These days, when everyone is so quick to criticize every decision made and penny spent, you may wonder if a corporate retreat is really worth your while. The short answer? Absolutely yes.
Unlike meetings and conferences, which focus on networking and education, corporate retreats are designed to encourage team building, boost morale, promote personal development and self care, and offer rest, relaxation and fun with your coworkers. They can take place at hotels, wilderness retreats, corporate retreat centres, even spas.
Whether biannual, annual, seasonal or even just a one-off, a team retreat encourages collaboration, communication, motivation and engagement, and can lead to a better, more positive company culture.
And that results in, well, results.
According to Forbes magazine, “Highly engaged teams show 21 per cent greater profitability per year,” while on the flip side, “disengaged employees cost U.S. companies up to $550 billion a year.” Those are some pretty compelling numbers.
Post-COVID, many employees are feeling disconnected, disillusioned and overwhelmed. Studies have found that as many as 80 per cent of them report being stressed by their work. More than 60 per cent report feeling burned out. And that means unfocused, unproductive, unhappy employees.
That’s where a team retreat comes in. Holding one will almost certainly improve these 10 things in your workplace.
01 Communication
Effective communication is a common challenge for many businesses, especially those with employees still working remotely or in a hybrid situation. In the relaxed environment of a company retreat, conversation flows naturally. This allows team members to spend time understanding not just what their coworkers have to say, but how they learn and share new information. If it is a safe space for them to do so, corporate retreats also allow teams to confront conflict head-on, away from the pressure and tension of the workplace. And the benefits can be long-lasting: Strengthening relationships outside of the office also encourages team members to communicate better and more clearly at work.
02 Creative Thinking
When work means completing the same tasks in the same place day after day, it’s easy to fall into a creative rut. One easy way to get out of it? Changing the environment. Being in a new space and enjoying new experiences can spark creativity, critical thinking and collaborative brainstorming. It helps, too, if you schedule specific workshops or brainstorming sessions, and offer new tools for coming up with ideas and how they can be implemented. Besides, the casual setting of a retreat can remove many of the barriers between managers and employees, fostering a comfortable environment for open sharing of ideas and feedback.
03 Collaboration
Corporate retreats are a great way to redefine company goals and inspire team members to work together toward a common goal. Leadership coaching can help here, but just the shared experience of a retreat will bring them closer together. Consider scheduling events that have team members working together on fun challenges — such as puzzles or secret missions — that highlight individual strengths, leadership skills and clear communication. Back at work, this improved collaboration not only makes the business more efficient, but motivates employees to stay with it — and help their colleagues succeed, too.
04 Productivity
Low morale is costly. Unhappy employees are less productive, do poorer work and spread their negative energy to others. Workplaces with low morale also find it harder to attract and retain good employees. One of the best ways to keep employees happy? A team retreat. It is a reward that makes employees feel valued, knowing their managers are genuinely grateful for their hard work. It is also a good way to communicate that a business cares about their well-being — and, according to Forbes, 89 per cent of workers at companies that support well-being initiatives are more likely to recommend their company as a good place to work. Taking time away from the stress of deadlines encourages workers to return to work refreshed and re-energized, ready to take on new challenges and tackle big projects.
05 Balance
With so many demands on their time, it’s easy for employees to become overworked, which in turn leads to feeling physically and emotionally burnt out. A team retreat can provide much-needed rest and relaxation — and, more importantly, encourage good mental health and a proper work-life balance. It can also remind employees of their “why,” reconnecting them with the company’s greater mission and the important role they play within it. A well-planned retreat should have plenty of opportunity for both training and relaxation. The result will be energized team members with a reignited passion for their work.
06 Training
Fun’s fun, but a retreat is still work, and perhaps the most important job it has is educational. Most retreats comprise several courses and workshops that, depending on the event’s theme or goal, can cover leadership training, communication exercises, improving specific skills or learning about a specific aspect of the business. One good example could be problem-solving exercises that can enhance a team’s strategic planning skills. Whether courses are optional, mandatory or both, they are a great way to encourage career and personal development.
07 Strengths and Weaknesses
For managers, putting employees in a new environment offers an insight into their true selves, their hidden strengths and natural leadership capabilities. It’s a good way to identify future leaders in some cases and, in others, areas that need improvement. And, in the relaxed setting of a retreat, weaknesses can appear in a new light that illuminates creative solutions to what may have seemed like insurmountable problems. For employees, it’s an even better way to discover their own strengths and weaknesses — and those of their colleagues, too.
08 Company Priorities
Retreats are also an excellent opportunity to revisit a company’s priorities and determine if they’re still relevant. With everyone in one place, managers can gather a wide range of honest opinions and encourage the entire time in revising them if need be. Just as importantly, this collaborative effort ensures that all employees are aware of the company’s direction and expectations.
09 Fun
Having fun may not seem like the most important priority for your business. But taking the time to disconnect helps reduce stress, prevent employee burnout and encourages your team to create connections with each other. Most importantly, it shows them that their managers care for them and recognize their hard work and that, in turn, encourages loyalty, creative collaboration and productivity. Remember: Money isn’t your employees’ only motivator. Feeling valued and included can be just as rewarding.
10 Company Culture
Every aspect of a team retreat is designed to reinforce a company’s culture. Team retreats bring people closer. They encourage employees to feel like they’re part of a happy work family. During the work week, busy schedules, urgent deadlines and everyday stresses make it challenging for people to connect, but the relaxed environment of a retreat can create strong bonds that continue back in the office. They inspire employees to connect with each other, to collaborate and communicate, to take time for their physical and emotional health, to come up with new ideas, build new skills and get excited about the work they do. Most of all, they create a deep, lasting awareness and understanding of a company’s values. And that can be priceless.
