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Should Employees Go Away on a Retreat at Times?

Angie Mansfield

August 29, 2013

Company Retreat.

Depending on your past experiences, those two words either bring fond memories of productive meetings between fun and relaxation...or they bring nightmares filled with boring speakers and managers patting themselves on the back.

A company retreat can be a great way to encourage cooperation and collaboration, and can boost productivity when your employees return. But it can also be a waste of time and resources, with employees dreading next year's snooze-fest.

 Here are a few ways you can make sure your small business retreat is in the former category, instead of the latter:

Have a clear goal in mind before you start planning

Holding a retreat just for the sake of holding one -- or just to reward your employees -- will end up costing you valuable time and money with no concrete benefits.

Come up with a set of goals for your retreat before you start planning the event. Why? Because these goals will dictate which employees will be invited, along with other details.

For example, if your goal is to improve productivity in one department, then it doesn't make sense to invite every department to the retreat. If, on the other hand, you want to educate all of your employees on how each different part of your company works, then you'll need everyone present.

Don't talk at your employees

That also means not hiring someone else to talk at them.

Many company retreats are filled with prepared presentations in which a speaker (sometimes from within the management team and sometimes an expensive hired speaker) stands up and talks at the audience for an hour. These talks tend to put people to sleep instead of teaching them or getting them fired up.

One way to combat this problem is to distribute the presentation materials to your employees to watch or read on the way to the retreat. This way, when you arrive, you can have an interactive Q&A or discussion session about the material.

This technique allows your employees to ask any questions they may have, discuss their thoughts on the merits (or lack thereof) of the information presented, and come up with ways to apply the information to their jobs and your company.

This creates a far more collaborative environment, and is far more effective at keeping your employees involved and engaged.

Include fun...but don't make it the majority of the retreat

Including fun activities for the group is a great way to get employees excited about your company retreats and relieve a bit of the stress of being pulled away from their families for a few days. It can also provide an informal discussion environment, where employees can connect and bond.

But keep your goals for the event in mind while planning these outings. You need to make sure your work gets done, too.

A company retreat can be a useful productivity tool, or a major time waster.

The difference is down to how much planning you put into the event, and how you go about facilitating the working portions of the event.

Set clear goals and involve your employees in thoughtful discussions to make your next retreat a success.

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