. Take it all in.

Read your trade mags

Be aware of what’s up and coming in the market. Is there a new underground venue that you need a password to get into? A new luxe incentive resort in a highly desirable beach destination? You want to know and let your clients know you know…and they need to be there.

While it’s always been about who you know and the value of your network, it’s also about your expertise in your own field and the knowledge of what’s out there because if you know, you know.

Michelle Thornton is director of meetings and incentives with Russell Harris Event Group

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Dashpivot article – Purpose of Site Visit Report

Purpose of Site Visit Report

What is the purpose of a site visit report.

A site visit report serves as a crucial tool in the realm of project management, bridging the gap between on-ground realities and managerial oversight.

Its primary purpose is to document firsthand observations, activities, and conditions of a specific site at a given time, offering a snapshot of the project's progress, challenges, and accomplishments.

By detailing these insights, the report ensures transparent communication with all stakeholders, facilitating informed decision-making.

Moreover, it fosters accountability, as any deviations or issues highlighted can be promptly addressed.

Such reports also play an essential role in risk management, as they can identify potential problems early on, enabling proactive interventions.

In essence, a site visit report is a testament to the project's trajectory, fostering informed decisions, trust, and continuous improvement

What should be in your site visit report?

The primary objectives of a site visit report include:

Documentation: The report provides an official record of observations, discussions, and activities that took place during the visit. It can be referred to in the future to track changes, decisions, or to verify certain events or conditions at the site on the specific visit date.
Communication: The report effectively communicates the status and conditions of a project or site to stakeholders who weren't present during the visit. This can include senior management, clients, partners, or regulatory bodies.
Accountability: By recording findings, deviations, or issues, the report holds involved parties accountable for addressing the identified concerns. Recommendations and action items specified in the report can set a path for corrective actions.
Decision-Making: The documented observations and recommendations can inform subsequent decisions related to the project or site. This can pertain to budget adjustments, changes in project timelines, resource allocation, or any strategic shifts.
Risk Management: The report can identify potential risks or hazards, leading to preemptive solutions or interventions before issues escalate.
Tracking Progress: For ongoing projects, regular site visit reports offer a sequential record of progress. By comparing consecutive reports, stakeholders can gauge if the project is on track, if quality standards are maintained, and if milestones are achieved as planned.
Quality Assurance: The report can highlight areas where quality standards are either met or lacking, ensuring that the final output meets the expected criteria.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance: In certain industries, maintaining a detailed site visit report is a regulatory requirement. These reports can be audited or reviewed by external agencies to ensure adherence to standards, laws, or regulations.
Feedback and Continuous Improvement: Feedback on various aspects of the project, including performance of teams, effectiveness of methods, or utility of tools and equipment, can lead to process improvements in the future.
Building Trust: Regular, transparent, and comprehensive reports can build trust between clients, stakeholders, and the executing team, as they provide tangible evidence of commitment, progress, and challenges.

In essence, a site visit report serves as a bridge between on-ground realities and the higher-level management or decision-making entities, ensuring that all parties are well-informed and aligned.

See a completed site visit report below to see how you can tie in the purpose to the execution of the report.

Use and customise this free Site Visit Report template

Make it easy for your team to record site visit reports.

Use a standardised site visit report template to make it quick and easy for your team to record site visit reports on site.

All the fields and sections you need are pre-built into the report, which is also customisable specific to your project or location with the drag and drop form builder.

Add sections for photos and attach them directly to your report for easy referenceability.

Take attendance and keep track in your form with tables, with multiple sign on options with even QR code scanning signatures.

Create digital site visit report processes

Site visit reports are only useful if your team has access to them when they need it, to track project progress and record new site visits easily.

Use a site visit report app so your team can capture site visit report details on site via their mobile or tablet and sync it directly back to the office once it's submitted.

Create automated workflows to plan, conduct and sign off on site visit reports, with automatic notifications for responsible parties when the next step is ready.

Share site visit reports in a single click as professionally formatted PDF or CSV so your team, or even external 3rd parties, are always up to date.

Photos taken will have automatic timestamps, geotagging and you can add photo markup to highlight important information, defects or changes.

Site diary template

Complete and organise your daily diaries more efficiently.

Meeting Minutes template

Capture, record and organise those meeting minutes.

Progress Claim template

Streamline and automate the progress claim process to get paid faster and look more professional.

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About Nick Chernih

Nick is the Senior Marketing Manager at Sitemate. He wants more people in the Built World to see the potential of doing things a different way - just because things are done one way doesn't mean it's the best way for you.

Pre-Bid Meetings and Site Visits

Jorge Lynch 4 Comments

Pre-bid meetings are usually held, if previously mentioned in the solicitation documents , during the bid / proposal preparation period. Their purpose is to clarify any concerns bidders may have with the solicitation documents , scope of work and other details of the requirement. These meetings are formal and the results are made available in writing to all prospective bidders that registered interest in the requirement, be it through requesting, buying or downloading the solicitation documents from an official website. Prospective bidders are permitted to request clarifications by a date and time stipulated in the solicitation documents .

It is most beneficial to hold pre-bid meetings prior to formally responding to the request for clarifications, that way the responses to the request for clarifications can be sent along with the results of the pre-bid meeting , including a copy of the minutes of the pre-bid meeting .

Although prospective bidders should be encouraged to get as much information as possible (including visiting the site) on a specific or upcoming requirement of a procuring entity , formal site visits are usually planned and carried out for works procurement and more complex Goods One of the principal procurement categories. Any physical item or a combination of an item with a service where the item is the principle product being procured. An example is the procurement of furniture or vehicles, where on the one hand there is need for assembling and installing the furniture, and on the other periodic servicing, repair and/or maintenance of the vehicles. ">goods requirements southafrica-ed.com .

When a site visit is planned, the details of the date and time must be stated in the solicitation documents . And the site visit should take place before (but not too far in advance of) the pre-bid meeting . The results are also formally sent to all prospective bidders that expressed interest in the requirement, by way of minutes of the site visit and pre-bid meeting , including consolidated responses to request for clarifications, also from prospective bidders.

The pre-bid meeting is usually open to all interested prospective bidders; however, in cases where pre-qualification or short-listing is carried out, only pre-qualified or short-listed bidders are invited to attend the pre-bid meeting .

Site visits, as mentioned above, can and should preferable be held prior to the pre-bid meeting . The reason for this preference is because after the site visit, bidders may have additional queries and these can be addressed at the pre-bid meeting and formally sent (with the minutes) to all prospective bidders that expressed interest in the requirement, or those that were short-listed through a pre-qualification exercise or restricted bidding process. The time and venue of these meetings are addressed in the solicitation documents , and attendance is usually not obligatory.

During the site visit the prospective bidders survey the site and ask questions to clarify any doubts or information provided in the solicitation documents . Sometimes, as a result of the site visit/ pre-bid meeting there might be a need to extend the bid / proposal submission date by way of Addendum to the solicitation documents to give bidders sufficient time to address any changes made to the solicitation documents as a result of the site visit and/or pre-bid meeting .

Found the article useful?

Reader Interactions

June 24, 2013 at 1:40 pm

can the site visit be in different times/ i belive no to keep all bidders expose to same info and not to miss any thing

what do you think

July 19, 2013 at 9:35 am

I agree with you Salem. In theory, the site visit could be at different time, and we should permit potential bidders to visit the site during the bid submission period. But, for practical purposes, it should be conducted in an organized manner and whatever is discussed must be put in writing and formally sent to all bidders that registered interest in the procurement.

What do you think?

June 13, 2019 at 12:29 am

I am interested in finding out how many days, before a scheduled pre-bid meeting (or bid document release date) should the legal notice be advertised in the paper?

July 16, 2019 at 4:46 am

Ideally, you want to give prospective bidders sufficient time to get familiar with the content of the bidding documents so they can prepare their questions and seek clarification either before or during the pre-bid meeting. At least 5 days after publication of the procurement notice is sufficient. Ten days is even better for more complex procurements.

Computational Technology for Effective Health Care: Immediate Steps and Strategic Directions.

Hardcopy Version at National Academies Press

Appendix B Meeting and Site Visit Agendas and Site Visit Methodology

B.1. meeting and site visit agendas, b.1.1. meeting 1—april 23, 2007 (washington, d.c.).

Entirely closed session for NRC housekeeping

B.1.2. Meeting 2—June 13-14, 2007 (Washington, D.C.)

June 13, 2007—Open Session

View in own window

June 14, 2007—Entirely closed session for NRC housekeeping

B.1.3. Meeting 3—October 12, 2007 (Washington, D.C.)

B.1.4. meeting 4—january 28-29, 2008 (san francisco).

