Industry Secrets to Corporate Retreat Planning

What are the top tips for great offsite design from leaders at Airbnb, Bloom & Wild and Lego?

Offsites are increasingly recognized as pivotal tools for fostering alignment, enhancing team dynamics, and driving organizational growth. But what were the best tips shared with us on The Future of Teams Podcast to get the most out of your offsite design? Strap in! Here we go….

TL;DR

(Prefer listening? Get the full low-down in each episode of The Future of Teams podcast)…

The Business Case for Offsites

If you need any convincing check out this piece on the business case for offsites, which goes into financial case studies, team performance research and a whole lot more. But here’s what our guests said that offsites meant for them:

"The teams where I felt most seen... have been where the leader of that team has committed strongly to offsites and the idea of gatherings" - Tom Hall, GM, Lego Education

"We had some excellent offsites... It evolved over time as we grew into a bigger team... It was about how can we use this for team bonding and cultivating culture?" - Sarah Ratner, Founding Team and ex-COO, Lendable

The Power of Offsites in Building Team Dynamics

Remote Team Building Services: In the era of remote work, offsites provide an essential platform for bringing scattered teams together. These services are crucial for creating a sense of unity and shared purpose among team members who typically interact in a digital environment.

"I'm committed to the power of connection and gathering and... having shared experiences gives you as a team a collective vocabulary and set of memories. I'm committed to [offsites] as a practice... a well-designed gathering pays crazy dividends in terms of return on that team strength"​​." - Tom Hall, GM, Lego Education

Hybrid Work Retreats: As businesses embrace hybrid models, hybrid work retreats serve as a bridge between remote and in-office activities. These retreats are tailored to improve team performance by blending physical and virtual elements effectively, ensuring that all team members feel included and valued.

"We work on a quarterly heartbeat. By getting people together every three months... we also learn more how to pick up on some of those cues... It really builds in that engagement piece" - Stephen Janaway, VP, Engineering, Bloom and Wild

Strategic Planning and Corporate Retreats Design

Corporate Retreat Planning: Meticulous planning goes into creating corporate retreats that align with strategic business goals. These events are more than just team-building; they are a reiteration of the company's direction and objectives, ensuring every member is on the same page.

Think about:

Optionality: design for team-members to choice not be held captive:

"Focusing on individual needs AND doing what is needed for the broader team collective.” - Prof Wendy K Smith, author of Both/And Thinking

Facilitation: if you have a large group or a difficult conversation to broach, we would recommend the extra investment.

"I always encourage the leaders to take their leadership hats off and be one of the team... What really doesn't work is when there's a lot of telling, side-based work" - Ruth Farenga, Author, Next Level Leadership

"So it's a really interesting balance of showing up as human but also having a role as leader... It helps if there is a facilitator or a coach to play the role of leader in that moment" - Jim Hughes, Coach, Untamed

Multi-day: it’s inevitable that you will over-estimate how much you can achieve. Given the effort, go for an extra night or two to really maximise on the moment.

"Next week we have a big company coming. They'll come for a day and then I know what will happen the next time they come. They'll go, "Actually we want to come overnight"​​. - Giles Hutchins , Author, Leading by Nature

Authentic, memorable connections you can’t achieve via digital.

"Think about what people miss... plan those sorts of activities that will build the connections... It's about making people feel valuable and valued" - Stephen Janaway, VP, Engineering, Bloom and Wild

"Having that kind of shared experience... really helps in building a strong team dynamic that can work through tough challenges together" - Anton Chernikov discussing the importance of unique spaces for connection​​.

“Encouraging employees to do someone else's job on those offsites worked really nicely for culture building and also for generating new innovations" - Sarah Ratner, Founding Team and ex-COO, Lendable

"Sometimes some of that time is just spent they just want to sit down and code next to each other and that's fine. That builds those connections" - Stephen Janaway, VP, Engineering, Bloom and Wild

Don’t overpack the agenda. Let the connection moments breathe:

"When we gather as a team in these offsite settings, it's not about the agenda or the meetings; it's about the moments in between, where true connections are made.” - Ruth Farenga, Author, Next Level Leadership

Inspire with your unique retreat venue in nature

Choosing the right location can significantly impact the success of an offsite. Selecting venues must inspire creativity and collaboration and also resonate with the company’s culture and leadership’s vision by going beyond the day-to-day.

"To create experiences that take a bit of imagination and courage to go beyond the typical corporate environment""​​ - Andy Middleton, Impact Specialist, Unreasonable

"Offsites are a rare chance to think outside the box, literally and figuratively, stepping away from our usual environment to inspire innovation" - Stephen Janaway, VP, Engineering, Bloom and Wild

"Bringing ourselves out of our boardroom into nature and having these offsites be in nature is so just fundamental to our humanity"​​ - Elina Teboul, Executive Coach and Author

Plan, book and measure

Understanding and measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) of corporate offsites is crucial for business leaders to justify the costs and evaluate the tangible benefits these events bring to an organization. Effective ROI analysis not only confirms the value of these retreats in terms of team performance and engagement but also aligns them with broader business objectives. For COOs and HR directors focusing on strategic planning retreats or leadership development retreats, quantifying outcomes like enhanced collaboration, increased employee satisfaction, and the direct impact on operational efficiency can demonstrate the significant returns on investment. Incorporating tools and strategies that allow for precise tracking and analysis of these metrics is essential, ensuring that every offsite is an investment towards building a more dynamic, cohesive, and productive workforce. This approach not only supports budgeting decisions but also showcases offsites as a pivotal component of corporate strategy, driving the company’s growth and innovation in competitive markets.

“You have to find that balance of a high level of curation AND a feedback loop and measurement." - Q Hamirani, CPO of Paper

“Monitoring “was this effective?” Can you see people building a deeper engagement to the team?” - Tom Hall, GM, Lego Education

"How do you measure success is something that you want to look at" - Laïla von Alvensleben, Remote Work Specialist

The Strategic Value of Offsites

So, offsites are not just gatherings; they are strategic tools that can significantly enhance team performance, foster deep connections, and align everyone with the company's goals. For COOs and HR leaders looking to drive innovation and growth, effectively planned offsites can be transformative, offering a unique blend of professional development and personal connection that traditional settings simply cannot match.

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