The Importance of Organizing Company Retreats
The last couple of years has made it difficult to connect with colleagues and teammates due to work-from-home mandates. As the remote work trend continues to increase, managers and CEOs are starting to worry about the effects it will have on their employees’ relationships with each other and their productivity at work.
Even though remote working has shown increased productivity for many businesses, it’s still important to see our colleagues in person to keep the team bond strong. One way to ensure our employees are connecting and communicating is with company retreats.
Why Host an Employee Retreat?
Once a year or every other year, it’s a good idea to host a company retreat where employees can come together to work on their relationships with each other and create stronger bonds.
These retreats can be for just one day or last a couple of days over the weekend or during the week. Sometimes they take place in the same city as the office while others are a little further away and are more of a business trip.
These retreats offer refreshment from a set routine and a necessary change for employees who sit at their desks all day grinding away.
How It Can Influence Your Business
A company retreat can have great benefits for your business. They have been shown to improve employee productivity and as a result, increase profits for the company. Retreats are a great way to make sure everyone is on the same page and has the same goals. Without sharing a vision and goals, then your team isn’t as aligned and can hold your company back.
Retreats also often get employees excited about their jobs again. So, they go back into the office motivated to work and reach the goals they set on the retreat.
Tips for Planning a Memorable Retreat
Now that you know just how important company retreats are for the company culture, productivity, and employee satisfaction, it’s time to learn how to host a successful retreat. There are a lot of details to consider when planning a company retreat. Many people choose to work with a professional business travel agency to help plan a memorable retreat.
Below are some things to keep in mind while you plan your retreat, even if you do choose to work with an agency.
1. Choosing the Right Location
There is a lot to consider when choosing the location of your retreat. Not only do you have to think about the weather and the time of year you would like to go, but you also have to consider transportation and travel time.
Many companies decide to fly their employees privately if the destination is far away from the office. After looking at a private jet guide, CEOs see just how much time it can save their employees and create an amazing experience for them.
Take the travel time and expense into consideration and how many people you’ll need to transport. If the retreat is only for a day, then it’s probably better to stay close to home. If it’s a few days, then you can look into hosting it further away.
2. Make It as Seamless as Possible
Your employees work hard for you, now it’s time for you to work hard for them. While planning the retreat, try to make everything as seamless as possible. Plan every single detail right down to the catering or menu.
This is a time for your employees to relax a bit and simply go with the flow that you have planned for them.
3. Notify Employees in Advance
It takes a lot of time to prepare for a company retreat. It also takes some time to prepare to go on one. Make sure to let your employees know well in advance that you are planning a company retreat so they can clear their schedule and block out that day or weekend.
Be aware that not everyone will be able to make it due to prior commitments or specific situations. This is important for your planning as well. You need to know how many people to expect for the accommodations and travel.
4. Plan Bonding Activities
Company retreats should be fun! It’s a time to forget about the unanswered emails and approaching deadlines. Instead, you’ll want your employees to focus on team-building activities, having a good time, and bonding with their colleagues.
It’s creating strong memories and ties with each other that will make your team unbreakable and on the same page. It can also help with communication between your employees, which in turn increases productivity and efficiency within the office.
So, if you feel like you need to reconnect with your team and aren’t sure how to exactly, consider planning a company retreat.
