Essential Tips for planning your Corporate Retreat

Most people may think of a corporate retreat as a chance to getaway with work colleagues, have a bit of a party and do minimal work..However a corporate retreat can inspire fresh ideas, bring people together from different areas in the organisation and encourage new collaborations. Here are some essential tips for planning your corporate retreat.

The early bird gets the…good deals!

If you don’t plan early you lose out on the many attractive deals. Accommodation and team building activities may provide cheaper group rates when you book early. Plus its also a great idea to plan your retreat out of peak season – you may get better availability, more choices and the weather in the Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands area is still magical in Winter. Letting you know your employees of your planning of a corporate retreat with plenty of notice in advance will provide them with ample time to plan; particularly if your staff have children or pets that will need looking after while they are away and will ensure that they get the time to prepare, think about any ideas they may wish to present and be motivated to attend.

Engage the whole team

Ideally, you should lead and engage your attendees to collaborate, contribute ideas and suggest ways to improve your simple business practices. You never know- they may have been harbouring a number of different ideas for a long time and this is their opportunity to shine by presenting their thoughts. Allow your employees to have a voice in the not so typical day to day work environment whilst maintaining the respect of other peoples opinions. If you don’t, it could have a negative impact on some employees and possibly defeat the purpose of holding a retreat. Whilst a retreat needs to achieve many things such as a company goal(s), promote change in the workplace or bring to light new ideas don’t forget to add an element of fun – doing so will create new team relationships or build on existing ones.

Offsite is best!

There is no denying that costs can be an essential factor in planning a corporate retreat, but it is important you plan the getaway beyond city limits outside the boundaries. The very essence of a corporate getaway is perhaps to free the mind and bring out fresh perspectives. With so many locations to choose from such as a coastal, bush or highlands environments within reach of Sydney the options are endless for the environment you wish to engage your employees in! There are so many budget friendly accommodation options as well such as twin/quad share, cabins to the more luxe air bnb with water views.

Photo by Silas Baisch on Unsplash

Invest in an Event Planner

Whilst I may be biased and that is my job to help you plan your corporate retreat, the hours upon hours upon hours of researching on the internet, booking and managing your accommodation details and rsvps can be saved by engaging in hiring an event planner. It may sound like a big initial cost, but in reality it would save on a lot of time which in turn would eventually save money and leave you to focus on the more important things as to what you want to discuss/achieve at your retreat. You would also get access to great rates and local knowledge on things such as where to get the best coffee to suggestions on great snorkeling or fishing locations (if that takes your fancy!) and everything inbetween. For even more reasons why – visit my other blog post.

The team building activity

A team building experience will allow your team to effectively communicate, provide opportunity for leadership along with bonding with colleagues but most of all having fun. Your activity that you decide to choose could be as competitive, active, daring or more relaxed, chilled or low key as you like- keeping in mind the team dynamics and personalities of your group. The advantage of adding an activity at your retreat is the possibility of gaining or earning back trust, building respect amongst team members and the potential for new relationships to be formed. However avoid traditional icebreaker “games” and team-building activities – even ones that you may have done in the past which can sometimes feel forced, don’t always work and could force participants to not take the activity seriously.

Creative Workshop with Misha Harrison – picture courtesy of Le Workshop

Final thoughts..

Finally, keep in mind that company retreats are for the benefit of the entire team. And you know who’s a super important part of the team? You!

It is easier said than done, but as the person running the event, you’ll inevitably feel a greater sense of responsibility. But you should still make it a point to participate in activities, sample some of the food, and connect with your teammates. Have we assisted you to start planning your retreat? Get in touch with us now!

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