A lot of companies today choose to reward high-performing teams with a vacation abroad.With this vacation, employees can get some well-deserved R&R and they get to explore new (and possibly exotic) places.

However, these company-sponsored jaunts abroad won’t be complete if a team meeting would not take place before the employees begin their holiday. A staff meeting done outside the workplace can allow you to convey your appreciation and show your praise for your employees’ great work performance. It is also a good way for you remind them of the business goals everyone should be working for. Likewise, this gathering is a great way for you to spend some time with your employees and listen to some of their concerns and recommendations. Your employees can take time during the meeting to talk to their colleagues about work-related stuff as well.

Although your employees may be too excited about their vacation to pay attention to and engage in the meeting, you can still make sure this gathering turns out to be productive by following these useful tips shared by leading travel incentive companies:

• Set the agenda for the meeting in advance and send this to the attendees beforehand. Don’t waste time thinking about and writing down the topics that have be covered during the meeting. Do this several days before the meeting to make sure that all bases are covered and nothing is left out. Also, send your agenda to your employees before the meeting so that they also know what they’ll be in for and they can prepare their questions or recommendations in due time as well.
• Begin the meeting on time. Keep in mind that you and your employees are on vacation. As such, the majority of everyone’s time should be spent on relaxing and having fun. If you don’t start the meeting on time, chances are,it won’t end on time. Everyone’s schedule can then be ruined.To keep morale high and to avoid dampening the excitement of your employees, start and end the meeting on time.
• Keep the meeting as short as possible. A meeting during a company-sponsored out-of-town vacation is not the right time for you to get help with and discuss your future business plans. It should be just long enough to tackle an agenda and touch on some subjects that are quite important. An hour-long meeting is, therefore, out of the question.
• End the meeting with clear and consensus agreement on the next steps. Finally, although the meeting may be short, take the time to go over all the topics and issues covered along with the recommended immediate actions, and assign them to the appropriate employees. This is always a good way to end any meeting, regardless of the venue and length.