Retreat Essentials
Kim Delaney, Consultation Services Coordinator, POD
In the calm before the fall quarter storm, many teams hold half- or full-day retreats to conduct strategic planning, improve communication, kick-off process improvement efforts, or gear up for the academic year. My advice for anyone planning a retreat is simple: Hire a consultant! Okay, that tip is not exactly surprising coming from someone who works closely with POD's University Consulting Alliance, but I have a few other pointers, too.
Whether you hire a consultant or not, planning is imperative. At best, a poorly planned retreat will waste time and cause frustration. More dire consequences range from a lack of buy-in for future retreats to damaged work relationships and a drop in morale.
To help your retreat be one of the good ones, here's a top ten list:
- Allow enough time to plan the retreat and involve key people in the planning process.
- Determine the reasons for your retreat. What are your goals and objectives? The more specific you can be with this step, the more you can accomplish.
- Invite the right people. Everyone attending should have a stake in the outcome.
- Be realistic about what can be accomplished in the time allotted. Allow time for input and discussions, as well as for breaks.
- Prioritize your agenda items. If you have many goals and limited time, prioritization is necessary; attempting to accomplish too much will result in nothing being adequately resolved.
- Clearly communicate the purpose of the retreat to the participants in advance. Provide them with the agenda and other information to help them prepare.
- Keep the ground rules simple and make sure everyone knows them.
- Make sure that the room layout and set-up is conducive to discussion, as well as to any planned breaks, beverages, and snacks.
- Appoint someone to take notes during the retreat, including summarizing key points, identifying decisions made, and capturing action items.
- Select a neutral and experienced facilitator.
Of course, number ten brings me back to my original point: Hire a consultant! Because everyone at the retreat should have a stake in the outcome, it's challenging for anyone inside the group to assume the role of neutral facilitator. Even if a person from inside your organization is able to remain impartial, it's likely others will assume they have biases or preconceptions. A consultant can act as a truly neutral party and doesn't come with the same kind of ties or baggage as someone from the inside. In addition, consultants have expertise in group dynamics and processes, decision making, and consensus building. During a retreat, they can keep the group on track, manage large and complex discussions, and handle dissention.
So, if anything in the top-ten list seemed at all overwhelming, relax. A consultant can, for instance, help you determine who should attend, work with you to plan content and develop the agenda, and advise on realistic goals and expectations.
Of course, a consultant is not a required component of a retreat, but having an ally to help you plan and then facilitate a retreat will increase the likelihood of everyone having a good retreat experience, achieving your retreat objectives, and getting a better return on your investment.
