4 Reasons on a Company Retreat
4 Reasons to Take Your Employees on a Company Retreat
Getting out of the office can strengthen your team.
A few months ago, I flew to Vegas, where I was loaded onto a bus with about 20 other CEOs to go glamping.
A mutual investor paid for the trip. We were driven to Zion’s National Park, one of the most breathtaking places in the world, where we quickly discovered that it was going to be one of those off-the-grid adventures. No Wi-Fi, television, cell phone signals, it was just us and nature.
There were 18 of us in total, all executives of tech companies, all a little irritated to find ourselves suddenly–even heartlessly, it seemed–denied of every form of technology worthy of the name.
Turns out, our investors wanted us to get to know each other. They wanted us to talk. They wanted us to share war stories and tales of success, to make ourselves vulnerable, and in the process, form friendships and help each other out.
It was surprisingly therapeutic. I was a little cynical at first, but in the end, I walked away from the experience with at least six new chums. It got me thinking: if something like this could succeed with relative strangers, what might it mean for a company, a band of brothers and sisters who fight the good fight on a daily basis?
Here’s what I came away with about the benefits of holding a company retreat:
1. It will show your employees you care.
It’s important to show your employees that your feelings for them run deeper than the ebbs and flows of work. Doing so will instill loyalty and help reduce temptation when talent scouts come sniffing around. We all appreciate a kind gesture now and then, and our commitments benefit from the motivation that results.
Your time is the most valuable thing you have. Taking your colleagues on a retreat–i.e., spending time with them beyond the walls of the office–is a powerful testament to the sincerity of your regard.
2. It gives the team space to reflect.
Careers are complicated. Lots of emotions get involved when you spend eight hours or more a day laboring alongside smart, ambitious people to reach difficult goals and grow a business together.
Nothing inspires fresh ways of thinking like gathering together in a strange and beautiful context. You’ll see challenges from angles you hadn’t considered before. Problems that seemed insurmountable look less formidable in a brand-new light.
Use a company retreat as an opportunity to think back on strategies that were effective and ones that fell flat. Figure out the reasons for the latter, and resolve to improve moving forward. Don’t forget you’re there to have fun, too; maybe have a few beers while you plan. Alcohol can do wonders for creativity in the right setting.
