Planning Kick Butt Retreats

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One of the best ways for a team to plan and prepare for the upcoming year is to have an off-site retreat. Often business retreats get a bad rap by employees because prior experience has proven that they really don't create any positive change in the workplace. Many times retreats are held for the wrong reasons or are labeled as a "retreat" when truly it's just a company party, picnic, team get together, or executive briefing session.

In this article, we will help you discover when a retreat is a good idea for your business, what type of retreat is appropriate and what format you should follow to plan a retreat that has a positive impact for your business.

When a Retreat is a Good Idea

A well-designed retreat can achieve great things for your business. It can help to change strategic direction, solve significant business issues, create new ways of working together and contribute to developing a healthier culture for your organization. Check out the top reasons listed below to hold a retreat to determine if it's the right decision for your business.

1. A tough decision needs to be made about direction, staff, customers, products or service and you would benefit from the input of many people at different levels of the organization to make the decision.
2. To build commitment to a vision for the organization and create alignment and accountability for achieving that vision.
3. To explore significant business issues or concerns such as low morale, an increase in customer complaints or a drop-off in sales.
4. To promote new ways of doing business, designing products, offering service or marketing. A retreat can help create understanding and commitment to a new direction.
5. To generate innovate ideas for new products, services or business processes.
6. To change perceptions, attitudes and behaviors that are harmful to the organization. A retreat can allow staff to discuss concerns, answer questions and clear up misunderstandings.
7. To improve relationships on a team or between departments or divisions.
8. To correct or change course when things are going wrong.
9. To determine business strategy both short and long term.

What Type of Retreat You Should Choose

The type of retreat that you choose will impact your planning and design for the retreat. The most common retreats are listed below.

• Executive  - top leaders convene to set strategy, measure progress, build trust, establish new priorities or make key decisions.
• Board/Staff - used to align actions of the staff with the priorities set by the board.
• Departmental - used when a new leader takes over, departmental changes and strategy is shifting.
• Interdepartmental - more than one department join together to find better ways of working together.
• Team - used to build trust and improve relationships for a work team, project team or departmental team.
• Customer or Vendor - used to strengthen relationships with key customers or vendors.
• Workforce/Stakeholders - This involves bringing everyone together to reach understanding of key issues and foster better relationships.  

What Format Your Retreat Should Follow 

Most organizations will custom design a retreat to address specific concerns. However, specialized retreat formats exist than can be helpful in achieving desired results. Listed here are several specialized retreat formats to consider for your next retreat. They usually require a facilitator that is trained in their methodology to be effective.

• Large System Interventions - A large group of various stakeholders work through a predesigned methodolgy.
• Open Space Technology - Participants design their own agenda at the retreat.
• World Cafe - A round robin format of conversations take place on a variety of topics.
• Simulations - Realistic business exercises are designed to help an organization work through actual issues.
• Appreciative Inquiry - Questions are used to help participants create plans for the future by considering past successes.
• Experiential/Outdoor - Participants engage in exercises or activities that challenge them physically and mentally and require teamwork.
• Work-Out - This process guides participants to suggest performance improvements for the business.

Obviously, there are several important factors to consider when planning a successful retreat. If you need your retreat to provide tangible results back in the office and in your business then consider these tips when planning your next retreat.

President's Message  

Come and celebrate!

September is turning out to be a great month. For starts, your chapter has been selected as the September Chapter of the month.

This is an achievement we should all be proud of. We received this prestigious award (there are 120 chapters in the U.S.) because of meeting our chapter operating requirements (CORE), and our innovative programs, specifically "Drink and Draw" and our "Past and Future Leaders Quorum". If you missed these, stay tuned...I have a feeling they will return in 2015.

This is the first time that our chapter has received this recognition. Many thanks to our volunteers, members and board for making our chapter vibrant.

Last week, 30 of you joined us with guest speaker Carol Clark from Game on Learning. She showed us why and how we should use gamification, and how we can leverage experiential learning we are already doing.

Ken Phillips held a webinar earlier this month on Level 2 assessments, and he'll be in Denver October 2nd for a live event on Level 3, and then wrap up with a follow-up webinar on Level 1. Feedback from the first webinar has been very good, and we hope to see you on October 2nd to learn more. Make your training more impactful and be able to measure and share the results.

The Facilitator's Exchange, an ATD-RMC Special Interest Group (SIG) kicked off with a lively discussion of how to increase engagement in both live and virtual learning. If you facilitate, please join us for the second meeting of

Your chapter continues to thrive. Today we have $28,079.72 in the bank, which covers a year of expenses, as part of our Chapter Operating Requirements (CORE). We currently have 218 members.

The best way to get the most out of your chapter is to jump in and get involved. Volunteering is a way to grow in your profession and leadership. We have great opportunities available - especially in the area of marketing, programming, and membership. Please contact me or Sue Fody for more information at volunteer@atdrmc.org .

We are here to serve you. Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions. You can email me at president@atdrmc.org.

Thank you,

Becky Magnotta

2014 ASTD Rocky Mountain Chapter President.