The quality of relationships between the employer and employees, and among the employees themselves, has a lot of impact on employee morale and how well they deliver. Companies thrive on teamwork and innovativeness. And both are impacted by the value of relationships within the company.
Sometimes the organization has to go out of its way to improve these relations for progress to be realized. Corporate retreats are an essential tool used to cement ties between the employees and the employer. Most organizations have a retreat at the end of each business year. And in planning such events, some considerations come into play.
Location
The location of your retreat is a prime factor to consider. The work environment is often characterized by busy urban life, which can be exhausting. A perfect getaway is, therefore, one that provides a break from all that buzz. Pick a location away from town, and where everybody can stay at the same venue.
Chalets, cottages, or summer homes are a suitable option. Such places offer the peace of mind that is needed in a retreat and allow people to share in a calm atmosphere for improved perspectives about each other and tasks ahead.
Means of Transport
The environment’s accessibility will determine the nature and means of transport to be used. Remote places may necessitate the use of a jeep or any other secure vehicle. In any case, there should be a keen balance between comfort and sturdiness of the means of transport. Depending on your budget and location you could add a lot of fun to this.
Accommodation
At a retreat, many people come together into one place. All of these people likely have different preferences when it comes to certain things – and accommodations are bound to be one of them. That being said it’s important to remember that a little compromise is necessary, as long as it does not put too much strain on one’s preferences. One thing that I do mention is that employees should be comfortable sharing accommodation facilities on such occasions – so yes, maybe there will be two to a room.
Meals
The destination may often provide meals and (at times) the group may opt to bring in snacks or have entire meals catered on-site. Whichever the case, the choice of meals will be determined by what works best for your group and the length of time to be spent on the retreat.
This certainly is not everything that goes into a corporate retreat, but they are essential things that you need to consider when in the planning stages.
To learn more about work-life balance I encourage you to pick up a copy of my book Double Double and skip to Chapter 15. Then go back and read the rest (of course)!
And of course – I also recommend becoming part of The COO Alliance, where topics like this are discussed among the tribe. For more information, apply now.
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