Tips for organizing and hosting an unforgettable team retreat
Retreats and gatherings are important because they allow team members to strengthen their bond, improve collaboration, learn from each other, and cultivate a positive work culture outside the usual office or remote working environment. However, just bringing people together won’t suffice. Instead, a successful team gathering requires proper planning and execution to maximize the value of the time spent together.
Maliasili recently held our annual retreat, so we used that opportunity to source some advice and tips from our team on running an effective gathering.
Before the retreat: planning and organizing
What to do before the event happens →
Set goals: Be clear about your goals and often less is more (i.e. don’t try to do too much). Think critically about the topics you want to cover that are essential to your team at that particular point in time. Proper planning takes time. We suggest developing a detailed facilitation plan long in advance of your gathering. You’ll need to be flexible and adjust it as you go along, but the more prepared you are the more you’ll be sure to get the most out of your team’s time together.
Assign a lead: Appoint a clear person responsible for the overall event. The leader coordinates to ensure that everyone with a role is prepared, ready, and comfortable. However, one person can’t do it all, and they should delegate roles accordingly (e.g. session facilitators, logistics management, etc.).
Strike the right balance: As you plan your agenda, try to balance between time spent together on strategic topics (e.g. reviewing goals, refining programmatic plans, etc.) vs. time strengthening relationships and team dynamics. A retreat is a great opportunity to move strategic initiatives forward, but also an important opportunity to build team cohesion, relationships and trust.
Leave room for ‘free’ time: Don’t schedule every minute. Leave blocks of time for people to informally connect, have side meetings, and recharge.
Focus on the logistics: Smooth logistics are critical for a successful retreat. Appoint a team member to take the lead and ensure plenty of time for pre-planning to have accommodation, transport, ground transport, meals, visas (where necessary) all organized well before the event.
Advanced preparation: Make sure you give people sufficient notice to prepare, including background reading, to optimize your time together. Don’t use your valuable time together to share information and give updates that can be done at a different time. This kind of thing can be done asynchronously. Use the face-to-face time for generative thinking and crucial conversations.
Share high-level agendas and objectives of the retreat with your team several weeks in advance, but also leave space for adapting.
Shared ownership of the agenda goes a long way. Find appropriate and clear ways for the team to give input or ideas to the agenda and planning, particularly for sessions focused on their different areas of work.
Share pre-reads long in advance so that the team arrives well-prepared.
Provide practical logistical and program details: Send out a note to the team explaining the practical details (e.g. where they will be sleeping, what a typical day will look like, what you hope to achieve, what to bring, what costs they will need to self-finance etc.).
Allow preparation and transition time: Avoid scheduling intensive travel, meetings, or workshops immediately before or after the retreat. This allows participants to arrive prepared and energized, as well as giving them time to process, reflect, and smoothly transition back into their work.
Think about catering to your team’s diverse personalities: Consider the different needs of extroverts and introverts when planning your program - some team members will thrive on the action and social contact, while others will need some quiet time to recharge.
Adapt to learning styles: Consider different learning styles and think of ways to engage the team. Facilitation techniques can be important to hearing ideas from everyone in the room, not just the frequent contributors.
Think critically about where you should meet →
Keep it small: If you can book out an entire venue, go for it! From our experience, holding a retreat in a place where there are other people around can be distracting when you’re trying to focus on important issues and create a strong group dynamic. When that’s not possible, identify a ‘home base’ that is a space just for your team.
Balance cost with comfort: Camping is cost-effective and some discomfort and adventure are great ingredients for team building. However, if your team needs to be working late to prepare for sessions etc, they will need some facilities available.
Enrich your experience with field learning: Are there any places that would offer useful learning opportunities for your team? Consider combining your retreat with a field trip that could deepen your team’s learning or expose them to new approaches.
Environment matters for effective thinking: We’re in the field of conservation. A windowless hotel conference room is not ideal for long sessions and generative discussions for anyone but in particular for people in our line of work. Think about how the physical environment of the venue can be an asset to your gathering.
