Running an SLT Offsite

It's high profile and it's high stress!

Organising an offsite for the senior leadership team (SLT) is one of the most high-stakes projects you can take on as an Executive Assistant. It’s not just about booking flights and reserving meeting rooms—it’s about creating a seamless experience that fosters strategic thinking, deepens team cohesion, and ultimately drives results for the business. When the offsite is at another company office, the logistics get even more nuanced. You’re not just coordinating travel—you’re navigating a secondary workplace, building rapport with local teams, and ensuring that your executives feel just as at home 3000 miles away as they do at HQ. Not to mention the hundreds of people who will want to have facetime with the executives.

Over the past two decades, I’ve coordinated dozens of SLT offsites across regional hubs, international branches, and strategic partner offices. Each one has taught me something new. In this guide, I’ll walk you through every phase of planning and executing a successful SLT offsite—from early conversations to wrap-up follow-through. (Note: Don’t forget the follow-through!!)

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Phase 1: Set the Foundations Early

1. Understand the "Why"

Before you do anything else, have a conversation with your executive sponsor (likely your CEO, COO, or Chief of Staff). Ask: What is the core goal of this offsite? Is it for strategy planning, team building, quarterly review, crisis response, or integration with another team? What do you need to be the outcomes of the event? The answer will shape the entire agenda and inform every logistical decision you make.

Also determine why the offsite is happening at another office versus a neutral venue. Are they trying to engage a satellite team? Show presence in a growing market? Minimise travel for some or all of the attendees? Or is a neutral venue what is needed? Knowing this will help you align with the broader business goals and anticipate sensitivities at the host location.

2. Confirm Key Details

Nail down:

• Dates (and backup dates)

• Location (and backup location!)

• Required attendees (and optional ones)

• Preferred travel times

• Budget parameters

This is also the time to flag any special circumstances—new execs who need a crash course in company travel tools, dietary restrictions, accessibility needs, or personal commitments like childcare or religious observances.

In my career I’ve had to organise offsites which factored in:

• Someone needing to fly immediately onto their holiday destination

• Ramadan

• Translators

Remember, (virtually) everything is doable, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the start.

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Phase 2: Build the Logistics Backbone

3. Lock in Travel