University of Newcastle upon Tyne – Team Away Days

The University of Newcastle upon Tyne has 27 specialist schools, which were formed by bringing together several departments. This change in structure created new teams at every level within the University.

The Challenge

Successful teams are to be found in all successful organisations. They are committed to the goals of the organisation, deliver on their business objectives and perform effectively over the long term. Several teams within the University, recognised there were opportunities for them to work together more effectively - Inspirations helped them to focus on what needed to change.

The Solution

With the help of a facilitator from Inspirations, away days were planned for each team; these were individually designed to address the needs within that particular team. The events needed to involve the whole team, sometimes 20 or more, and therefore needed to be interactive, involving and thought provoking. Amongst the many sessions, models on team working were used to illustrate the importance of one team-working.

They discussed:

The future – how they needed to operate going forward
The present – what things they needed to do differently
The barriers – what they needed to achieve to overcome some of the current blockages

The Benifits

Each team left with a practical plan of action, which all team members signed up to. Deadlines were agreed for the achievement of key milestones. Individuals committed to changes in how they would operate going forward.