During the gathering
As a participant, how can you gain the most out of your team gathering? →
Set personal objectives: Think about what you want to get out of the time with your team. Retreats are great ways to connect and bond with colleagues, but it’s important to think about any other individual goals you may have for this time together, and plan for them.
Are there issues you’d like to discuss with the bigger group?
Are there any side meetings you think would be more productive when held in person?
Prepare yourself to engage fully: Be present and be prepared so you can fully engage. Do your homework and come prepared. As best as possible, try to put other things in your life on hold so that when you’re at the retreat, the focus can be there. Keep an open mind and engage with new ideas and thinking.
Top tip from a parent: Send video messages home and ask for the same. This allows everyone to communicate when it’s most convenient for them.
Learn from individual colleagues: If there is a team member you’ve been hoping to connect with, take advantage of the retreat as an opportunity to do this in person and with time.
Optimize your energy: Get rest and be mindful of how much energy you have. It’s okay to skip a tea break and have a short walk alone if that will help you refresh and refocus.
How can you, as a leader, facilitate your team gathering to encourage innovative thinking and full participation?→
Share responsibility for creativity: Spread out the load - the more team members have a direct responsibility to either facilitate a session or arrange an event, the more engaged and creative everyone will be in running the sessions.
Balance structured sessions with autonomy: Combine facilitated sessions with open discussions where different issues can surface. Facilitators/team leaders are often responsible for how sessions will be run, so there is a lot to be gained by allowing teams to ‘facilitate themselves.’ They may come up with ideas you wouldn’t have thought of.
Balance breadth and depth: Don’t try to cover too much; you’ll not be able to address or discuss all the topics that your team may want. Choose a few topics that are best fit for an in-person gathering to spend more time on and leave the others for your regular weekly meetings.
Create a ‘parking lot’: For ideas that are generated or questions asked that you don’t have time for, but you also don’t want to forget. You can explore these further later as a team after the retreat.
Create a safe, honest space: Retreats should be open, safe spaces for the team to experiment and try new ways of doing things. They should be a safe and constructive peer environment for thinking, learning and problem-solving together.
How can the retreat be an opportunity for your team to gain new skills and knowledge?→
Encourage facilitation: Get different team members to facilitate/lead sessions and practice their facilitation ‘muscle’. We can all benefit from learning effective facilitation skills, and team gatherings provide a perfect opportunity to practice. Ask the team what topics they want to cover or feel the need to discuss, and then encourage them to design and lead a generative session.
Cross-departmental exchange: Take advantage of having the team together, and connect and learn from members of other departments. For example, if you’re in the programs team, find time to connect with a finance team member, and gain new knowledge!
After the retreat
Have an action plan for follow-up →
Have an action plan to carry ideas forward: A team retreat can generate lots of new ideas, plans, and strategic thinking, but you need to make sure these get carried forward. Review each session after the retreat and create an action plan to carry new ideas through to implementation.
Ask for feedback from your team on what worked, what didn’t, and what can be improved for next time →
Get feedback:
Send out an anonymous survey with useful questions about the retreat.
Speak directly to your teams - ask them what they enjoyed about the retreat, and what they found the most valuable. Ask them what they’d like to see done differently in the future.
We asked our team their best retreat moments…
I love informal gatherings, especially when there is a beautiful backdrop and something we don't get to see in our usual day-to-day work.
Tackling hard topics such as gender issues or racial/tribal dynamics within your field or organization. Focused time face to face is an opportunity to discuss difficult topics within a team that can reinforce organizational values and move an organization forward.
Small group discussions and building time for reflection and application of new material can lead to “a ha” breakthrough thinking.
At our recent retreat, we used peer “trios” as a home base and thinking space. We got to spend time exploring ideas and working in a new way together.
We once held a quiz for fun. It was really a chance for people to let loose, and it brought out everyone’s competitive spirit!
Meals together. In most cultures worldwide, mealtime is an intimate and strategic moment. During our recent retreat, I had the best conversations over a nice plate of food - difficult, reflective, funny, and deep.