Having a company retreat is one of the best ways to boost your employees’ morale. Not only that, but it also helps them to develop a teamwork culture that is beneficial to your company in terms of good collaboration hence boosting productivity in the long run.
A company retreat requires planning well for it to be a success. This is because it involves a lot of logistics, especially because you’ll be dealing with many people.
Here are the steps you can take to make your company retreat a success.
Choose The Perfect Location
Choosing a location is a big challenge since your employees may have divergent views. Another factor that will determine the choice of a location is your budget and the number of employees you have. So, you need to start early and involve your employees in this process. Let them know your budget, then come up with suggestions. After that, there should be a discussion of which location is acceptable to a majority of employees.
Remember, a company retreat can also provide a great opportunity for your employees to interact with your customers. So, even if you have chosen to go camping in Pennsylvania, ensure you slot some time for your staff to interact with the community. Clients would love to see the real image of your company through physical interaction with your team.
The Logistics
Once you’ve overcome the first hurdle of selecting a location, the next step is to plan how to get there. The earlier you plan, the better. On what date are you planning to have the retreat? Will you travel by air, by rail or by bus? How much will that cost? Which mode of transport is the safest? Are there any bookings required? These are some questions you must answer.
Of course, you’ll not be working alone, but involve some of your employees. It would even be better to appoint a team of employees to work on logistics.
Let them also consider the number of days the retreat will take, how the employees will be accommodated, what meals will be served, and what activities they will be involved in. It is advisable to have your retreat during the low season when transportation costs are low, and most hotels don’t charge highly for accommodation.
How Many Days Should the Retreat Take?
The duration of a retreat will depend on the activities you want your employees to undertake. Most company retreats take between two to ten days. However, five days seems to be the most favored by many companies. This is informed by the fact that most vacation homes rent their places for one week at a time. So, your company can rent for seven days, but two days will be for traveling.
The Goal of the Retreat
The aim of the retreat should be spelled out early enough. Is it going to be a recreation retreat or a work-focused retreat? If it is about recreation, then your team of planners should come up with activities that will help your employees have a good time and rejuvenate once they return to work.
Depending on the location you’ve chosen, you can link up with a local tour company to help identify a place that can interest your team.
If the retreat is work-related, you also need to develop activities that will help improve the efficiency of your company operations and also take your brand message to the public.
Who’s Invited?
A retreat can be organized exclusively for company employees, or the employees can be allowed to invite their family members. An exclusive retreat is excellent if it is purely for business matters.
However, you may still need to invite an expert to train your employees on business skills. If the retreat is for recreation, you can allow your employees to invite their family members.
Employees often suffer from burnouts, and the best way to breathe new life into them is by organizing for a retreat. The retreat itself requires careful planning; otherwise, the objectives will never be met. The factors discussed above are very important for a successful retreat. When you want to have the retreat outside the country, remind every employee to renew their passports or apply them for new ones.
