Let's (re)treat ourselves to a good time.
We’ve all had work interrupt our vacations, right? It’s an unavoidable part of being a leader, and you’ve probably had to occasionally bother employees during their downtime as well. The least you can do is make up for it by letting relaxation interrupt work for once. That’s right, we’re talking about holding company retreats! Read on for ideas from the community on how to make them special.
How to Plan a Sweet Retreat
It’s one of those things you always mean to do, but life gets in the way. I don’t just mean evicting the raccoon family from your storage room (but you should definitely get on that). You’ve finally committed to planning a company retreat. Good for you! But, as Sarah Mannix of Mannix Marketing recently asked in the Bureau Slack, how do you plan for success?
As usual, the Bureau stepped up and offered helpful tips, and I’ll include a few here.
Make a plan that works for your people. If you’re going to have a more-or-less captive audience for a few days, be sure you’re meeting their needs. Marjorie Holmstrom-Sabo, Operations + Content Manager at Tighten, mentioned the need to be aware of dietary needs or other special accommodations for your participants, including non-alcoholic beverage options. You also need to be aware of physical limitations that could leave people out if you’re doing something demanding like rock climbing.
Start with a goal in mind. Just as with any business training or meeting, it requires focus on a definite purpose. What do you hope to get out of it? Karl Sakas, Owner at Sakas and Company, had this to say: “Get clear on the primary and secondary goals. For instance, is this mostly about team-building? Or is there also a strategic planning component? Which portions need to be all-hands versus by-team versus randomized?”
Don’t do too much. If this were just a regular work week, you wouldn’t be holding it on location. Randy Dean Oest, Creative Director at Four Kitchens, noted “Make sure you leave room for milling about, ad hoc conversations, exploration, etc. One of the lessons we learned from early retreats was that we packed too much into a day, making them exhausting like a conference, where we really wanted a more mellow vibe.”
Plan a variety of activities. Anyone who’s ever been in a four-hour strategy meeting knows how important it is to change things up. Sara Tirrell, Product Manager at Blenderbox, suggested “I think it’s also helpful to provide options - some full-team activities, and some smaller breakout activities. Board/card games are fun for evenings.”
Marjorie Holmstrom-Sabo added, “Schedule time so that the team as a whole is actively crafting their own experience. We do this in the form of small group skill sharing workshops and 15-20 minute talks on a deep interest or hobby that a team member is passionate about.”
Be sensitive to family situations. The group recognized that making a retreat mandatory may not work, especially as your company grows. Planning it well in advance can help, but ultimately family circumstances or other situations may get in the way. Make provisions for parents - if you're removing a parenting partner from home for a few days, consider sending the one left behind takeout gift cards or a spa day when their partner returns! Or (especially if you have single parent employees), make it feasible for the whole family to attend, and arrange on-site childcare and family-friendly accommodations.
It’s up to you how you make your retreat special. But be sure and think about it from your team's perspective both as a group and as individuals. They'll thank you for it. Guaranteed!