Annual and semi-annual retreats are picking up popularity in the world of remote working, but are they worth all the hype? We definitely think so. An annual retreat can be a perfect opportunity for team members to connect, build camaraderie, and refocus their efforts as remote employees. If you’re a remote manager contemplating an annual retreat for your remote team members, let us convince you that you should definitely make the decision to get one on the calendar.
Build Community
Remote team members can spend multiple hours a day communicating with each other during the work week, but none of that can compare to meeting in person with your colleagues. When you build in person relationships with your team members, those relationships fortify the community even after the retreat is over.
Team members have the opportunity to learn each others’ workflow and learn more about the different positions that belong to their coworkers. Similarly, they can pick their coworkers’ brains for any useful information that will be helpful for the workflow between departments.
Reinvigorate Team Spirit
Remember when you would have spirit week during your high school years and your entire class felt connected and bonded at the end of it? The same thing can happen with remote teams. Eating, talking, playing, and meeting with coworkers creates a team atmosphere that carries on long past a weeklong retreat.
During a remote retreat, having company-wide meetings about what employees are most excited about regarding the company and its products can be a great way to start building team spirit. You can also set up games to build company trust and form meaningful relationships between coworkers.
Refocus Energy & Efforts
Sometimes a retreat can be the perfect way to refocus your team’s energy and efforts. It’s a great opportunity to get everybody on the same page in terms of actual work practice and the company motto. Remind your employees of what the company is actually about and make sure that everybody working for it stands behind the same mission.
Furthermore, while video calls and emails can be useful during the regular workweek, having an in person company-wide meeting about any major projects, worries, or future plans can be more effective. When people are sitting in the same room with each other, they become more invested in the conversation that is being had.
Inspire Innovation
Retreats don’t have to be all business and no play. When you’ve got your team at a new and beautiful location, it can inspire innovation both in terms of the products you’re producing and the way your team functions as a remote group of employees.
Be open to hearing what your employees have to say about company improvement and building a strong company culture that fosters its employees and invites hard work, new ideas, and an end goal of success.
Have you been on a company retreat this year? Where did you go and what did you love about it? Tweet us at @remote and hashtag #remoteretreat to share your insight!
Originally published on Remote.com