A villa out of the city, a thematic or nature park, organized activities as a scavenger hunt at an offsite location, and some other ideas... Yes, we’re talking about team retreats. Working long hours is harmful and not helpful, and as human beings, your team needs a different environment where they can chill out, build their interpersonal relationships, and renew their energy to be more productive. In a few words, breaks are good for business.

Studies in recent years have consistently shown that working less leads to increased productivity. Company leadership is in agreement. A 2017 GfK survey conducted for Project: Time Off found that 78% of managers felt time off improved the focus of their employees; 70% said it renews staff commitment. It may seem counterproductive, but an off-site free of standard work tasks could lead to a reinvigorated office in the long run.

Taking your team to an offsite activity shows them that you do care about them more than just work and results. This makes them feel as an important part of the company, increases their willingness to be productive and creative, and their sense of belonging for the company grows. In short: staff retreats make your team happy, and a study from the University of Warwick found that happy workers are 12% more productive. So yes, this highlights what we stated before, and it makes absolute sense. 

This kind of staff retreats can be done with a few hours activities out of the office (e.g.: bowling, trekking, cycling, hiking) or you can decide to do something greater and move forward with a retreat to a farm, villa, camping, or a resort for a couple of days in a fabulous destination.

The most important thing about a staff retreat is to empower your team and provide them a quiet environment where they can embrace inner peace and get new insights to achieve more goals, as they happily commit to perform for a company where they feel appreciated.

Sources:

https://fortune.com/2018/08/10/company-staff-retreat-research/