On the surface, a corporate retreat may seem like little more than a fun way to spend a few hours with co-workers or employees. To some, it may even seem like a waste of valuable corporate resources. After all, a big endeavor will certainly require considerable time, effort and money that you may think is better spent on mission critical tasks for your company. These events may require effort from multiple employees for several weeks or longer to plan. However, there are a few good reasons why organizing a corporate retreat makes sense.
Team Building and Training
A corporate retreat may be as basic as hosting a company picnic on a Saturday afternoon, but many corporate retreats include some type of team building or employee training opportunities. These are sessions that are designed to be fun but that have true purpose. For example, there may be a ropes course that is designed to instill trust in co-workers or listening games that enhance communication. There are numerous ideas for team building and training that you can incorporate into a retreat in between dinners and rounds of golf.
Goodwill and Camaraderie
In addition, all types of events provide co-workers a chance to mingle and socialize outside of a traditional work environment. Many work environments are stressful, and tensions can build quickly. Co-workers may grow to resent each other or may have other negatives feelings when they are not friendly in some fashion. While not everyone will be able to relate on a friendly level and will find each other appealing as friends, the fact is that some co-workers can develop great friendships with each other. This may boost productivity at work, and it may encourage your employees to remain with your company for a longer period of time. Even those who do not become friends may develop a better understanding of each other on a personal level, and this can be a basis for respect and trust.
While you may not be able to measure the tangible benefits of a corporate retreat in terms of the value they provide to your company, they nonetheless do provide you with significant value. If you have been putting off planning a corporate retreat because of the perception that it does not have true value to your company, you may want to consider how these intangible benefits can actually be invaluable to your organization over the long run.