It’s that time of year again where you’re either excited about the company retreat or dreading having to attend. To get the most out of your trip together and create positive memories, here are a few tips to guide you through the planning process:
Set Clear Expectations
Unless you’ve always held your company retreat in the same manner or have no intention to make any changes, it’s always good to create an agenda so that people can prepare and pack for accordingly. Before finalizing the details for the trip, share your plans with everyone and get them to provide feedback to ensure that everyone’s agreeable. After that, draft the agenda and make it known again. This is a good way to verify if the company retreat will be a successful one.
Leave Your Titles Outside
Let’s be honest: titles can be a little intimidating. Even if you’re used to talking at work on a weekly basis, it’s quite a different matter to bond and grow closer if seniority and rank are thrown into the mix. One of the essential reasons for retreats is usually to build understanding, trust, and teamwork, so it’s a good time to just join in and forget who’s the boss.
Avoid Major Cities and Towns
Popular spots are likely to be more expensive since that’s where you’ll expect a more regular crowd. Unless there’s a necessity to go somewhere further or secure a place that meets your specific requirements, you could be better off with a local recommendation. Not only will you save more on travel expenses, you can probably get a lot more people involved since it’s going to be somewhere nearer. If it’s within easy driving distance, you can save further by excluding accommodations from the retreat.
Go Virtual
Although it’s still uncommon these days, the progress of communication apps and teleconferencing abilities has changed the way we operate. Instead of bringing everyone physically to a certain venue, you can even hold a virtual retreat by giving everyone a semi-holiday and having them tune in during certain hours for retreat activities that can be done online. That way, everyone gets a break wherever they choose to be (e.g. home, on holiday or a cafe next door) and yet be available for virtual group meetups and discussions.
Take Advantage of Existing Events
If there’s a special event, seminar or gathering in the works that involves most people in the company, you can always plan your retreat around it instead of having it separately. Not only does this make things more convenient in terms of planning activities and ensuring a good turnout, you can also skip the hassle of preparing for two individual events and maybe even save more money in the process.
If you already know the number of people attending and most of the venues you’ll be visiting, you can save yourself the trouble of arranging for transportation with our pain-free online booking system. Our Orange County chauffeurs are always up to the task and ever ready to provide the entire company with a safe and comfortable journey for the whole duration of the trip.