Entirely closed session for report development

B.1.5. Online Briefings

November 27, 2007

Peter J. Fabri Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean, University of South Florida Adjunct Professor of Surgery, Northwestern University

November 28, 2007

Peter Neupert, Corporate Vice President, Health Solutions Group Microsoft Corporation

December 4, 2007

Kenneth D. Mandl Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School Affiliated Faculty, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

B.1.6. Site Visit on September 12-13, 2007 (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh)

September 12, 2007

September 13, 2007

B.1.7. Site Visit on October 10-11, 2007 (Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, D.C.)

October 10, 2007

October 11, 2007

B.1.8. Site Visit on November 15-16, 2007 (HCA TriStar, Nashville, Tenn.)

November 15, 2007

November 16, 2007—Observation Session

B.1.9. Site Visit on November 16-17, 2007 (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.)

November 16, 2007

November 17, 2007

B.1.10. Site Visits on December 3, 2007 (Partners, Boston, Mass.)

B.1.11. site visit on january 7-8, 2008 (intermountain healthcare, salt lake city, utah).

January 7, 2008

Observation Session 1 Latter Day Saints Hospital

January 8, 2008

Observation Session 2—Intermountain Medical Center

B.1.12. Site Visit on January 14, 2008 (UCSF, San Francisco)

B.1.13. site visit on january 14, 2008 (pamf, palo alto, california), b.2. site visit methodology.

For each site visit, the committee sought to:

Observe the best of what the site had been able to achieve.
Ask about what the site needed but did not have.
Obtain site input on the gap between needs and the state of the art of the health care information technology industry.
Identify, clarify, and categorize “pain points” for the site.
Identify where improvement is possible through application of existing knowledge and where further research is needed.

To preserve face time for interactive questions and answers, each site host was asked to provide as much background as possible as pre-visit reading material. Hosts were requested to limit formal presentations to a 10-minute overview of their key messages, leaving the majority of each time block for interactive exploration. Where possible, hosts arranged for committee visitors to shadow care providers engaged in workday activities (e.g., on rounds, at the central nursing station). Shadowing teams were generally composed of one health care provider and one computer scientist (and one staff person), so that teams could operate in parallel.

Information requested in pre-visit reading material included:

Organization “facts” (FTEs, admissions, visits, research dollars, and so on)
Health care organization's organizational chart
Health care organization's strategic plan
IT organization chart
Information management or IT strategic plan
Information system inventory
Information technology architecture or standards specifications
Most recent wired survey responses
Last joint commission visit report

During each visit, the committee visitors sought to see or to hear about as many of the following facility components as possible:

Enterprise overview
IT/systems overview
Chief quality/safety officer
Risk management
Bed control, transfer center, life flight
Emergency room to inpatient, outpatient to operating room to intensive care unit to intermediate care
Medication reconciliation, outpatient to inpatient to outpatientMedication reconciliation, outpatient to inpatient to outpatient
Nursing shift change, house officer signout
Shadow a nurse during medication administration
Shadow a doctor on morning rounds
Inventory management
Eligibility/billing
Charge master, reimbursement contracts
Formulary, drug-drug interactions
Order sets, pathways
Cite this Page National Research Council (US) Committee on Engaging the Computer Science Research Community in Health Care Informatics; Stead WW, Lin HS, editors. Computational Technology for Effective Health Care: Immediate Steps and Strategic Directions. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2009. Appendix B, Meeting and Site Visit Agendas and Site Visit Methodology.
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Vendor Site Visits: When, Why, and Examples

By: Christine Kitamura on March 21 2023

We all know the due diligence process can be a bit tedious and time-consuming. Still, it's an absolute must before onboarding and monitoring your vendors. The due diligence process generally involves collecting and reviewing vendor information based on the vendor's inherent risk.

Virtual or on-site visits may also be part of your due diligence process and can be especially valuable when you're dealing with critical or high-risk vendors. Site visits may seem like yet another task to add to your endless to-do list, but they can play an important role in your due diligence process and your overall third-party risk management program.

What a Vendor Site Visit Is and Why It’s Necessary

A vendor site visit is essentially an opportunity to check in on your critical or high-risk vendors and get a point-in-time assessment of their risk management practices. It's important to note that a site visit isn't intended to be a surprise inspection focusing solely on a vendor's issues. Rather, it's a scheduled event requiring proper planning and coordination between the vendor and your organization. Whether site visits are conducted virtually or in person, they can reveal useful information about the vendor that might not be discovered through regular document collection. They also open the door for more genuine and trustworthy relationships with your vendors.

Types of Situations That May Require a Vendor Site Visit

Now that you understand the basics of a vendor site visit, you might wonder when a site visit would need to be conducted. How can your organization benefit by visiting a vendor virtually or in person?

Here are a few examples:

The vendor is unwilling to provide physical documents. Some vendors may be unable or unwilling to provide copies of their due diligence documents . A vendor site visit would allow you to review those documents in person.
You need to see the physical workspace. During a site visit, you can confirm whether the vendor's workspace meets your contractual expectations around security and organization. You can also validate if important safety measures are in place or better understand who is doing the work and how it is accomplished.
Employees need to be interviewed. A site visit provides a good opportunity for one-on-one discussions with individuals, such as the director of information security or call center team leaders. During the visit, you can ask follow up questions related to your findings.

Common Red Flags to Watch for in a Vendor Site Visit

When performing a vendor site visit, you should be aware of several red flags to document and report on as needed. You'll want to discuss any issues with the vendor and confirm how and when they'll resolve them. If necessary, you can then provide your findings to your organization's senior management and the board.

Some common red flags during a site visit include:

Poor cybersecurity practices. Unsecure passwords, outdated penetration testing reports, and a lack of acceptable encryption standards are just a few examples of poor cybersecurity practices you might discover during a site visit.
Lack of safety protocols. Emergency first aid stations and accident or incident logs are especially critical for vendors within the manufacturing industry. A site visit can reveal whether these safety protocols are adequate.
Minimal security controls. Physical security is sometimes overlooked during site visits, but it can be just as critical as cybersecurity. Non-working cameras, open access to restricted areas, and poor basic security protocols are other red flags you may discover during the visit.

Remember that a vendor site visit should be used as a supplement, not a substitution, for your overall due diligence activities . It’s helpful to visit your vendor to get first-hand insight into controls that can't be validated through desktop research. Site visits also allow you an opportunity to directly address any issues that arise and create a plan to resolve them. Virtual and on-site vendor visits can also create a more open relationship between your organization and the vendor.

Vendor site visits can provide your organization with an extra layer of protection against vendor risk. This handy checklist will help you ensure you're getting the most out of site visits.

How to prepare for a virtual vendor site visit.

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People Management

How to plan off-site meetings for your team.

March 6, 2024

If your team’s feeling stuck and uninspired during brainstorming sessions—your workplace could be the reason.

While familiar surroundings offer comfort, they can also breed predictability and hinder creative thinking. Off-site meetings offer a powerful antidote to stagnation. It’s all the more important for remote teams—because it gives you an opportunity to get one-on-one time and build strong personal relationships.

Take your team out of routine desks to a new environment. Being surrounded by fresh scenery sparks creativity and opens their minds to new ideas.

Read on to learn more about planning offsite meetings .

What is an Off-Site Meeting?

Evolution of off-site meetings, benefits of off-site meetings, 1. defining the objectives of the meeting, 2. choosing the right activities/sessions, 3. setting the ground rules, 4. ensuring face-to-face interaction , pre-off-site meeting checklist, post-off-site meeting follow-up, 1. plan the meeting collaboratively, 2. incorporate fun and creative activities, 3. set budget criteria, 4. collect and utilize feedback effectively, the future of off-site meetings, plan successful off-site meetings with clickup, common faqs.

An offsite meeting is a gathering held outside your own office or typical workplace, specifically designed to fuel productivity, spark creativity, and strengthen team bonds.

Such meetings often balance productive discussions with engaging activities to foster personal connections.

Especially for remote working teams, periodic off-site meetings can help strengthen bonds with colleagues, sprout innovative ideas, and tackle collaborative challenges while escaping the monotony of individual remote work.

Here are some reasons why off-site meetings can be important.

