For some, a corporate retreat sounds like a cheesy, nightmare-inducing evening stuck with coworkers. And that doesn’t seem to carry any sort of festive ring to it.
Key Takeaways
- R – Relax at a spa retreat
- E – Escape rooms are a must
- T – Take a trip to the movies
- R – Revisit your favorite sports
- E – Enjoy a company event
- A – Arts and crafts night
- T – Trivia night is a classic
But studies have shown that spending time away from work can actually boost your mood and well-being, which is precisely why your team needs to engage in activities that will help them rediscover that strong sense of camaraderie.
It’s time to reclaim the idea of a company retreat and make it into something that can actually benefit your employees. So, keep reading, and I’ll let you in on some of the best company retreat ideas that will reenergize even the most introverted members of your team.
See Related: 9 Company Outing Ideas With A Corporate Emcee To Celebrate Spring
#1. Relax During A Team Spa Day
If you want to host a killer company retreat, you need to revisit what the entire point of one is. It makes no sense to try facilitating a retreat for your team if you aren’t even sure of the event’s true objectives.
A work retreat is all about achieving a goal.
It’s essential to find a purpose in your retreat. Even in daily workplace activities, creating goals and defining objectives is essential for success.
It’s no different for your company retreat! If you want to succeed in hosting a compelling and engaging event, you need to prepare beforehand. And these preparations should include defining a clear purpose for your upcoming retreat.
Planning The Perfect Corporate Retreat
Good things come to those who prepare. You can’t expect the hard work to happen for you! If you want to create a captivating and intriguing retreat for your employees, you need to prepare for it.
So, let’s dive into the foundation of any great plan. The purpose.
Each retreat or event will have a unique purpose, and it’s up to you to figure out what it is. It could be to provide your team with a much-needed break after a busy season, or it could be to reawaken a genuine team bond.
An Irresistible Purpose For Your Retreat
For many corporate retreats, a common purpose is to foster strong relationships between employees and offer some sort of relaxation. And in today’s fast-paced world, it seems like we can never have enough peace!
In fact, the benefits of taking time to relax and rest away from work are seemingly immeasurable. It’s important for employees to find ways to unwind after a long day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help give them the relaxing evening they deserve.
Making Rest And Relaxation A Priority
A corporate retreat idea that everyone can get on board with is a trip to a wellness spa. Your employees are likely dying for a chance to truly rest and relax. And this will give them the perfect opportunity to do so!
A spa retreat allows your team to unwind while surrounded by each other. Plus, it’s easy to host and will leave your team with glowing results.
A spa retreat is also an excellent way to combat work-related stress and burnout. And nowadays, it seems like it’s becoming more and more common for workers to suffer due to their profession.
In fact, studies show that 49% of workers experience work-related burnout. And with figures like that, it’s easy to see how a spa wellness retreat can benefit your team!
So, if you’re looking for the perfect corporate retreat idea that your employees will be more than excited to partake in, this is it. You can never go wrong with a spa day. Count me in!
#2. Escape Room
Corporate retreats are all about team bonding. Taking time away from your dull office space can reinvigorate the hearts and minds of your team and remind them of what really matters.
Teamwork and collaboration are the foundation of any healthy and successful workplace. These factors should never be discounted or overlooked, as any team will inevitably fall apart without them.
So, it’s important to host a company retreat that capitalizes on this. Your retreat should be team-centric enough to promote genuine team-building. And with fun team-building activities, that will be easier than it seems.
Escape rooms are great ways to improve team relationships in a fun-loving manner. These interactive puzzle rooms are all the rage right now, and your employees will likely love a chance to complete one!
It’s probably one of the best ways to promote team-building. An escape room forces your team to work together to solve puzzles and mysteries to escape a “locked” room within a certain amount of time.
It’s the perfect mix of thrill and adventure to keep your team thinking quickly on their toes while communicating with each other. Plus, it’s fun for everyone and is just genuinely enjoyable!
These rooms are specifically designed to improve teamwork and leadership, which are more than necessary skills for any office environment. That’s why even corporate events often utilize things like an escape room.
As an experienced emcee, I’ve seen firsthand how fun and interactive team-building activities can truly transform a crowd. It isn’t just about entertaining an audience (though they are great at that). It’s about giving your employees the support outside of the office to thrive in their everyday lives!
#3. Take A Trip To The Movies
If you’re worried about your employees being unimpressed by your company retreat, go back to the basics. After all, it can be nerve-wracking to try and organize some sort of modern, far-fetched retreat.
