What to expect before a company retreat?

Company retreats are important. They give you a chance to know your team members, indulge in fun and engaging team-building activities, gain new learning experiences and socialise with your office colleagues. Company retreats help improve overall team productivity and enhance team cohesiveness.?

What is a company retreat?

Imagine taking a break from the tedious work cycle, and regular job responsibilities and Unwinding with your team members at an informal get-together. Sounds exciting right? Company retreats not only help in reducing workplace stress and anxiety but also help employees identify each other's strengths and weaknesses.?

Benefits of a company retreat

Planning a company retreat is a great way to build team morale. After a company retreat, you will automatically see a change in your team's behaviour. It will change their approach towards work and encourage them to set and achieve higher goals.

With the changing work culture, both start-ups and big MNCs are now planning regular company retreats to surprise their employees and give them a chance to interact with each other away from the daily hustle of the workplace.

Planning company retreats has also become a very popular way for management to show gratitude for their workforce and appreciate the hard work of their employees by taking them out for exciting activities, lunches, and dinners. It is always a good idea to plan an occasional company retreat to let your employees know that you care. It will not only re-energize your team but also strengthen internal bonds and allow them to focus on shared goals.?

What to expect before a company retreat?

If your company is planning a company retreat and you are confused about what to expect, read on to know all about company retreats (and it is not limited to motivational speeches and boring lectures)

Fun and exciting activities: Post the pandemic, several companies have adopted the remote working culture and more organizations are slowly planning to go fully remote in the future. This has prompted the need for letting the employees meet once in a while and indulge in fun activities that not only help them know each other but also bring them closer to nature. You can expect several engaging nature, indoor, and outdoor activities such as boating, horse riding, trekking, dumb charades, and truth and dare, amongst others at your company retreat. If the company retreat is near a lake or a river, you can also expect fun water activities such as river rafting and kayaking that will help you unwind and relax with your team members away from the stress and pollution of the city.

A welcome party or icebreakers: Be it a formal or an informal company retreat, an ice-breaking session is a must to ensure that everyone gets to know each other better and warms up for all the upcoming fun and learning experiences! You can expect a fun ice-breaking session that may include a welcome party or a gun games night with different team-building games that will help break the ice between the employees and encourage them to open up with each other. After this welcome party which will also include snacks and yummy juices, you can expect to kick-start the mesmerising experience at your company retreat and get ready for a life-changing time.?

A Karaoke: There are different kinds of members in every team and each one has a different talent which is often a secret from the others. At a company retreat, you can expect such talents to come out in the open during a karaoke night where everyone gets a chance to sing and dance to their favourite songs. You can sing alone or make a group and entertain everyone and make it a musical night to remember!

Small work sessions: Yes, corporate retreats are not just limited to playing games and watching movies, but they also give you a chance to work with your team and learn something new about each other’s working patterns, especially if you are a remote team. Several start-ups that work remotely set up small work sessions at company retreats to give their employees a chance to work with each other after all those virtual meeting sessions.?

Team lunches, dinners, and breakfast: There is no better bonding than bonding over food! You can expect a nice barbecue dinner with your teammates around the bonfire at a company retreat that will give you a chance to show off your cooking skills. You can also expect to have breakfast and other meals with each other and probably take some cooking or cake classes to channel the inner chef in you.

A movie night: Many company retreats are about taking their employees to a fun movie night where they can all enjoy a film together at the theatre. After the movie, you can expect to go for dinner or lunch and maybe a walk with your team to the nearest park.

Final Takeaway

A company is a get-away or get-together for a team to bond with each other and make new memories. If you have recently been on a company retreat, do share your learning experiences with us in the comments section or any other questions that you have in mind ??