Boosted focus & productivity: Ditching distractions and daily routines allows teams to laser-focus on specific goals
Enhanced creativity: Fresh environments spark innovative thinking, leading to groundbreaking ideas
Stronger team bonds: Stepping outside the professional context promotes informal interactions and shared experiences
Renewed motivation & engagement: The novelty of the setting and the focus on specific goals energizes participants, leading to a refreshed outlook toward challenges and blockers
Specifically for remote teams: Offsite meetings bridge the geographical gap for dispersed teams, combating isolation, fostering crucial face-to-face interaction, building stronger collaboration, and creating a more cohesive and motivated team

The world of offsite meetings has undergone a fascinating transformation, mirroring the shift towards remote work. No more rigid conferences and sterile hotel rooms—today’s offsite meetings embrace a dynamic, tech-driven approach, catering to the needs of geographically dispersed teams and a changing work landscape.

Traditional offsite meetings: In the pre-virtual era, traditional offsite meetings involved bringing teams together outside their usual workplace for focused work and team building.

These retreats often spanned multiple days in offbeat locations such as resorts, conference centers, or nature retreats.

Virtual offsite meetings: Virtual offsites have emerged as a powerful alternative, shattering geographical limitations and offering a more inclusive experience. Teams can now connect from anywhere worldwide, participating in interactive workshops, online games, and even virtual reality team-building activities .

The focus has shifted from prioritizing in-person bonding to harnessing technology for building stronger collaborative relationships in a remote setting.

Offsite meetings aren’t just fun outings. They’re a strategic investment with benefits that ripple throughout your team and company culture.

1. Productivity and focus: Away from office distractions, teams delve into specific goals, fostering focused discussions and clear objectives

2. Face-to-face networking time: The ability to connect in person and build relationships can lead to valuable collaborations and a broader professional network

3. Creative stimulation: Whether it’s a serene nature retreat, a vibrant city cafe, or even a quirky coworking space, the change of scenery stimulates fresh thinking and encourages a more open, creative mindset

4. Tech boosts: Interactive whiteboards, digital collaboration platforms, and real-time document editing tools allow teams to brainstorm, share ideas, and participate seamlessly, creating a truly inclusive and geographically flexible experience

Planning an Off-Site Meeting

Planning a meeting can be exciting, but there’s much to consider to make it successful.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you with your next offsite meeting.

What do you want your meeting to achieve? Having clear objectives will guide your entire planning process.

The objective guides every decision you make, from the format to the team activities. Knowing your goals ensures efficient use of resources and aligns the entire experience with your desired outcome.

Use the SMART framework : Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This ensures clarity and provides a framework for evaluating meeting outcomes against your targets.

Selecting the right activities for your offsite event requires balancing purpose with engagement.

Consider your pre-defined goals and choose activities that directly address them. For example, a role-playing exercise can enhance communication, while a design thinking session sparks new ideas.

Balance work-focused sessions with team-building activities to avoid burnout. Think escape rooms, scavenger hunts, or outdoor adventures to foster collaboration and add light-hearted moments to your meeting routine.

Plan some free time or unstructured activities for spontaneous interactions and networking. Remember, offsite is about more than just work!

Establish clear ground rules that balance fun and focus to ensure your offsite meeting thrives. Emphasize respect and encourage active participation.

Promoting open communication and encouraging constructive feedback creates a safe and inclusive space where everyone feels comfortable.

Face-to-face interaction is crucial in planning offsite meetings because it goes beyond mere information exchange. While virtual tools can connect teams , physical presence unlocks deeper understanding and connection.

Planning an offsite meeting doesn’t have to be overwhelming. This pre-offsite checklist will keep you organized and ensure a smooth, successful retreat for each team member.

Secure date, venue, and transportation: Book the venue and conveyance well in advance to ensure availability
Finalize budget and track expenses: Allocate clear budgets for different aspects like accommodation, activities, and food
Send invitations and collect RSVPs: Include key details like dates, venue, and agenda
Develop a detailed agenda : Schedule work sessions, breaks, team-building activities, and don’t forget to make room for free time
Confirm speakers and facilitators: Double-check with speakers and brief the meeting facilitators
Identify any technology needs: Arrange rentals or ensure compatibility with existing equipment
Pre-circulate materials and discussion topics : Encourage active participation
Collect icebreaker ideas and team preferences: Make it personal and engaging
Plan team-building activities aligned with goals and interests: Break the ice and foster collaboration
Prepare handouts and templates for breakout sessions: Facilitate effective discussions

If you follow the checklist above, we know your offsite meeting will be a hit. You’ll have experienced energized discussions, collaborative breakthroughs, and newfound team spirit. But the real magic happens next: solidifying those gains and turning them into lasting results.

If you don’t want your offsite impact to end with the closing session, ensure you do a post-offsite follow-up that encourages continuous improvement and team achievement! Here’s how:

Distribute a summary of key discussions, decisions, and action items with clear owners and deadlines within 24 hours
Use visual reports and other interactive formats to share key insights on the offsite meetings
Schedule regular check-ins to monitor progress on action items
Recognize achievements and celebrate successes
Use collaborative tools and platforms to track progress
Gather anonymous feedback on the offsite experience
Track how the offsite contributed to broader goals and objectives
Plan your next offsite

Tips for Successful Off-site Meetings

Creating a genuinely impactful offsite meeting takes more than just booking a venue and filling an agenda.

Here are some unique tips and tools to transform your offsite from routine to remarkable.

Always try to plan an offsite with your team members’ input so that they feel heard, valued, and appreciated.

Propose, plan, and share your off-site event plan with ClickUp’s Event Brief Template, which will help you gain alignment across all stakeholders

Use ClickUp’s meeting management tools like ClickUp Notepad to capture ideas when brainstorming . Assign tasks to the appropriate team members, take responsibility for the off-site, and use the checklist view to track progress as you move forward with your event plan.

Use ClickUp Docs ’ real-time collaboration features to assemble ideas and form an agenda for a successful offsite meeting. You can use the powerful AI capabilities of ClickUp Brain to generate ideas, edit content, write content with prompts, and even lay the meeting agenda .

Inform your team about the offsite meeting, itinerary, location, and activities by embedding relevant docs and tagging them on ClickUp Chat . Additionally, schedule reminder notifications to make sure everything progresses smoothly.

Offsite meetings shouldn’t just be about work! Incorporating fun and creative activities can boost team spirit, encourage out-of-the-box thinking, and solidify learning.

Plan mindful sessions that guide your team members through meditation or breathing exercises to reduce stress and improve focus. You can try hosting art jamming sessions or ad hoc mock meetings for a burst of creative inspiration.

Use ClickUp Integrations such as Google Calendar , Outlook Calendar, or even work tools such as Slack to keep your team members updated about scheduled off-site events.

Use the ClickUp Event Budget Template to help you plan, manage, and track your event expenses

Defining a budget for your offsite meeting upfront helps you prioritize activities and expenses that align with your goals. It ensures you don’t overspend, leading to financial strain or dissatisfaction.

Ultimately, a realistic budget empowers you to achieve objectives without stretching your resources.

Gathering feedback after an offsite meeting is crucial for two main reasons: improvement and impact assessment.

Feedback allows you to identify areas for improvement in future offsite planning. Was the agenda engaging? Did activities align with goals? Knowing what worked and what didn’t helps refine your approach for future retreats.

Feedback also helps you measure the impact of the offsite. Did it achieve its intended goals? Did it boost team spirit and engagement? This information helps you gauge the return on investment and justify future offsite initiatives.

Use ClickUp Form View to capture feedback via survey for post-offsite meetings. Forms in ClickUp are customizable, easy to complete, and connect to trackable tasks for quick action.

As the future of work evolves, the role of offsite meetings will likely transform alongside it.

The core benefits of such meetings—boosting team spirit, fostering creativity, and driving strategic planning—will remain the same, but how we achieve these goals may shift significantly.

Here are some potential trends to keep an eye on:

Blended physical and virtual formats will cater to geographically dispersed teams
Interactive technology will play a key role in ensuring all participants feel equally engaged and involved
Offsite experiences will be tailored to individual interests and needs
Data-driven insights will inform planning, allowing for customized agendas and targeted outcomes
Measurement and evaluation will become even more important, with clear metrics to track the impact of offsites on productivity, innovation, and team dynamics
Alignment with broader business goals will be paramount
Eco-friendly venues and activities will be prioritized, reflecting a growing environmental consciousness
Volunteering and community engagement opportunities may be integrated into offsite agendas, fostering social responsibility and team bonding.
Skill development and knowledge sharing will be key components, empowering teams to adapt and thrive in the dynamic future of work

Congratulations! You’re almost ready to plan the offsite meeting everyone will be talking about for months!

The final step? Sign up on ClickUp , your trusted project management partner, a platform that will empower you every step of the way!

ClickUp is your go-to solution for managing meetings, brainstorming ideas, setting budgets, scheduling activities, and assigning tasks. It ensures every offsite meeting you plan becomes an impactful experience.

