Three Reasons To Make A Company Retreat A Priority
Three Reasons To Make A Company Retreat A Priority
Written by: Jerremy Alexander Newsome
Article Forbes.com: Three Reasons To Make A Company Retreat A Priority 2023
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We don’t have the money. We don’t have the time. We don’t have the people to plan it.
Those are just a few of the excuses companies routinely offer to explain why they are forgoing a company retreat. Such excuses are valid, but they can—and should—be overcome, especially if you are committed to attracting and retaining the best talent today’s workforce has to offer.
If you are a company that values retreats but has come to believe that the payoff is not enough to justify the expense, allow me to offer three reasons why you should do a retreat in 2023. And if you are a company that thinks retreats are a waste of resources, perhaps these reasons will inspire you to think again.
1. Company retreats can upgrade your workforce.
If you were to join my company at one of our retreats, you would find us participating in activities designed to better understand who we are as individuals. This might include personality quizzes, such as those aimed at identifying our Human Design type, or exercises aimed at identifying the communication style of each employee. The purpose is to study and understand the unique and brilliant capabilities that each person brings to the team.
You would also most likely hear from a guest speaker. This person would ideally pour into each attendee, guiding them through healing exercises and providing insights designed to boost their effectiveness. Regardless of the specific topic, the overall goal of each presentation should be empowering personal growth and expanding happiness.
These types of activities not only increase the impact that each individual employee can make but allow for more powerful team dynamics. They help employees learn and understand how to better contribute and how to better collaborate. In essence, they give the team the tools it needs to upgrade its efforts.
Additionally, providing regular opportunities for personal growth and development is a perk that is becoming increasingly important to those in the talent pool. Attracting and retaining the best employees in 2023 will require more than a competitive salary. The workers you want are looking for enrichment to be a part of their employee experience. Companies that dedicate regular time to enrichment, such as company retreats designed to boost effectiveness, can give themselves a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting, hiring and keeping key talent.
2. Company retreats can leverage impact.
As a business leader, you have an understanding of the impact that your organization is making. You know the metrics that matter and how they look. When they look great, is an email message or a Slack post sufficient for sharing them in a way that is motivational?
Company retreats are a great venue for sharing that type of information and leveraging it to build momentum. Getting everyone in the same room and celebrating the ways you are crushing your individual, team-wide or organizational goals is a great way to get people excited about the company, the things it is accomplishing and the role they play in its success. Once people are excited, leaders can also cast vision, explaining how those accomplishments can propel the company to even greater wins.
These types of celebrations can also better highlight the impact that individual teams and team members are having. The new reality of remote and hybrid workplaces means we often appreciate people on a Zoom call, at best, or an office-wide email at worst. Appreciation is much more impactful when delivered by a room full of applauding coworkers who have been rallied by an inspiring speech. In my experience, appreciation delivered in this way can be life-changing for employees, driving them to even greater levels of effectiveness.
3. Company retreats can punctuate purpose.
The office routine is often focused on what needs to get done. Keeping teams focused on why they are doing the things they do can be a challenge. If business leaders are not careful, a company’s purpose can get buried under a pile of policies and procedures.
Today’s top talent wants more than a paycheck—they want a purpose. Companies that take the time to regularly get away from daily routines to refocus on and rally around purpose set themselves apart as a desirable place to work, and company retreats are a fantastic place to do just that.
Overall, retreats are a vehicle that companies can use to communicate to employees that they matter, even when they are not at their desks cranking out work. They show that the company values who people are, rather than simply what they do. They declare that the company, thanks to the people who give their time and talents to its mission, is accomplishing things that deserve to be celebrated.
Accomplishing any of those things is important for every company. So, find the money, the time and the people who can make it happen.