Green Office Retreats
How to plan your company retreat
The Ultimate Guide: How to Plan a Successful Company Team Building Retreat
Company team-building retreats are more popular than ever. With remote & hybrid working, teams can feel disconnected from their colleagues and the culture of the company.
Smart organisations understand the benefits of supporting their people’s well-being, building team values and relationships, and nurturing creativity in an off-site location.
But how to plan a company team building retreat that works for the needs of your business?
At Green Office Retreats, we specialise in crafting successful team-building events so if you're in charge of planning your company's retreat, we can show you where to start.
Here is our ultimate guide to planning an unforgettable and inspiring corporate retreat with a difference.
Step 1 - Define the purpose & budget of the company retreat
The first thing to do is to work out what you want to achieve with the retreat.
Are you looking to reward the team for a successful quarter? Or are you a fast-growing company who needs to onboard new team members and foster company ethos? Are you launching a project with a new client? Do you want to come together as a company to play and inspire creativity?
Before you start planning, you need to understand what success looks like for your company getaway.
If you are unsure, speak to the company leadership team and/or HR, so the retreat is aligned with the business goals. This is also the perfect time to confirm what budget you have for the event.
Step 2 - Create you perfect retreat itinerary.
Your company retreat should be planned to consider everyone who is attending, accessibility, culture of the team and the company goals.
We recommend that you gather insights on what the team would like to do, expectations, and activities they would enjoy.
This will get people excited but also draw out any issues that may come up.
Incorporate team building that encourages communication, trust, and problem-solving which aligns with the purpose of your team offsite. Also, consider a mix of activities catering to various tastes and preferences with some of them mandatory and others optional.
Don’t forget to schedule social & wellbeing time, helping to break down barriers and encourage people to naturally get together and connect during the retreat.
Step 3 - Find the perfect venue for your retreat.
The venue you choose will set the tone for the entire retreat.
If you are looking for an antidote to the office environment and a space to bring remote teams together, choosing a place in nature has many benefits. A natural environment is good for your team’s well-being, provides space for people to think outside the box and inspires creativity and connection.
When speaking to venues, pull together a list of key questions to accommodate your company needs. Here are a few questions to start you off:
Can the venue meet all your needs?
Is there suitable spaces for working with good wifi?
Do they have spaces to encourage the team to unplug?
Have access to nature and outdoor activities?
Can the venue accommodate comfortably the numbers for solo & mixed sleeping arrangements?
Can they provide quality catering during your retreat?
Is it a place that can also be used for socialising and team building activities?
Remember to ask for testimonials from any venues or check out their reviews online.
Step 4 - Take care of logistics.
Managing logistics is a key aspect of a smooth-running company retreat. Lack of communication about food allergies, leaving team members behind without joining instructions, or sharing sleeping accommodation with your boss. All HR nightmares!
Delegate responsibilities for accommodation, transport, dietary needs, and all other logistics to a dedicated team member or coordinator. It’s a good idea to have a master source of information for all these elements (cant be a spreadsheet for this!) as things can change at the very last minute. You can then share this information with your venue, and they can ensure everything is in place for when you arrive.
Step 5 - Follow-up and measure success
It’s important to get feedback after the company retreat so you can assess its success. You can do this as a formal exercise with a feedback form or you can speak to the attendees to see whether it met the goals.
As you plan future events you can adapt and continuously improve based on this research.
It is also helpful to share any key takeouts from the retreat too with the venue, especially if you plan to come back.
Choose a partner to take care of it all for you.
We hope this guide has helped you shape your own corporate retreat from start to finish.
At Green Office Retreats, we save you time and stress by taking care of all the event management for you - nature retreat venue, accommodation, food, team building activities, logistics & transport
If you want to find out how we can help you, please contact us.