Retreat (n.) - A physical or virtual gathering where teams connect as humans
Book a callI left the retreat feeling grateful and excited about future collaborations with the incredible leaders around me. I highly recommend the folks over at PeopleStorming. The sessions were great and they kept us engaged the entire time - which is no easy feat.
Thusha A. - Director of Engineering - Aurora Solar
A worthwhile offsite or retreat is a gathering where your team takes a collective breath and spends time together thinking about topics that are usually suppressed by the busyness of their day-to-day routine.
For most teams, the opportunities for these gatherings are rare so it's vital that they are well-thought-out and a great experience for all participants.
Unfortunately, offsites and retreats typically go one of two routes. They are...
You want to avoid both of these extremes by striking the right balance. That involves wearing a lot of hats. In addition to your already-packed set of responsibilities, you'll need to become an expert...
Our approach differs from the norm. We focus on deeply understanding the goals for your retreat and designing a blend of content and activities that will help the team feel connected both to each other and their mission. We do this whilst also achieving agreed-upon business goals in a genuinely engaging way.
We believe it's critical to know your goals for the event inside-out before you write one word of an agenda, so we've developed a streamlined process using human-centered design. The result of this process is a retreat that's memorable for all the right reasons.
We'll be your end-to-end experience designers. We'll take ownership of delivering a positive experience for your team, from the very first communication through to the event itself and beyond with evaluation and follow-ups.
Whatever you need, we've got the facilitation skills and industry experience to deliver it with a playful touch that gets everyone involved and connected.
We'll work with you to create a successful event by...
To go a little deeper, listen to one of our co-founders being interviewed on a facilitation podcast about a wild virtual retreat we designed and hosted...
There are a myriad of topics and themes to consider for your retreat. Below is a selection we've supported for a variety of clients. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong choice - it's all about understanding what's needed.
If a team or company retreat is on the horizon (even if it's just the seed of an idea), get in touch with us to talk through your ideas, vision and questions. We nerd-out on this subject and it's our pleasure to help you shape your thinking.
When scheduling a call, please bear in mind that we ask for 8-16 weeks lead time for designing and delivering an event (depending on its complexity).
When we set out to plan a virtual retreat, I was 'optimistically skeptical', but as we went through the onboarding, we started to feel really excited. The retreat surpassed all of our expectations. The games were a hit because they weren't forced 'icebreakers.' They were just fun ways to get people engaged and alert. We also loved the 'RetreatFest' digital experience. People started slacking each other, saying things like, "Oh, I saw your video, and it was really great!" The energy you brought and the way you navigated and facilitated the conversation proves you are experts in your field.
Jordan T. - VP Of Operations - Movement Strategy
Our retreat was an amazing way to slow down from the day-to-day work and spend quality time with the team. We were able to connect and understand each other's backgrounds and ways of thinking, which greatly enhanced the depth of our connection with the team. Thanks to all the great exercises you created and facilitated, we walked away from the retreat with a common vocabulary and a better awareness of how each of us thinks. This will equip the team with a frame of reference when working and communicating with each other.
Dima P. - VP, Operations - Machina Labs
The team worked with us collaboratively to transform a handful of bullet points into a highly productive, engaging, and fun two-day retreat on a relatively short timeline, all the while navigating potential scheduling conflicts and keeping me up to date on status. Their service is highly recommended.
Cameron J - VP Customer Reliability - Sensu
The retreat not only brought our team closer together, but it also gave us a much clearer picture of our work and the scope of our challenges. We came away with new communication tools that have already proven useful. The facilitators were excellent at helping us define our priorities and key issues, all while maintaining a positive and supportive atmosphere. Their ability to successfully 'gel' our team was truly impressive.
Alyssa B. - Senior UX Engineer - Indeed
In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.
Albert Camus
