I was informed by a
client this week of his plans to take his staff on a retreat to address
issues facing their company. My inquisitive self asked him how he
planned on doing so. I was informed of his desire to engage a consultant
who has proposed seven topics for a weekend retreat. I was more
interested in this retreat and requested that he forward the topics to
me. I was however shocked when I saw the topics for each session of the
retreat. The topics were technical in character and more related to
marketing strategies. I began to wonder what the aim of the consultant
was – to make money out of my client without adding value or to assist
my client in addressing the issues enumerated by him.
My client obviously
wants result from his staffs in terms of job delivery and great balance
sheet. Is the consultant approach to the request the right way to go?
Obviously not, or should I say technically not. I have discovered that
in the corporate world, the word “training” is used synonymously with
the word “retreat” by some corporate consultants and corporate
managers. Staff training is said to be the key to ensure business
competitiveness and business profitability. Training staff and keeping
their skills up to date is essential to the success of business or
organization.
Undeniably, the
benefits gained from staff training are invaluable. For instance, it has
been observed that the trainings are able to reduce staff turnover,
increase productivity and improve the quality of work. These trainings
result to greater staff satisfaction through enhanced confidence,
personal development and career enhancement. Retreat on the other hand
is the act or process of withdrawing, especially from something
hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant. Company retreats are tremendous
opportunities to review, assess and align in order to move the company
forward.
Companies around
the world hold retreats yearly for many things. Some companies hold
retreats to build the teamwork between their own co-workers. Others feel
as though company morale is low, and that a retreat is the best way to
try and boost morale. Some companies notice holes in their workforce, or
issues that they need to address, and use a retreat to attempt to fix
the issues. Another way to use a retreat in a corporate way is to
organize one for those in management positions. A management retreat is a
great way to work on all of these things at once (morale, teamwork, and
actual work) and do so at a management level. Because of the importance
of management at a work place, companies need to make sure that the
activities that they do at a retreat can keep the retreat fun and
beneficial for both the workers and the management.
For an activity that
branches away from the norm, take the management employees on the
retreat off to a fun place say a beach, oversees trip or boat cruise can
help breathe new life into the retreat and can help to make the retreat
more enjoyable. This activity focuses more around the team chemistry
aspect of a retreat, rather than the business side. These activities
allow management to have fun with each other and build stronger
relationships between each other. By doing this, employees will relax
and will be able to be more productive when entering into the other
activities and exercises that you have planned that deal with the
business aspect of the retreat. Retreats for staff do not have to be
strictly business to be productive. By throwing in some socialization,
and having exercises to participate in, workers will be more open to the
entire retreat. By allowing them to have fun during the process, the
workers will be more likely to enjoy their time and take in everything
that the retreat has to offer.