1. What are offsite vs onsite meetings?

An onsite meeting occurs within your usual work environment, typically the office. It’s efficient for quick discussions, regular team check-ins, and tasks that require access to office resources.

On the other hand, an offsite meeting happens outside the workplace, often at a rented location or retreat setting. It’s ideal for brainstorming sessions, team-building activities, strategic planning, or fostering creativity in a fresh environment.

2. What is the purpose of an offsite?

Beyond escaping fluorescent lights, offsites offer a mental off-ramp. Stepping away from daily routines reboots focus, sparks out-of-the-box thinking, and strengthens bonds through shared experiences.

3. What is an example of an offsite?

Picture this: a marketing team escapes the office for a two-day company offsite at a secluded cabin in the woods. The first day focuses on strategic brainstorming, facilitated by an external expert, in the crisp mountain air.

Afternoons are filled with training sessions and team-building activities like a collaborative ropes course, escape room, and a scavenger hunt, fostering communication and trust.

Evenings involve casual dinners and board games, strengthening connections at a personal level beyond professional roles.

This blend of focused work sessions and fun, team-oriented activities exemplifies how offsites can achieve strategic goals and team bonding objectives in a fresh and memorable setting.

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January 7, 2020

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Posted on january 7, 2020, offsite meeting: what it is and how to organize one [with agenda examples].

Offsite meetings can significantly improve both a company’s productivity and the work environment. It’s one of the best ways to know more about colleagues, have conversations on a personal level and relax a bit from the daily office stress.

In addition, it’s also an opportunity to value the job of the whole team, once we learn about the pressure each collaborator is under and ways to help each other.

What is an off-site meeting?

Off-site is a widely used technique. It consists of providing the possibility of performing professional activities outside of the company. This type of work has been growing and generating greater results for companies, with better quality of life for employees.

Thousands of companies adopt this strategy. The off site could be a training sessions, a summit for teamwork building a multiple day intimate meetings to build up a business strategic planning, which are slightly different from webinars .

So, here we’re necessarily talking about a group activity.

The main benefits a company can observe during and after an off-site meeting include:

Accelerated innovation: leaving the usual environment, changing the daily routine and interacting with colleagues with whom you do not usually work, inspires. Following the appropriate dynamics, we can return with great ideas.

Community building: Workers often value this type of action, which will make them speak well of the company. In addition, the activities carried out through social networks or with a communication campaign can be disseminated both internally (if only done by teams) or external.

Is off-site the same as remote work?

Remote work consists on giving employees enough autonomy to work from their homes or wherever they’d like to. Let’s say, your sales team can stay at home twice a week, available to serve clientes at the convenience of their own offices, as long as they maintain the same quality of service delivered from the office. This is most likely an example of home office than off-site.

An off-site usually has a level of integration among the teams. Thus, having everyone present at the activities is a must. In addition to strengthening the company’s ties with the professionals, it also creates an environment that these professionals can talk about their daily life. It creates a sense of community and more human relationships among different organizational levels.

How do you define offsite success?

Outcomes of can vary. So the best way to measure results is to make sure you turn insights brought by the team during the offsite into actions after the event.That’s how participants will see tangible results out of what has been discussed.

Take the chance to identify new behaviors too. For example: a shy person might show up as a great speaker. Or maybe, a team that has not been working with efficiency, will most likely end up revealing what’s the communication problems they’ve been facing. Organizing an offsite meeting can be a great way to get your team out of the office and into a new environment. To ensure the meeting runs smoothly, it’s important to have the right data room software in place. This software can help you store and share important documents, as well as keep track of who has access to them. With the right data room software, you can ensure that everyone has the information they need to make the most of the offsite meeting.

Offsite specific objectives

Choose date with time. It is not easy to square agendas with the whole team.
Calculate the budget you have to organize the off site.
Think about the objectives and type of site meeting you want to organize.
Ask for budgets, the type of activity you want to do, accommodation, meals, travel …
Ask for possible dates and communicate them to those who intend to attend.
Book accommodation, transportation, meals and planned activities.
Communicate the dates.
Send a survey to meet the expectations of the participants.
Send a document with the summary of expectations and final planning.

Activities for offsite and program example. What’s the right balance?

Offsites need to deliver a well-planned experience. When planning the detailed schedule of activities , the main challenge is: it’s supposed to be experiential learning, but without being exhausting.

It’s good to invest resources that can keep participants engaged for at least one whole day or two. Besides, try mixing up organizational levels to strengthen relationships and build teamwork. Similarly, for tech-oriented off-site meetings, involving a dedicated development team can significantly enhance the collaborative process, bringing in fresh perspectives and innovative solutions.

Types of off site meeting s

Initially we can classify the types of off site meeting by duration (one or more days), the objective (improvement of the work environment, innovation, corporate reputation …) or by type of activity (workshop, brainstorming, food, sport …).

The Five Junipers is the ideal destination for off-site of one or more days. We have 17 rooms in case you want to spend more than one day. We have an enclosure with two fully equipped meeting rooms, a garden where you can organize cafes, snacks, catering or outdoor activities and the Lavender restaurant (2 Repsol Suns) and La Librería (for more informal meals).

Best activities ideas for an off site meeting

HR and training consulting firms usually have games especially designed for offsites. They usually involve cards, boards and visually rich material to encourage engagement. It’s even possible to customize these games, according to the client’s needs and objectives.

Another choice is to take your team to a day out at a puzzle room or cooking experience.

Having at least 3 or 4 days available, why not think about a house at the beach for an end of year summit?

Table of Contents

Ideas of workshops to be carried out.

Dynamics : Workshops to teach techniques or skills. Those of personal development, coaching or well-being are very fashionable and often like employees, who leave here with charged batteries.
Brainstorming : If there is something for which you need ideas, nothing better than to get the team out of the routine and get to thinking, following some kind of brainstorming dynamics, that helps sort all your ideas and put them into practice as soon as you return to the routine.
Internal marketing : Each team can explain to their colleagues what their day-to-day life consists of and why their role within the company is important. It will help to value the work of others.
Gamification : Activity that consists of putting oneself in the place of the other, playing a role. It can be very useful to complete the previous activity, to simulate that you do the work of the other for one day.

Off site recap: evaluation and conclusion

1) How do you determine if it was a success? What are some objectives you establish for the offsite?

2) Work/activities breakdown? What’s the right balance?

Offsites need to deliver a well-planned experience. When planning the detailed schedule of activities, the main challenge is: it’s supposed to be experiential learning, but without being exhausting.

It’s good to invest resources that can keep participants engaged for at least one whole day or two. Besides, try mixing up organizational levels to strengthen relationships and build teamwork.

3) Best “team building” activities?

Having at least 3 or 4 days available, think about a house at the beach for an end of year summit.

Want to boost your results ? Start using InEvent today !

And don’t forget to keep learning :

How to measure Event Success [and 7 points to ensure it]
6 reasons why Event Planners fail when starting an Event Planning Business
NPS for events: why it’s crucial and how to apply

About the Author / Sara Emezi

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Work Life is Atlassian’s flagship publication dedicated to unleashing the potential of every team through real-life advice, inspiring stories, and thoughtful perspectives from leaders around the world.

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Senior Quantitative Researcher, People Insights

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How to facilitate your best offsite meeting ever

Offsite meetings don’t need a fancy venue or catered lunch to succeed. Successful offsites need thoughtful facilitation that emphasizes the human factor.

Sr. Program Manager

Offsite meetings can just as easily be loathed as loved. When they’re done well, they’re are a brilliant use of time. But when they fail, they fail hard .

So what’s the difference between offsites that succeed and offsites that suck? It’s all about the human factor.

In my role as a senior program manager, I mentor my colleagues on how to plan and run effective offsite meetings. Most facilitators start out thinking that the secret is booking a killer venue and crafting the perfect agenda. Don’t get me wrong: those things are important. But the real trick is handling the human dynamics thoughtfully during the event itself.

What offsite meetings are really about

Offsite meetings are one part of an extended conversation – about strategy, goals, and/or tactics. They’re a time to bring people together to make decisions so you can go back to the office the next day and start taking action.

But i f people don’t understand (or agree on) what outcomes they’re driving toward, or don’t feel their voice is being heard, your offsite will derail before the first coffee break.

Attendees walk in the door with different priorities. They often represent different roles in the business, and may even report to different managers – in which case, their performance may be judged by different measures. At the very least, they’ll have different backgrounds, personality types, and communication styles

The key is to harness that individuality. Create space for divergence of thought, then guide the group back toward convergence and consensus. To pull that off, your focus as facilitator has to be focused on the human element .

Here are nine ways to do that.

