Corporate Retreat

I participated in three TEC meeting retreats with different TEC groups over the past three weeks. Each was an overnight meeting at a very nice resort. The members participating in the retreats knew each other to varying degrees. While the intended purpose of each retreat was similar, the actual outcome varied from group to group.

One group secured the services of a noted outside facilitator. The agenda for this retreat was chocked full of group exercises. Pre-meeting homework was required of the participants. There was little down time. The TEC members in attendance got what they expected. Plenty of action. But not much of a retreat.

I was the facilitator for the second meeting. The agenda was a bit more flexible. To be sure, this TEC group worked for the day and a half we were together. But there was sufficient "white space" during the meeting for unplanned and unstructured member interaction. An optional group activity - trap shooting - at the conclusion of the meeting, added a semi-competitive, fun event for participating members.

Once again, I facilitated the third meeting. This meeting had several new TEC members in attendance. Our group activity - a canoe trip down the Wisconsin River - was planned for the afternoon of the first day of the retreat. It was not optional and created a unique environment to get to know people that dinner at a fine restaurant could simply not allow. Again, members worked during parts of the retreat, but the bonding opportunity was the key to the success of the event.

Members of each group reported different degrees of satisfaction with their group retreats. The first group reported "too much stuff" on the agenda. The evening dinner for this group included a "working dinner" with a facilitated team building exercise. The fun meter was on low for this group. They got what they bargained for, but didn't totally appreciate the result.

Group number two was better. But again, I allowed the agenda to become too crowded and was unable to get to everything that needed to be discussed. A special follow up meeting needed to be scheduled to address a member issue that was omitted from the proceedings.

The third group got it about right. They worked. Had some fun. They got to know each other better on a beautiful sunny afternoon floating down the river. This group reported the highest member satisfaction with the event overall.

Webster's defines a retreat as "a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study and instruction under a director." The corporate retreat is indeed good for the soul. The lesson learned here is to build in sufficient time for people to get know each other as people.