Five Must-Dos For Business Retreat Planning

Business retreats at ranch resorts or other conference locations can greatly revitalize a business. The change of scenery can get employees and managers out of a rut, helping to inspire new ideas and a clearer vision. They can also boost morale and help build stronger teams, allowing team members to connect in a context outside their daily grind.

Like most business decisions, a company gettogether requires a lot of planning and communication to be successful. Executives planning a business gettogether should consider the following when preparing for the event:

• Have a clear goal for the retreat – Without a clear goal, it will just be a junket. Have specific objectives or issues you intend to address. and pick a location and activity plan that will move that agenda forward.
• Schedule team-building activities – All PowerPoint presentations and talk sessions is bound to fail. To shake things up, you need activities that get your people active and working together. Scour the Internet for team-building activities and incorporate them.
• Consider business needs when scheduling a retreat – Take your business and your employees' schedules into consideration when scheduling. Try to schedule the retreat for a time that will have minimal disruptive impact on your business and your employees' lives. If it's a busy season for the business, schedule the event for a less hectic time. Also take your employees' childcare situations into consideration and avoid retreats that are too long. Solicit input from employees and managers when planning to ensure you don't overlook any business needs.
• Focus – Eliminate distractions by making your business gettogether a smartphone and tablet-free affair. Your people need to be focused on the agenda at hand, not what's going on back at the office.
• Make it enjoyable – If your employees are looking forward to it with the same level of enthusiasm typically reserved for yearly anti-harassment training or health insurance seminars, you're not going to get much mileage in terms of breathing new life and ideas into your company.

Even if you're just having it at a hotel meeting room, be sure to schedule some fun events or dinners to make it less of a chore and more of an opportunity for your employees. Retreat experts say an 80/20 work to fun ratio helps make retreats more fun and effective.

By effectively planning your business gettogether, including selecting the right conference center or team building facility, you can ensure your company gets the best return on its investment.