1. Keep the groups as small as possible

It’s tempting to cram in as many people as the venue will hold. And that’s understandable, especially when you consider all the work that goes into the planning. It seems a shame not to include everyone. But resist that temptation.

In my experience, the ideal working group size is 5-10 people. With fewer than five, you’re unlikely to get the divergent and diverse thought that makes offsite meetings worthwhile. But expand the group past ten, and it’s difficult to have an inclusive conversation.

When selecting your attendees, consider factors like experience level, job role, and tenure at the company (or on the team). Try to assemble a group that has some diversity along those lines. It can even be worth considering including employees from other areas of the business, as well. If your offsite is all about brand strategy, for example, a member of the customer service team might bring in a fresh and valuable perspective.

Regardless of the total headcount, it’s a good idea to split into smaller working groups of 3-4 for some part of the agenda and come back together as a group to discuss the results. Have each group iterate on separate work streams and demo their progress back to the other teams regularly to get their feedback and input.

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2. Make sure each participant is invested and engaged

It’s not enough to get everyone excited a week in advance, then put engagement on the back burner until it’s time to send out the post-offsite feedback surveys. A great facilitator nurtures engagement before, during, and after the event.

Prior to the offsite, plan to check in with each participant individually to find out what they want to get out of the day . Review the agenda with them, and note the activities that are aligned with their goals. Maybe even look for a way they can play a lead role in those sessions. The check-in should be quick (both for their sake, and yours) – a desk-side chat of 5-10 minutes should be enough.

If you think you’re going to have an attendee who will disrupt the sessions it can be a good idea to assign them a role that channels their disruptive tendencies into something positive. I do this by asking them to be the designated “challenger” during certain sections of the day. This lets them flex their challenge muscles in a way that helps the group consider the full breadth of problems and possibilities before reaching a conclusion.

Then at the top of each item on the agenda, plan to take five minutes to discuss what will be a successful outcome for that session. Confirming this as a group gives everyone some agency, which, in turn, helps keep them engaged. Your definition of success also serves as a touchstone that helps you recognize when you’ve veered off-course and gives you the air-cover to interrupt an unproductive thread of discussion and bring things back to center.

3. Establish the social contract a-fresh

You’re not in the office, so don’t feel like you have to stick to your usual office culture. This is the perfect opportunity to change things up a bit. (Actually, that holds true even if your “offsite” is really an on- site.) Could be as simple switching the dress code from “business casual” to just “casual” for the day. Or you might get more creative.

If your offsite agenda includes breakfast, I recommend using that time to do some informal social contract setting as a group. I like to do an abbreviated version of the rules of engagement exercise from the Atlassian Team Playbook . Everyone gets a chance to suggest a cultural norm for the day – leave laptops closed, make your comments brief so everyone gets a chance to speak, bad puns are encouraged, etc. – then you decide collectively which norms you’ll adopt.

Use this moment to clarify your role, too. Remind the group that your job is to keep the discussion centered and productive. You’ll be asking tough questions. Tabling off-topic ideas. Drawing people in and (respectfully) cutting people off as the situation requires.

These can be uncomfortable steps, even for seasoned meeting facilitators. But establishing them as part of the social contract upfront provides a little confidence boost.

Abstract image of people together looking up at a lightbulb

4. Create a parking lot

Parking lots are a great mechanism for tabling conversations that are important-but-off-topic, or dive too deep for the full group. The simple act of capturing these in writing so they can be continued later at a more appropriate time gives comfort to people who are passionate about them.

If you have butcher’s paper available, post up a piece on the wall and label it “Parking Lot”. Or cordon off a section of the whiteboard. Then note the topics and conversations you’re tabling throughout the event.

Make sure to refer back to the parking lot at the end of the day to determine which (if any) topics you should follow up on, and which can be closed.

5. Make each session about solving a problem or getting to a decision

Let’s be honest: offsite meetings are expensive. The cost of the venue rental and food pale in comparison to the cost in staff time and the opportunity cost of being off-site instead of doing your regular work back at the office . Best to make the time you spend on this meeting worthwhile .

The real value of offsite meetings is getting people to exchange ideas in real time and the creative thinking that results from it. Avoid spending wasting time-consuming information as a group. No hour-long presentations or document reviews, please. That sort of thing should be pre-offsite homework, or in the case of presentations, be done at the office beforehand.

That said, there are times when it’s useful to (briefly!) present the current state of something or a proposed change so you can discuss it as a group. It’s important to recognize when a preso adds value vs. when that time could be used for something more valuable.

6. Ask hard questions

The more assumptions are challenged – the more “What if?”s and “So what?”s posed – the more successful your offsite meeting will be.

“Why?” is one of the toughest questions known to humankind. That’s your go-to as a facilitator. Listen for assumptions and hidden questions in what people are saying. When a discussion stalls out or starts to resemble a broken record, the jolt delivered by asking “why?” can shift things back on course.

If it’s not obvious which idea is ripe for dissection, look to the whiteboard or clusters of sticky notes posted up. Is there a root-level notion that could be challenged? Or if not challenged, clarified?

Asking “How do we know that?” or “What if it weren’t that way?” will do one of two things: crack open more space for new ideas, or confirm and deepen the group’s understanding of the idea in question. Either way, you’ve gained something.

7. Push for outcomes

Don’t let your team off the hook with a lot of “maybe”s and “possibly”s. You’re here to make decisions and recommendations.

I find it helps to determine the DACI for each decision you take on. DACI is a framework for making effective decisions in a timely manner. You identify the decision’s driver (D), approver (A), contributors (C), and those who’ll be informed once the decision is made (I). Deciding who plays which role usually doesn’t take more than a few minutes, and will pay for itself many times over.

Write the DACI for each decision on butcher’s paper or a whiteboard so it’s easily visible throughout the offsite. More on the DACI framework is available on the Atlassian Team Playbook website. (It’s free, and open to all teams!)

You won’t reach 100% consensus on every decision, which is why having a designated approver (i.e., decider) is important. And that’s OK. Effective teamwork doesn’t mean full agreement on everything . Effective teamwork means agreeing to trust each other and rally behind decisions once they’re made.

8. Tune into the group dynamics

You knew this was coming, right? If you allow one or two vocal (though likely well-meaning) personalities to dominate the room, you’re not getting that all-important divergence of thought – not to mention giving everyone else in the room an invitation to tune out. Which means your offsite meeting is less effective than it could otherwise have been.

Not everyone uses their voice in the moment, but everyone has something to add. Your agenda and facilitation should take that into consideration so there’s space for different people to use their voice in different ways.

A good offsite facilitator creates space for different people to use their voice in different ways.

There are three ways you can use your role to make sure everyone’s voice is heard. First, gently draw people into the conversation if they haven’t spoken yet. “I know Monique has worked quite a bit in this area… Monique, are there other things we should be considering here?”

Second, ask dominating voices to make space for, and listen to, others . Wait for them to pause for breath, then step in with the “I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to speak before we run out of time… Are there any responses to what Darren’s just said, or new ideas to add?” I know this can be awkward. Especially for new facilitators. Another reason establishing the social contract and your role as facilitator up front is helpful.

Quite often, the dominating voices come from the senior people in the group. Giving them a heads-up in advance that you want to get others to speak before them whenever possible can really set an inclusive tone for the whole offsite.

And asking them to frame statements as questions will bring others into the discussion and challenge their view. (e.g., “What are the benefits of taking this approach?” instead of “I think this approach has a lot of benefits.” ) After all, you are looking to harness the diverse thinking of the group.

That covers your classic quiet, and vocal, types. But there’s a third type , often overlooked: people who are wired to reflect, then come back with deeper insights and considered opinions. To give them a voice on the day of the offsite, when it makes the biggest impact, design some iterative thinking exercises. These people may not speak much during the first iteration, but they’ll make big contributions during the revisions, to the benefit of all.

9. Make it fun… but not too fun

All work and no play makes your offsite a dull day. But play it smart. If the point of the offsite isn’t team building, then don’t put a bunch of team bonding activities on the agenda.

As facilitator, you get to read the crowd and be the “energy DJ” (strobe lights and turntables optional). When the vibe gets a bit too downtempo, you don’t need much to bring it back up. A round of Human Rock Paper Scissors, or business jargon charades, or a silly walks contest is usually enough to break the monotony and re-lubricate the brain.

An image with the text A bit of silliness might be all you nee to re-energize a tired room.

Safety dance

Humans need psychological safety almost as much as we need air. In fact, a recent study from Google found this oh-so-human need had more influence over a team’s health and performance than any other factor. More than experience level, more than diversity, more than efficiency.

Humans also need to be outside their comfort zone in order for real growth to take place. And therein lies the rub.

