Companies are bringing back staff retreats and for good reason. Working from home and in hybrid teams has many benefits, but there’s something to be said about working together face-to-face. A Stanford study found that in-person teams generated 15-20% more ideas than all-remote teams.
Company retreats are one of the best ways to bring your team together and offer team-building, problem-solving, and nature-based activities that can boost productivity, creativity, and employee morale. Let’s look at what a staff retreat is, the benefits, and some fun retreat activities that you can use to ensure your company retreat maximizes your ROI.
What Is a Company Retreat?
A company retreat is an off-site event where team members and employees can mingle outside of work in a structured environment. These events can last anywhere from a few days to a week, usually in a specific location, such as outdoors or in a hotel or conference center.
With many teams working remotely and in hybrid environments, these events give them a chance to collaborate and enhance teamwork and productivity. There are many benefits to having staff retreats, so let’s take a look at some of the potential benefits of hosting one.
What Are the Benefits of a Company Retreat?
Some of the top benefits of a company retreat include the following:
- Improves team building: Fun activities outside of the stressful work environment can help facilitate bonding with employees and teams.
- Improves communication skills: Staff retreats give members a chance to have face-to-face interaction with other people in the company “off-line” and in a fun setting.
- Boosts creativity: Getting everyone together in a new location gives everyone a chance to brainstorm new ideas and collaborate. Recent research found that 53% of employees stated they came up with the most creative ideas at work retreats.
- Increases productivity: Staff retreats can boost productivity. Gallup found that team building boosts productivity by 18%.
- Reduces work-related stress: Staff retreats give retreat participants a chance to unwind from daily work stressors in a shared environment.
Fun Staff Retreat Ideas for Activities
Designing a retreat schedule that is both enjoyable and productive for your team can be challenging. Let’s check out some fun and beneficial activities that align with your company’s goals for these staff retreats.
Team Building Activities
Team-building activities help bring teams closer together and, in turn, help them collaborate better in the office. Team-building games help to foster a sense of community and lead to better interaction among the team.
Trivia games are fun, competitive, and foster a sense of community. At The Comedian Company, we have a hilarious Friendly Feud game that many teams have used at corporate events and retreats. Choose our Family Feud for your next staff retreat team-building activity.
Soft Skills Training Activities
You should include soft skills training activities and personal development activities at your staff retreat. MIT Sloan found that soft skills training yielded over 250% return on investment within about 8 months after the training class.
Not only will your team benefit from learning soft skills that they can use in real life, but your entire business can benefit from these activities. Important soft skills you could focus on include active listening, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, analytical skills, and creativity.
Scavenger Hunts
Scavenger hunts are a good activity for a business retreat for many reasons. First, it’s a great way to get everyone divided into teams to communicate and work together for a common fun goal. Second, it allows for fun play outside of the office.
Your team can also improve its observational skills while enjoying a bit of friendly competition in a natural environment. You can even get tech-savvy and try augmented reality scavenger hunts for a unique experience.
Yoga, Meditation, and Qigong sessions
Your work retreat should include at least one wellness session. Yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, and Qigong are all great ways to help reduce stress and encourage healing of the mind, body, and soul for your team. For example, yoga has been shown to decrease work-related stress during yoga interventions.
Nature Trips
With so many teams working online or at least with a device in hand for over half the day, nature trips are ideal staff retreat activities. Have everyone unplug and leave devices off for at least the daytime hours while everyone is together.
You can choose a retreat center in a remote location, by a river or a lake, on a beach, or just a nice patch of woods to help everyone chill out and get back to nature. Even just walking in outdoor settings can be restorative and boost self-esteem and mood.
Hiring a Comedian
One of the best and most unique retreat activities for your staff retreat is hiring a comedian.
Laughter is contagious. Studies show that positive feelings and emotions from workplace laughter can be transferred to other employees, helping form positive bonds with coworkers. Laughter also leads to higher work engagement.
So not only will laughing at a great comedian help to bring the team closer together, but they will be ready to be more engaged at work when you get back to the office.
The Comedian Company offers corporate comedians to help businesses create memorable retreats that encourage laughter and enhance employee experiences.
Hire a Comedian for Your Work Retreat With The Comedian Company
So now that you have a better idea of the kinds of activities for your next corporate retreat, The Comedian Company can help you book a great comedian! Many of our corporate comedians specialize in corporate and business humor, so you can choose one that will match your team.
Make your next corporate retreat a success by using a comedian to bring your team closer together and more engaged! We also have professional team-building speakers who are a great addition to staff retreats. Call us today at (586) 218-8745 or click here to get started.
FAQs
What is the purpose of a company retreat?
The purpose of a company retreat is to take employees away from the daily grind of office life and bring them into a collaborative environment where they can bond and interact face-to-face. Company retreats are intended to help team members recharge, spark creative ideas, and ultimately boost profits while reducing employee turnover.
What’s the biggest mistake to avoid when planning retreat activities?
The biggest mistake to avoid when planning retreat activities is to overschedule events. Your team will not benefit from having too many activities; instead, they will feel overwhelmed and forced into activities that will absolutely derail your retreat goals.
Is comedy a good company retreat activity?
Comedy is great for company retreats as it provides universal entertainment. Laughter encourages team bonding and offers a refreshing break from a busy schedule of learning activities.