EVERYBODY loves 'away days'. To be precise, what everybody loves is not so much the drawn-out days themselves but getting away.

Away from phones and faxes and emails and other people - well, some of them, anyway.

Then there's the late start, the hot, paid-for lunch, beating the traffic home, and time to think through the upcoming weekend festivities and engage in some under-table texting while somebody mimes in the background and waves a big marker round.

We really do like those individually-wrapped biscuits at the two 'half hour plus' breaks too, wandering out to the main foyer and imagining being among the real guests instead of a status-less impostor amid the care- and colleague-free visitors and counting down to the 4pm end.

Especially in the mid-1990s, when getting out of the office for some form of training and development was a novelty and nobody really knew the horrors that might await, people drooled at the prospect of being in a back room in some mid-range hotel staring at a man (most of the time) with a giant jotter being far too jolly and taking home masses of sheets of paper unhelpfully known as handouts.

Having been hand-outed lots, it's scary and not conducive to learning.

We are all waking up and eventually the trainers will too. And those being 'trained' will continue to do so at exactly five minutes to four in hotels around the country as little watch alarms compete with the closing remarks - delivered with Nabokovian wit and erudition, of course - of the chap giving out the evaluation forms who is teacher/manager turned entertainer.

Mmmnn. Not a thrilling m�nage, that.

More and more, reaction to the invite to attend that one-day sermon on Inspirational Speaking or Making Eye Contact a Commitment (it makes about as much sense as many of the highly questionable course titles being bandied about out there) brings on acute, stress-induced tie adjusting and immediate mental melt down.

For people with training fatigue, the away day phenomenon is fast becoming less about loving the 'extras', rating everything four out of five and nodding intermittently, and more about opting out ; the training day can be more about mental shutdown before the day even begins than about really gaining anything new or insightful, let alone memorable.

These off-site activities offered to employees to upgrade their skills and increase their productivity are often a total waste of time and money because of four oversights.

One, the people attending are not properly prepared for learning.

Two, the method of delivery is one dimensional and one-way.

Three, the subject matter of the training course is not tailored to the real needs of those attending.

Four, they usually go like this: first, a group introduction which sees each person deliver a brief explanation of what he or she would like people to think they're doing, while everyone feigns belief because it's their turn soon. This takes ages. . .

It's coffee break time and those biscuits are good; interesting stories of what's happening back at the office are exchanged and emergency second and third cups of coffee are procured through an assault on the giant thermos which staff eventually come to rescue and everyone has to go back in.

The second half erupts into a veritable chase of information as slide after slide is Power Pointed at the hapless jitterbugs and, 15 minutes in, we finally remember to start planning the guest list for the kids' birthday party and making plans for the weekend and before you know it, we're heading to the carvery and picking desserts. It's not every day we get the choice, so why not?

Before the afternoon break there's been some discussion but that lunch really did us in. Martin from Product Placement bites his nails noisily, and why are there no clocks in these rooms? Soon, though, we each sense a group whooping and clapping (silent) and the final credits are beginning to roll. The end is in sight.

It's been a great day, the best 15 minutes of the week; give out those forms and let's get ticking more boxes.

Patricia Murray is an organisation and work psychologist

ASK PATRICIA. . .

QI manage a team of 8 and we have had a few issues over the past year and I want to sort out some training as a team. What should I look for and what should I avoid?

AAssess your team needs. . Are the 'issues' concerning how team individuals get along or work together, or concerning a system issue, such as lack of cross functionality or too many disciplines within the team - is it short term and is everyone effected? .

�Tailor the training subject tightly.

Interpersonal issues are better 'treated' with shorter interventions repeated over time. A half day session every quarter. Technical issues less so, but repeats reinforce the learning.

� Introduce exercises and variety - a practical problem to solve, a scheduling or logistical one and one fun team 'job' to do. Video them and identify patterns.

� Consider Belbins team role inventory - often used as a guide to roles people take on within teams and team dynamics.

�Ensure the trainer is quali"ed and has a varied voice, range of delivery methods, and knowledge.

Avoid PowerPoint over 30 mins duration, 'stories' about the trainer's past session, handouts - a handout of one page should suf"ce, group introductions -they know each other, the trainer should be given background and be prepared with name signage.