How To Ensure Your Next Corporate Retreat Is Inclusive (and Successful)

Corporate retreats have drastically evolved in recent years. Pivoting to virtual during the pandemic, bridging to hybrid post-pandemic, the format has changed. But regardless of format, if you wish to ensure a successful retreat with long-lasting impact, it’s imperative to ask the question: how do we make sure these corporate retreats are inclusive?

Inclusive corporate retreats often have these traits in common. They focus on:

1. Deeper relationship-building versus transactional behavior?
2. Strategy, not tactics?
3. Building upon existing skill sets versus one-off skills training

Deeper Relationship Building Versus Transactional Behavior?

Corporate retreats can be more inclusive when they focus on deepening relationships versus transactional relationship-building activities. For example, going out to dinner or having a happy hour or even a teambuilding event like an escape room can be fun, but how do relationships deepen in those experiences? More often, existing relationships deepen when people spend meaningful time with other people. One way to deepen relationships is to focus on immersive experiences in nature.

In my interview with Kirk Reynolds, CEO and founder of Wilder, a nature-based retreat company, he said, “Nature doesn’t care what you’ve done and what your identity is. It is the ultimate level-set. In the outdoors, teams naturally bond. Even if one person doesn’t feel belonging, the whole team feels it and experiences it. Outdoor experiences deepen relationships because the sense of accomplishment is much better when everyone works towards a common goal.”

People remember experiences more than inspirational talks or social gatherings. After their all-company retreat with Wilder Retreats, Lily Bakour, Internal Communications at PATH, said, "Our time in Yosemite National Park was nothing short of magical. Everyone had the chance to explore, laugh, and grow together. It was a humbling reminder of the power of nature and importance of fostering playful, genuine connections with those around us.”

To be more inclusive at your next corporate retreat, consider immersive experiences in nature or other activities the whole group can participate in rather than engaging in divided groups or one-off activities.

Strategy, Not Tactics?

Rather than focus on report-outs, presentations or discussions about minute details, inclusive corporate retreats are more strategic. They focus on the big picture rather than the goals or steps to get there. Consider corporate-retreat practice runs of real-life strategic decisions that need to be made on a daily basis. This is your chance to dry-run, in a pseudo-protective environment, how the team will work together and make decisions.?

Reynolds notes, “Inclusive gatherings are about the journey, not the destination. It is one step at a time. Getting the ultimate goal accomplished is not the only outcome; how the team gets there together is the beautiful part.”

Many teams are from different geographic locations and are used to working together virtually, so corporate retreats can be the only time the team spends together. It's critical that these experiences are intentionally inclusive.

“Start with inclusivity as the foundation. Even if you don’t like nature, it is impossible to not be moved by experience. In nature, you experience the feeling of awe together by sharing an experience together. With remote teams, it is even more critical that they have a shared experience to build trust,” Reynolds recommends.

Whether your corporate retreat is outdoors in nature or indoors in a more controlled environment, it's critical that the team uses the time for big-picture thinking rather than tactical day-to-day decisions. This rare face-to-face time should be leveraged for creative thinking rather than tactics that could be managed by email or virtual meetings.

Building Upon Existing Skill Sets Versus One-Off Skills Training

Often corporate retreats have development activities. The question I like to ask when planning an inclusive corporate retreat is, “What are the skills you wish the team had more of?” For example, perhaps you wish the people on your team were more empathetic, trusting, proactive with conflict or problem solving. Land on the skills you hope to develop further versus introducing new leadership theories or one-off programs.?

Introduce new concepts or training programs as a way to enhance existing skill sets that the team is already cultivating or developing. Having an intentional, consistent set of activities that the team can embed into their culture versus an ad-hoc session helps create more synergy with past concepts and has a larger impact.

These skill-set-development activities can often be enhanced outdoors in nature. As Reynolds recognizes, “Outdoor experiences reduce tension, lead to [fewer] misunderstandings and enhance communication. Nature is the most powerful medium to do that.”

Whether your next corporate retreat is outside in nature or indoors, you can make it more inclusive by focusing on deepening relationships versus transactional interactions, prioritizing strategy over tactics and building upon existing skill sets versus one-off skills training.

Learn more at NextPivotPoint.com.