What is a company retreat?
A company retreat is a strategic approach to bringing employees together outside of their typical work environment to enhance company culture, foster relationship-building, focus on business strategies, or discuss future objectives. Company retreats can be for the whole company, blending multiple departments, or for individual departments or teams (such as a senior leadership team), depending on the overall objectives for the retreat. Retreats can range from a half-day offsite to a multi-day trip.
Why are company retreats important?
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Happy employees in a healthy work environment produce better work. Company retreats are a vital tool for enhancing team collaboration and communication, increasing employee engagement and mental well-being, fostering innovation, and retaining top talent.
According to a survey by Salesforce, 75% of employees say team collaboration and communication are crucial for workplace success. Company retreats provide a space for employee appreciation, recognition, and bonding, which in turn boosts engagement. Employees are more likely to stay with (and recommend) companies that invest in a meaningful company culture.
To put it simply, enjoying the people you work with is almost as important as enjoying the work itself.
How to plan & organize a company retreat
To begin planning your company retreat, it’s essential to determine who, where, when, and why.
- Who: Will the retreat be for the entire company, certain divisions, or specific teams? How large or small will it be?
- Where: Based on who is attending, determine what location and duration make the most sense. Will this be a multi-day retreat where employees are travelling, or a one-day retreat local to your office? Budget may also be a factor in these decisions.
- When: Is there a particular time of year that’s best for the audience attending or for your client coverage while employees are away from the office? Is there a goal to be achieved by a specific timeframe? Is the destination or activities planned weather-dependent?
- Why: This may be the most critical question to answer: What are the main goals and objectives of your company retreat? Do you want to get employees out of the office to get to know each other better and foster a sense of community? Do you want employees to gain insight into company-wide decisions or future objectives? Or do you want a combination of both—some unstructured leisure time and some structured meeting time?
Once you’ve answered these questions, be sure to plan a thoughtful and balanced agenda for the entire program, focusing on strategic planning and budgeting, and communicate effectively with stakeholders as you prepare.
5 best company retreat ideas your team will love
There are many ways to format your company retreat, and there is no right or wrong way to go about it. Clearly define your goals and objectives early on and use those to help drive your retreat format and inclusions. Below are some high-level formats with specific company retreat ideas mixed in throughout.
1. Spirit Week
A relatively cost-effective way to show employee appreciation and foster community is with a company spirit week in and around your office. For one of Castle’s milestone anniversaries, we hosted a spirit week by our employee-led culture committees. Below is a list of Castle’s culture committees and their plans for our spirit week. Note: Our culture committees are centered on what’s essential to our company culture and are led by employees who are passionate about those initiatives
- Health & Wellness: Enjoy morning smoothies and yoga classes or indulge in chair massages.
- Sustainability: Circular Celebration—a clothing and book swap event to celebrate and encourage circular consumerism, featuring drinks and snacks from local vendors. Donate unswapped items to a local charity.
- Corporate Social Responsibility: Set up a volunteer opportunity with a local organization or one your company or clients already support, to get involved in a more hands-on way.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Bring in a DEI speaker or have a group reflection on a relevant book, film, or podcast.
- Organizational Fun: Plan a laid-back happy hour in your office. Play board games or networking games. Consider offering an employee gift to show appreciation and close out your spirit week with a bang!
2. Local Teambuilding & Lunch or Dinner
Begin with a half-day meeting in the office or at a nearby hotel or conference center, then treat employees to a local activity or excursion and a meal for a fun, celebratory outing. Depending on your location, outing ideas may include:
- Axe throwing
- Beach picnic
- Boating excursion
- Cooking class
- Escape room
- Local hike
- Mini golf
- Painting class
- Ropes course
- Scavenger hunt
- Sporting events
- Winery or brewery tour
3. Overnight Getaway
Employees can feel truly appreciated when treated to an overnight getaway—and it doesn’t have to be overly elaborate either. A one-night getaway within a reasonable distance from your main office can be the ideal amount of time away from the office, yet not too far from home, to make employees feel connected. Consider glamping, a resort hotel in a more remote vacation destination, or a city-center experience. Your agenda could include:
- Day 1:
- Half-day meeting with internal speakers on various topics
- Offsite dinner in a private space at a local restaurant
- Day 2:
- Half-day meeting with an external speaker, either guiding a workshop or leading a broader topic, such as wellness or motivation
- Afternoon activities and dinner
- Optional choices such as: spa treatment, guided hike, local shopping excursion, or local tour
- Or a group activity such as one of the teambuilding activities listed in #3 above
4. Multi-Day Trip
If budget allows, an excellent way to recognize employees for their contributions can be with a multi-day trip to a fun destination. This could be something your organization invests in once per year, biannually, or only every five to ten years for milestone anniversaries. Ideas include:
- An all-inclusive resort in Mexico
- A dude ranch in Arizona
- A spa resort in the Berkshires
- A beach getaway in South Beach
- A tour through California wine country
- A trip to an iconic sporting event (e.g., the Masters, Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, etc.)
5. Virtual Retreats
While in-person gatherings are preferred for maximum success (according to a report by Gusto, over 84% of employees believe fostering a sense of community is vital to the success of their business), it is not always realistic to meet in person. If that’s the case for your organization, here are a few ideas for making virtual gatherings more fun and engaging:
- Send pre-event mailers with snacks and swag to use during the virtual gathering.
- Host a virtual class, such as a cooking, mixology, or art class, where attendees receive the ingredients or supplies pre-event, and a well-known chef or artist provides the instruction.
- Create a game, such as a trivia contest, to keep everyone engaged. Have prizes for the top winners (or even a team of winners) to amp up engagement and collaboration.
- Hire an engaging speaker or performer who can operate remotely. Motivational speakers, magicians, and musical performers are always a hit virtually.
- Host an online awards ceremony, whether superlatives or true awards you give annually, personal recognition is always a fun way to make employees feel appreciated.
Bring your company retreat ideas to life with help from Castle
At Castle, we pride ourselves on being partners to our clients—an extension of your team and event strategists that can help ensure your company retreat goals are met, planning is seamless, and the retreat operates smoothly.
From sourcing the perfect venue, to providing full logistics management, to onsite operations and support—soup to nuts and anywhere in between—Castle’s Event Management services can help get the most out of your company retreat, while giving your employees the best possible experience and takeaways.
Once your company retreat concludes, don’t forget to solicit feedback from employees to ensure success.