Your job is to balance those needs against each other. To create a space for divergent thought where new ideas emerge and assumptions are challenged and all voices are heard. Coaxing a group to dance between safety and uncertainty is an art form. But it’s one you can master, bit by bit.

Try a few of these tactics next time you facilitate an offsite meeting – or any meeting, for that matter. And check out the Atlassian Team Playbook for details on the Rules of Engagement and DACI plays.

With the right activities and the right focus on the human element, your offsite can be a smashing success.

Special thanks to Sarah Goff-Dupont for her contribution to this article.

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Notes / Meetings

What is a Site Meeting?

A site meeting is a way for you and your team to manage the meetings you may have while visiting the site of a project.

In the Project Dashboard you will see an area called Site Meetings that looks like this:

If you want to Add a meeting to the project click "Add Meeting". After clicking, this will pop up:

On this screen, you will see Date, Title, Attendees, Notes, and Photos

Date : If the date and time of the meeting is wrong, you can click on it to edit and change it to what it should be.

Title : This area you can use to name what the meeting was

Attendees : You can write the names of the people that were in attendance at the meeting

Notes : This is where you write down anything discussed that you want to be stored on the project

Photos : If you choose, photos taken or associated images can be uploaded to this to also store within the meeting.

After you fill out what you want, hit record meeting to save it.

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FTC Announces Rule Banning Noncompetes

Competition
Office of Policy Planning
Bureau of Competition

Today, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule to promote competition by banning noncompetes nationwide, protecting the fundamental freedom of workers to change jobs, increasing innovation, and fostering new business formation.

“Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8,500 new startups that would be created a year once noncompetes are banned,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC’s final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.”

The FTC estimates that the final rule banning noncompetes will lead to new business formation growing by 2.7% per year, resulting in more than 8,500 additional new businesses created each year. The final rule is expected to result in higher earnings for workers, with estimated earnings increasing for the average worker by an additional $524 per year, and it is expected to lower health care costs by up to $194 billion over the next decade. In addition, the final rule is expected to help drive innovation, leading to an estimated average increase of 17,000 to 29,000 more patents each year for the next 10 years under the final rule.

Banning Non Competes: Good for workers, businesses, and the economy

Noncompetes are a widespread and often exploitative practice imposing contractual conditions that prevent workers from taking a new job or starting a new business. Noncompetes often force workers to either stay in a job they want to leave or bear other significant harms and costs, such as being forced to switch to a lower-paying field, being forced to relocate, being forced to leave the workforce altogether, or being forced to defend against expensive litigation. An estimated 30 million workers—nearly one in five Americans—are subject to a noncompete.

Under the FTC’s new rule, existing noncompetes for the vast majority of workers will no longer be enforceable after the rule’s effective date. Existing noncompetes for senior executives - who represent less than 0.75% of workers - can remain in force under the FTC’s final rule, but employers are banned from entering into or attempting to enforce any new noncompetes, even if they involve senior executives. Employers will be required to provide notice to workers other than senior executives who are bound by an existing noncompete that they will not be enforcing any noncompetes against them.

In January 2023, the FTC issued a proposed rule which was subject to a 90-day public comment period. The FTC received more than 26,000 comments on the proposed rule, with over 25,000 comments in support of the FTC’s proposed ban on noncompetes. The comments informed the FTC’s final rulemaking process, with the FTC carefully reviewing each comment and making changes to the proposed rule in response to the public’s feedback.

In the final rule, the Commission has determined that it is an unfair method of competition, and therefore a violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, for employers to enter into noncompetes with workers and to enforce certain noncompetes.

The Commission found that noncompetes tend to negatively affect competitive conditions in labor markets by inhibiting efficient matching between workers and employers. The Commission also found that noncompetes tend to negatively affect competitive conditions in product and service markets, inhibiting new business formation and innovation. There is also evidence that noncompetes lead to increased market concentration and higher prices for consumers.

Alternatives to Noncompetes

The Commission found that employers have several alternatives to noncompetes that still enable firms to protect their investments without having to enforce a noncompete.

Trade secret laws and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) both provide employers with well-established means to protect proprietary and other sensitive information. Researchers estimate that over 95% of workers with a noncompete already have an NDA.

The Commission also finds that instead of using noncompetes to lock in workers, employers that wish to retain employees can compete on the merits for the worker’s labor services by improving wages and working conditions.

Changes from the NPRM

Under the final rule, existing noncompetes for senior executives can remain in force. Employers, however, are prohibited from entering into or enforcing new noncompetes with senior executives. The final rule defines senior executives as workers earning more than $151,164 annually and who are in policy-making positions.

Additionally, the Commission has eliminated a provision in the proposed rule that would have required employers to legally modify existing noncompetes by formally rescinding them. That change will help to streamline compliance.

Instead, under the final rule, employers will simply have to provide notice to workers bound to an existing noncompete that the noncompete agreement will not be enforced against them in the future. To aid employers’ compliance with this requirement, the Commission has included model language in the final rule that employers can use to communicate to workers.

The Commission vote to approve the issuance of the final rule was 3-2 with Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew N. Ferguson voting no. Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter , Alvaro Bedoya , Melissa Holyoak and Andrew N. Ferguson each issued separate statements. Chair Lina M. Khan will issue a separate statement.

The final rule will become effective 120 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Once the rule is effective, market participants can report information about a suspected violation of the rule to the Bureau of Competition by emailing [email protected] .

The Federal Trade Commission develops policy initiatives on issues that affect competition, consumers, and the U.S. economy. The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Follow the FTC on social media , read consumer alerts and the business blog , and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts .

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In China, Blinken urges fair treatment of American companies

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining, in Shanghai

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Reporting by Simon Lewis and Beijing newsroom; Writing by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Miral Fahmy

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Second phase of India's general election

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European Union leaders summit in Brussels

Greece rules out air defence systems to Ukraine, prime minister says

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece can not offer air defence systems like 'Patriots' or S-300 to Ukraine responding to pressure from EU and NATO allies to send more military aid to Kyiv.

Spain will send a small number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, El Pais newspaper reported on Friday, quoting unidentified sources.

Students build a protest encampment in support of Palestinians at USC

At Supreme Court, Trump lawyer backs away from absolute immunity argument

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump has long argued for absolute immunity in his federal election interference case, but his lawyer struck a different tone Thursday during arguments at the Supreme Court .

With the justices appeared largely skeptical of the argument that the entire indictment against Trump should be dismissed, attorney D. John Sauer made some concessions.

Sauer appeared to agree with special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, that there are some allegations in the indictment that do not involve "official acts" of the president.

Sauer's main argument was that the entire indictment is premised on official acts, which should be protected by immunity in part to ensure that presidents' hands are not tied over fear of prosecution after they leave office.

Sauer accepted that Trump can be prosecuted for private acts that were not tied to his official duties as president.

During oral arguments , the justices zeroed in on the public-private distinction, which may lead to a ruling that sends the case back to lower courts for further deliberations on that issue, potentially scuttling any chance that a trial could take place before the election in November.

Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett and liberal Justice Elena Kagan both peppered Sauer with questions about whether specific allegations in the indictment constituted official acts.

Sauer said Trump's conduct in three of the five situations he was asked about involved private actions, meaning they could be prosecuted.

Matthew Seligman, a lawyer and a fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School who filed a brief backing prosecutors, said Sauer's concessions highlight that Trump is "not immune for the vast majority of the conduct alleged in the indictment."

Ultimately, he said, the case will go to trial "absent some external intervention — like Trump ordering [the Justice Department] to drop the charges" after having won the election.

At the same time, Sauer’s backtracking might have little consequence from an electoral perspective. Further delay in a trial, which Sauer is close to achieving, is a form of victory in itself.

Here are the issues that were posed to Sauer and his responses:

False election claims

Barrett, in summarizing Smith's court brief, asked Sauer about an alleged interaction involving Trump.

"Petitioner turned to a private attorney, who was willing to spread knowingly false claims of election fraud to spearhead his challenges to the election results. Private?" Barrett asked.

"That sounds private to me," Sauer said.

That appears to be a reference to former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, or unindicted co-conspirator 1 , who is referred to that way in the indictment.

False allegations of fraud

Alleged conspiring with a separate lawyer — another component of the indictment — elicited a similar response from Sauer.

"Petitioner conspired with another private attorney who caused the filing in court of a verification signed by Petitioner that contained false allegations to support a challenge. Private?" Barrett asked.

"That also sounds private," Sauer said.

That appears to be a reference to co-conspirator 2, or John Eastman, a Trump-allied lawyer. The indictment alleges that Trump “signed a verification affirming false election fraud allegations made on his behalf in a lawsuit filed in his name against the Georgia Governor.”

