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How To Maximize your Staff Resources
Planning a Staff or Volunteer Retreat
Retreats are a way to gather your staff, board and/or other participants in a relaxed setting to share ideas, reflect on experiences, discuss service issues, learn new skills, and work on team-building. Retreats are a valuable resource, but much of their potential can be wasted if they are planned ineffectively. Retreats should always be a forum for learning and working together that supports the organization's mission, goals, and priorities.
Consider the following when implementing a retreat:
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• Define the desired outcome of the retreat.
• Determine who needs to attend in order to accomplish the desired outcome.
• Decide whether you will use a facilitator to help plan the agenda and manage the retreat.
• If you use a facilitator, decide whether s/he should be from outside the organization or inside the organization.
• Once you know how many people to invite and the type of space you need, identify a facility that can accommodate your requirements.
• Visit the facility if you are not familiar with it to verify the accommodations.
• Develop an agenda for the meeting and determine whether you want the attendees to do any work prior to the retreat.
• Schedule some "fun" or "down" time for attendees to reflect and just enjoy being together.
• Hold retreats that last longer than a day at the beginning of the week. Participants will be much more focused if they have had the weekend to relax.
• Reconfirm details with the facility a few days before the retreat.
• Arrive early the day of the retreat to set up the room.
• Ask everyone to complete a Retreat Feedback Form at the end of the retreat.
(Source: Corporation for National and Community Service. Handbook for Continuous Improvement, "Tools and Practices," and "Participant/Staff Retreat," pp. 1-12. )