Planning a Productive Corporate Retreat

Business is business, but it can also be fun. A great corporate retreat or meeting does a bit of both: it engages employees with more than charts and figures while still staying focused on an agenda. It’s a meeting with a purpose where serious topics can be discussed while still enjoying the process.

Whether taking a break from a business discussion, or looking for a new way of having that discussion, experiential activities can be a great solution. But to be effective, you need to look for more than just an activity!  Great corporate retreat activities can accomplish very powerful results including:

• Reinforcing Meeting Topics: Are you discussing corporate communication? Try an activity that requires it! It’s immediate practice while the topic is still on everyone’s mind. Of course, communication is only the beginning: you can explore diversity, decision-making, and more in new and exciting ways.
• Making Ideas Tangible: If you’re exploring a challenging concept – strategy, restructuring, finances – an experiential activity can make it real.  “Making Sense Out Of Business” for example is an interactive way to teach financial concepts to non-financial managers.
• Opening Sensitive Topics: People are more open when they’re engaged and having fun. If you need to cover something difficult in your meeting, an experiential activity can be a great way to open the discussion and begin the dialog.
• Promoting Full Engagement: People can only stay focused in a meeting for so long, and how many times have you seen meetings being dominated by one or two individuals.  Experiential exercises are a great way to engage everyone on an even level and encourage every voice to be heard.

3 Examples of Great Corporate Retreat Activities

• Rockets: taking your team to new heights! Working in small teams to build and launch actual rockets that must meet specific customer requirements.  Communication, strategy, and collaborations are all critical to your overall success.
• Making Sense Out of Business: learning the financial demands of your organization. This simulation helps non-financial managers learn the basics of corporate finance so they are better armed to understand and discuss the financial demands of the organization.
• Boat Building: charting your course to success. As small teams design and build boats out of limited resources, they consider how to strategically achieve their goals.  An intriguing blend of competition and collaboration resulting in optimal outcomes.

Does your Raleigh company retreat need something a little extra? Learning Technologies, Inc. brings content know-how and planning expertise wherever you need it. Contact us today, and let’s talk about how we can make your meeting more.