Corporate Retreat

The Corporate Retreat: 4 Success Factors
by Janet Britcher

The success factors to a corporate retreat are: a clear purpose, quality dialogue, individual impact, and concrete follow-up.

1. Purpose: Compelling Change
A clear purpose becomes the call to action for participants. Leaders hold a retreat when there is a compelling business reason to create a new result with all the brains in the room – whether that’s the executive team, a newly formed department, or the entire company.

A retreat is the right forum for a significant business challenge that will affect the company’s success, a challenge that will benefit from being addressed by the combined intelligence of the team members. If stellar results are being created with current operating procedures, products and sales plans, generally there’s no need for a retreat.

A compelling change to be addressed at a retreat can also be a process change, relationship building, integrating a new group member, or increased motivation by reenergizing commitment.

2. Dialogue
To set the stage for constructive dialogue, a successful retreat generally begins with several presenters from the team who provide the business context (relevant data, pressure points, market intelligence, or specific opportunities). Distinguish between data, ideas, recommendations and possibilities. Be specific about areas that are up for discussion, and those that are non-negotiable. There may be grumblings about areas that are fixed, but much less than if those real constraints are not identified until later.

A leader already has two roles at a retreat: the leader role, and the one-of-us role. It is important to be able to play both roles. Wise leaders realize they cannot also effectively play a third role of facilitator.

The role of facilitator begins in advance, behind the scenes to help plan agenda, and continues at the retreat, to pace information to increase the chances of a good flow of ideas. Facilitators plan small group and large group activities that are appropriate to the task at hand, observe who is holding back and who is stuck in a group role such as devil’s advocate or peace keeper. Facilitators exercise judgment about following a constructive tangent, maintaining flexibility while managing time.

For best result, allow plenty of opportunity for divergent views. If participants expect there will be real interest in meaningful discussion on the part of the leader, deep engagement occurs. If participants have the experience that the tacit rules are to nod in agreement, that will also be delivered.

Once a proposed idea has support, it should be followed by analysis and debate to ensure there is traction, and to anticipate any obvious obstacles. These challenges also help clarify leadership’s position, for example on risk taking, technology supremacy, long range vs. short range goals, and other business tradeoffs. Any decisions that can be made on the spot should be.

3. Individual Impact
Generally an offsite begins with a big business question, such as market, operations, strategy, product development, morale, growth, geographic expansion or acquisition. It should end with an individual action plan.

“It’s essential to tie it back to the individual’s job,” says Marcia Nizzari, Director of Informatics Development at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge. How will the recommended action impact the day-to-day work back at the office?

This does two things. First, it tests the decision or new initiative. It may sound great in the abstract but through scenario planning at the individual or department level, additional obstacles may be anticipated and resolved. Second, creating individual action steps also enhances personal commitment. This isn’t just self-interest at work, it’s a hallmark of accountability.

4. Follow-up
Before the end of the offsite, schedule next steps. List who will do what by when. This should include whatever individual tasks have been created. A self-addressed envelope that includes a “memo to self” to accomplish something can be written, sealed, and mailed in 3 weeks.

Follow-up plans should also include dedicated management meetings where the same group reconvenes, 6 – 8 weeks following the retreat, and another 6 – 8 weeks after that. This is the time to verify or modify plans, raise and resolve obstacles. Tactical implementation is the ultimate test of a good plan.

Janet Britcher is President of Transformation Management, a Boston consulting company offering retreat facilitation, executive coaching and management development.