But when you revisit the activities that your team is guaranteed to enjoy, nothing can go wrong.
A simple and easy idea for a retreat is to take a trip to the cinema. The great thing about this is that you can really make it your own.
Whether you go to the movie theater or a drive-in, your team is destined to have a great time.
You could also host your own office movie night with your team if you want to take it a step further. All you need are things like a projector and plenty of snacks and drinks.
Going Back To The Basics
This timeless idea is perfect for a chill and laid-back retreat to help your team refocus on what matters.
It’ll reduce distractions and help your employees recenter their attention. When your team can focus on spending quality time with each other in a simplistic setting, it’s a surefire way to promote better bonds and relationships.
Bonus: 5 Ways A Corporate Emcee Can Help You Host A Successful Conference
#4. Revisit Your Favorite Team Sports
If you’re looking to bolster your team’s collaboration levels, you can’t go wrong with an age-old classic. Lawn games and sports!
The best team-building activities are ones that we’ve been enjoying for years. You don’t have to focus on what’s trending at professional events. Go back to your roots!
You likely enjoyed some sort of team sport when you were younger. Whether you were a football guy or a volleyball girl, sports likely played a big role in your life. After all, they help us burn off that excess energy while giving us the basic tools and skills needed to work well with others.
But you don’t need to be super into sports to still benefit from them. I’m not expecting each one of you to be a fanatic sports follower. But that doesn’t mean you need to neglect them altogether.
A sports day will help your employees reawaken their sense of camaraderie. Sports encourage them to work together for a common goal while keeping them active in the process, which is beneficial enough in and of itself!
Plus, a sports day can help reignite some long-lost nostalgia. And who doesn’t love that?
To start the day, divide your team up into groups, depending on the size of your party. Then, you can facilitate different games for them to play, including anything from badminton to bean bag toss.
The day will be destined to begin with laughter and end in friendship!
#5. Enjoy A Company Event
Sometimes, you need to call out the big guns to truly reawaken the team spirit.
Hosting a company event is a fantastic way to give your team a memorable experience while encouraging them to bond. And a corporate event is sure to knock the socks off of your team and leave them wanting more!
The key to the perfect event is an entertaining and intriguing speaker. Booking someone like a comedy keynote will be able to guide your team into excellence while encouraging genuine bonding.
As a corporate emcee, I know firsthand how company events can truly turn a team around. Even people who seem like they would never get along end up becoming buddies by the end of the night!
The keynote speaker or emcee you choose will do everything from setting the tone of the event to keeping the people entertained. And there’s not much a great speaker won’t be able to do!
You can spice up your upcoming event with any number of team-building activities to truly help your employees bask in the glow of teamwork. That’s one of the reasons why company events are so impactful.
So, if you’re looking for a foolproof way to reenergize your team, this is it.
#6. Arts And Crafts Night
Let’s revisit a classic and casual corporate retreat idea. Instead of opting for a bright and colorful company event, you can wind down with a simplistic arts and crafts night.
An arts and crafts night will give your team an excellent chance to relax and rest. Enjoyable hobbies like these are great ways to relieve stress and increase happiness. So why not take advantage of these great benefits?
Crafts like sculpting, pottery, painting, or even sewing are great group activities your team can learn and partake in together. You can even hire a professional to show your team how it’s done!
Feel free to bus your team to an off-site location to enjoy some arts and crafts or host a virtual workshop for a remote team.
#7. Trivia Night Is A Classic
Here’s another classic team retreat event. Trivia is a fun and exciting way to bring people together while helping them learn a few new things in the process.
It’s time to test your employees’ knowledge. All you need to do is divide your team into groups and prepare some questions. Bonus if they’re work-related questions.
For example, if you work at a tech company, make the trivia questions about tech. Make them exciting and fun enough to keep people intrigued, but feel free to sneak in some genuine learning!
You can even throw in some fun, team-related questions. Quiz people on someone’s birthday, the founding year of the company, or who clocked in the earliest this morning. Mix it up!
Wrapping Up
A corporate retreat doesn’t need to be a dreaded experience. Instead, it can be destined to be the fun-loving and energizing event your employees deserve!
Keep Reading: 5 Objectives A Corporate Emcee Can Help You Accomplish At Your Next Corporate Event
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Adam Christing has been called “The Tom Brady of emcees.” He has hosted more than 1,000 company meetings, special events, gala celebrations, and more. He is the author of several books and founder of CleanComedians.com. For more event tips, follow Adam Christing on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
