Re:Treats
I’m involved in more than my share of staff/team retreats.
Whether I’m hosting, delivering content sessions, facilitating a learning process, or providing some combination of fun and training; I get to see how lots of leaders and organizations plan and participate in these gatherings.
For many organizations these 2-4 events each year have become much more important with the rise of remote work, closure of office space, and high personnel turnover in recent years. If you don’t get much time actually together you should make it count.
There’s no one right way to design a retreat, but I have picked up a few keys for having a successful gathering. Ultimately it’s just about what will be most impactful for your people.
In that sense it’s pretty simple: Train them and Treat them.
(Or, if you prefer: School them and Spoil them).
Train/School Them: Be intentional about what you want your team to learn, and what you want to learn from them. What do they need to understand/apply to achieve your organizational goals? And what are the best ways to deliver that content? What do you need input and insight on from your people so leadership can make wise decisions?
Treat/Spoil Them: Highlight meals, branded swag, an outing to a concert/amusement park/historical landmark etc. can all be positive things. But if you’re spending budget dollars and limited time together to make it happen you need to carefully consider what will be meaningful to your team. Take this opportunity to demonstrate how much you appreciate your people.
Designing a retreat that builds deeper interpersonal connections and prepares your organization for upcoming accomplishments takes some real thought. You may be able to do it all in house, or you might want to bring in outside help for some key content, spiritual encouragment, overall direction, or highlight events. However you go about it, think through how to ensure everyone leaves encouraged, equipped, and appreciated.
Contact me if I can be helpful to you and/or your organization.
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