Fake electors

In giving another example, Barrett asked about slates of so-called fake electors.

"Three private actors, two attorneys ... and a political consultant helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding, and Petitioner and a co-conspirator attorney directed that effort," Barrett said.

"That's private," Sauer said.

Barrett seemed to be referring to Eastman, Giuliani or Kenneth Chesebro, who was known as co-conspirator 5 in the indictment. The "political consultant” is most likely a reference to Boris Epshteyn, who is believed to be co-conspirator 6 . Those men were allegedly involved in the so-called fake electors scheme , which could have created the appearance of a disputed election and given Vice President Mike Pence a pretext to block congressional certification, even though the role of the vice president in that proceeding is largely ceremonial. Pence did not go along with the scheme, and he privately relayed to Trump that he did not see evidence of election fraud sufficient to determine the outcome.

Chesebro pleaded guilty in the Georgia election in ter ference case , while Giuliani pleaded not guilty . Giuliani and Epshteyn were also charged this week in a fake elector scheme in Arizona , where they have not yet entered pleas.

Sauer also elaborated on his answer, saying that "meeting with the Department of Justice to deliberate about who's going to be the acting attorney general of the United States" would be an official act. That is a reference to Jeffrey Clark, or unindicted co-conspirator 4 , whom Trump had considered making attorney general in the days before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Sauer said that "communicating with the American public" and "communicating with Congress about matters of enormous federal concern" would count as official acts. That would cover Trump's communications with members of Congress in the lead-up to Jan. 6.

Contacts with the Republican National Committee

Kagan, in posing her own series of questions, also summarized elements of Smith's court brief.

"The defendant called the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, asked her to gather electors in targeted states, falsely represented to her that such electors' votes would be used only if ongoing litigation and one of the states changed the results in the defendants' favor," Kagan said.

"We have taken the position that is official," Sauer said.

The exchange appeared to reference Trump's contacts with Ronna McDaniel , the chair of the RNC, who said during her brief tenure as an NBC News contributor that she believed Joe Biden won the 2020 election "fair and square" while contending that "there were problems in 2020." Prosecutors allege that Trump and Eastman called McDaniel on Dec. 6, 2020, and told her that it was important for the RNC to help the campaign gather fake electors.

"After the RNC Chairwoman consulted the Campaign and heard that work on gathering electors was underway, she called and reported this information to the Defendant, who responded approvingly," prosecutors said .

Arizona legislative hearing

Kagan also asked about legislative efforts in Arizona.

"The defendant asked the Arizona House Speaker to call the Legislature into session to hold a hearing based on their claims of election fraud," she said.

"We have taken the position that that is official," Sauer responded, saying it is an official act "to defend the integrity of a federal election."

Kagan's question related to Trump's communications with then-Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who prosecutors say "had supported the Defendant in the election, had issued a public statement that there was no evidence of substantial fraud in Arizona." After he stood up to Trump, Bowers lost his bid for a state Senate seat to a Trump opponent in 2022.

Sauer's response drew skepticism from Kagan.

“Well, ‘attempting to defend the integrity of the election,’ I mean, that’s the defense,” she said. “The allegation is that he was attempting to overthrow an election.”

She also probed Sauer about two hypothetical scenarios to see whether he believed they involved official acts: a president's selling nuclear secrets to a foreign enemy and a president's ordering the military to conduct a coup.

Sauer said both could constitute official acts, meaning the president could be immune from prosecution.

The exchanges between the justices and Sauer could be important as the court weighs what steps to take next.

Michael Dreeben, the Justice Department lawyer arguing the case on behalf of Smith, indicated the case could proceed even if the court found there is immunity for official acts.

But, he added, prosecutors would still try to introduce evidence about potential official acts "for their evidentiary value as showing the defendants' knowledge and intent."

Lawrence Hurley covers the Supreme Court for NBC News.

Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.

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Blinken Tours China to Promote Some Ties, While the U.S. Severs Others

Tensions over economic ties are running high, threatening to disrupt a fragile cooperation between the U.S. and China.

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American officials, wearing dark suits, walk through a street at night in Shanghai.

By Ana Swanson

Ana Swanson covers trade and U.S.-China economic ties and is traveling with Secretary Blinken in China.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken cheered on the sidelines at a basketball game in Shanghai on Wednesday night, and spent Thursday chatting with students at New York University’s Shanghai campus and meeting American business owners. It all went to emphasize the kind of economic, educational and cultural ties that the United States is pointedly holding up as beneficial for both countries.

But hanging over those pleasantries during his visit to China this week are several steps the U.S. is taking to sever economic ties in areas where the Biden administration says they threaten American interests. And those will be the focus of greater attention from Chinese officials, as well.

Even as the Biden administration tries to stabilize the relationship with China, it is advancing several economic measures that would curb China’s access to the U.S. economy and technology. It is poised to raise tariffs on Chinese steel , solar panels and other crucial products to try to protect American factories from cheap imports. It is weighing further restrictions on China’s access to advanced semiconductors to try to keep Beijing from developing sophisticated artificial intelligence that could be used on the battlefield.

This week, Congress also passed legislation that would force ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to sell its stake in the app within nine to 12 months or leave the United States altogether. The president signed it on Wednesday, though the measure is likely to be challenged in court.

Mr. Blinken’s visit, which was expected to take him to Beijing on Friday for high-level government meetings, had a much more cordial tone than on the trip he made to China last year. That trip was the first after a Chinese spy balloon traveled across the United States, tipping the American public into an uproar.

In a meeting with the Shanghai Communist Party secretary Thursday morning, Mr. Blinken said direct engagement between the U.S. and China was both valuable and necessary.

“We have an obligation for our people — indeed an obligation to the world — to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” he said.

Speaking to students at the N.Y.U.’s Shanghai campus later that morning, he said the educational exchanges the students were engaged in provided a “ballast” for a complicated and confrontational relationship.

Since President Biden met with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, in California in November, the U.S.-China relationship has seemed more stable, with nothing like the dramatic ups and downs of the trade spats under former President Donald J. Trump.

But the Biden administration has still been marching toward a more restrictive economic relationship with China.

That includes controls on semiconductor technology, which are being raised by both sides as a more prominent issue than ever before. The Biden administration has been weighing further export controls, particularly on factories that have been helping produce advanced semiconductors for the Chinese tech giant Huawei.

“By explicitly trying to degrade Chinese tech capabilities, especially on advanced AI, the United States has moved export controls to the forefront of the U.S.-China agenda,” said Emily Benson, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

In a call between Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi earlier this month, both leaders raised the technology controls as matters of central importance.

Mr. Biden emphasized that the United States would continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced American technologies from being used to undermine its own national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment, according to the White House.

Mr. Xi said that putting new sanctions on China was not “de-risking,” but creating risks. If the United States was bent on “containing China’s hi-tech development and depriving China of its legitimate right to development, China is not going to sit back and watch,” he said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

U.S. officials say their restrictions are necessary given China’s authoritarian government and statist economic model. But the moves have rankled Chinese leaders and pushed tensions over economic measures to their highest point in years.

The measures are not just emanating from the U.S. government: Susan Shirk, the author of “Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise,” said that China had pivoted toward a more self-sufficient industrial policy, and has been seeking to supplant the United States as a high-tech superpower under Mr. Xi.

“Xi openly acknowledges that while he wants China to be less dependent on other countries, he wants to keep other countries dependent on China ‘as a powerful countermeasure and deterrent’ as he put it, ‘against them cutting off supply,’” Ms. Shirk said.

China, too, has allowed security concerns to affect a greater proportion of its economy, even as Mr. Xi and other Chinese leaders have tried to reassure foreign businesses that their investment is welcome. A new national security law has extended Beijing’s reach into Hong Kong, threatening the city’s status as a financial hub. American executives have been alarmed by China’s investigations of foreign firms, as well as the country’s broader rules against sharing data and information with foreigners.

Despite China’s complaints about the U.S. government’s efforts to crack down on TikTok, China itself has for decades banned other Western social media services. Apple said last week that Beijing had ordered it to remove WhatsApp and Threads from app stores in China.

Mr. Blinken and other U.S. officials have emphasized that American export controls, sanctions and other restrictions being imposed on Chinese tech companies apply to only a small fraction of the broader U.S.-China relationship. Elsewhere, trade is encouraged, they say.

In a report this week, the U.S.-China Business Council, a group of 270 American companies that do business in China, estimated that U.S. exports to China supported more than 900,000 American jobs in 2022, though goods exports fell in 2023 due to China’s lackluster economy, U.S. tariffs and other factors.

“It is important for us to remind U.S. lawmakers and those in influential positions that every state and congressional district in the U.S. maintains its own economic and trade relationship with China, and changes in U.S.-China trade policy should be considered very carefully,” said Craig Allen, the group’s president.

Ana Swanson covers trade and international economics for The Times and is based in Washington. She has been a journalist for more than a decade. More about Ana Swanson

IMAGES

Conducting a Successful Site Visit
Increase customer engagement through on-site visits
6 Tips for Holding Meaningful Meetings
Visit Agenda
10+ Sample Visit Agenda
Site Visit Agenda Template

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COMMENTS

Everything You Need To Know For A Successful Site Visit
Convey expectations and site visit timeline. Be clear about what you want to achieve and how much time you have available for the site visit. If you are expecting to do a 30 minute site visit at an expansive resort, the sales manager will need to know ahead a time to create a site visit with high priority items first.
What is a Site Visit?
A site visit is a physical inspection of a construction site. It's an opportunity for the project team behind the build to see the work in progress and to identify any potential problems. They can be conducted by the project manager, the engineer, the architect or any other member of the project team. There are many benefits to conducting ...
Conducting a Meaningful Site Visit
A site visit can be one of the most important tools you use, as a grantmaker, in determining your ultimate funding decisions. For example, an in-person look at a potential grantee's activities can complement a grantee's written proposal and give you a clearer picture of their request. In fact, site visits can be one of the most interesting parts of the grantmaking process.
PDF HTN-Planning and Conducting Site Visits
A site visit focused on context mo nitoring could include meeting with local stakeholders (e.g., non-governmental organizations [NGOs], local authorities, host government institutions, activity staff, or even non-beneficiaries) to inquire about upcoming community events or decisions that may affect activity progress. ...
Site Visit Analysis and Report: How to conduct and evaluate your first
A site visit analysis is a comprehensive report that summarizes the findings of a physical inspection of a potential development site. It includes information on the site's physical characteristics, location, surrounding area, demographic information, environmental impact, zoning regulations, traffic flow, and recommendations for development.
8 Reasons Why Site Visits Are The Best Learning Experience
Whether you are just starting out in the field of architecture or an architect with 40 years of experience, site visits play a central role to our professional development. Most of the times, site visits take place during the construction phase of a project. It is during this stage where a team of multidisciplinary professionals physically get together to realize things previously drawn on ...
7 Steps for Planning a Successful Virtual Site Visit with ...
A volunteer or participant joins and speaks about their experience for 10-15 minutes. Q&A with the funder. 6. Prepare thoughtful questions. This applies to a 'normal' site visit too, but the point stands: make sure you take time to prepare insightful questions to ask your funders as well.
Event Basics: Making the Most of Your Site Visit
Once your destinations and hotels have been selected for a closer look, it is time to schedule onsite visits. Bring at least one attendee, exhibitor and team member with you. Site visits are usually free to the planner if your event is large enough. You'll want to spend at least half a day at one venue and if possible, spend the night.
PDF Creating a Site Visit Agenda: Best Practices
Generally, site visits should start at 9:00 am (8:30, if necessary) and end by 5:00 pm. The Graduate School will arrange the committee's working dinners for the evening before the site visit starts (Day Zero) and the evening of Day One. Start Day One with leadership meeting(s). This allows the review committee to discuss
Ultimate Site Inspection Checklist for Event Planners
Conducting a site visit requires time management skills from both the planner and the venue itself. Make sure you're prepared with your site visit checklist and preliminary research completed before you arrive. And if the visit feels rushed, make a note of that as well. 3 site inspection tips. Ask smart questions.
The Importance of Site Visits for Meeting and Incentive Planners
The Importance of Site Visits for Meeting and Incentive Planners. Most planners travel a lot. They are productive people, making it happen from California to Paris and everywhere in between. Traditionally, sourcing venues starts when a meeting or event is presented (or assigned), we seek out the right venue and then book the perfect space.
Purpose of a Site Visit Report: Why do you need one?
A site visit report serves as a crucial tool in the realm of project management, bridging the gap between on-ground realities and managerial oversight. Its primary purpose is to document firsthand observations, activities, and conditions of a specific site at a given time, offering a snapshot of the project's progress, challenges, and ...
Making the Most of Your Pre-Bid Meeting and Site Visit
The site visit typically follows the pre-bid meeting. It's always best to personally visit a project site that you are estimating, especially if the project is a renovation of an existing facility. Use your time at the site wisely. It is the responsibility of the estimator to gather the necessary information to bid the project reliably.
Know before you go
So yes, the site visit means you're fully in the "hirable" zone. But the site interview is still a test—albeit a different kind of one. Dolansky says, "Studies show that 25 to 30% of the hiring decision is based on background.". This includes factors like education and training.
Pre-Bid Meetings and Site Visits
The pre-bid meeting is usually open to all interested prospective bidders; however, in cases where pre-qualification or short-listing is carried out, only pre-qualified or short-listed bidders are invited to attend the pre-bid meeting. Site visits, as mentioned above, can and should preferable be held prior to the pre-bid meeting.
Meeting and Site Visit Agendas and Site Visit Methodology
To preserve face time for interactive questions and answers, each site host was asked to provide as much background as possible as pre-visit reading material. Hosts were requested to limit formal presentations to a 10-minute overview of their key messages, leaving the majority of each time block for interactive exploration. Where possible, hosts arranged for committee visitors to shadow care ...
Vendor Site Visits: When, Why, and Examples
Here are a few examples: The vendor is unwilling to provide physical documents. Some vendors may be unable or unwilling to provide copies of their due diligence documents. A vendor site visit would allow you to review those documents in person. You need to see the physical workspace. During a site visit, you can confirm whether the vendor's ...
How to Plan Off-Site Meetings for Your Team
3. Setting the ground rules. Establish clear ground rules that balance fun and focus to ensure your offsite meeting thrives. Emphasize respect and encourage active participation. Promoting open communication and encouraging constructive feedback creates a safe and inclusive space where everyone feels comfortable. 4.
Site visit
site visit: 1 n a visit in an official capacity to examine a site to determine its suitability for some enterprise Type of: visit the act of going to see some person or place or thing for a short time
Offsite meeting: What it is and how to organize one [with agenda
What is an off-site meeting? Off-site is a widely used technique. It consists of providing the possibility of performing professional activities outside of the company. This type of work has been growing and generating greater results for companies, with better quality of life for employees. Thousands of companies adopt this strategy.
How to facilitate your best offsite meeting ever
Create space for divergence of thought, then guide the group back toward convergence and consensus. To pull that off, your focus as facilitator has to be focused on the human element. Here are nine ways to do that. 1. Keep the groups as small as possible. It's tempting to cram in as many people as the venue will hold.
Everything You Need to Run an Offsite Meeting
Click here to jump to the Hypercontext offsite meeting agenda template! 1. Objectives - why we're here. Use this time to share "why we're all here" and what you want to achieve at the of the offsite. 2. Ground rules. Here's where you'll outline the logistics of the offsite.
What is a Site Meeting?
A Site Meeting is a way for you and your team to manage the meetings you may have while visiting the site of a project. In the Project Dashboard you will see an area called Site Meetings that looks like this: If you want to Add a meeting to the project click "Add Meeting". After clicking, this will pop up:
Mitch McConnell says presidents shouldn't be immune from prosecution
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview Thursday with NBC News' "Meet the Press" that he doesn't think presidents should be immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken ...
College protesters want their schools to divest from ties to Israel
In addition to a cease-fire in Gaza, protesters on college campuses across the country are calling on their schools to divest from all financial support of Israel.
Biden campaign plans to keep using TikTok through the election
Joe Biden's re-election campaign plans to continue using TikTok for at least the next year, despite the president signing a law Wednesday that would ban the social media platform nationwide if ...
FTC Announces Rule Banning Noncompetes
Today, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule to promote competition by banning noncompetes nationwide, protecting the fundamental freedom of workers to change jobs, increasing innovation, and fostering new business formation. "Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8,500 new startups that would ...
In China, Blinken urges fair treatment of American companies
SHANGHAI, April 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called on China to provide a level playing field for American businesses as he began a visit aimed at resolving a ...
Trump lawyer backs off absolute immunity argument at Supreme Court
Trump attorney D. John Sauer conceded there are allegations in the indictment that do not involve "official acts," meaning they would not be subject to any presidential immunity.
Antony Blinken Visits China
Tensions over economic ties are running high, threatening to disrupt a fragile cooperation between the U.S. and China. By Ana Swanson Ana Swanson covers trade and U.S.-China economic ties and is ...