Hi CEO! I see you trying to plan your next amazing employee retreat. You’re looking for meaningful and impactful activities during your time together. As a CEO of a wedding planning company for 10 years, I’ll offer my suggestions of doing a speed networking activity, along with my full agenda for this 1-day employee retreat. Since our season of wedding planning is generally heaviest May through October, I schedule two employee retreats per year. One in the spring to kick off wedding season and one in the fall to wrap up wedding season. Plus, I hire several people throughout the year (we have 45 employees right now!), so it’s a great way to make everyone feel included no matter what time of year they got hired.
How we start the employee retreat
As employees arrive, they put on a nametag! I also have 5 colored markers next to the nametags with instructions that say:
Green — Ask me about a book I’m reading
Red — Ask me about a trip I’ve taken
Orange — Ask me about my family
Yellow — Ask me who has inspired me the most
Pink — Ask me about a tip I can give you for working at Hitch Studio
Blue — Ask me about a personal goal
The employee can make as many colored dots on their name tag as they feel comfortable with. It becomes an ice breaker without the awkwardness of a ice breaker because at a glance, you know what topics someone is comfortable (and excited!) to talk about. It’s a great way to get to know each other while registration is happening and while we eat. After nametags and registration, we each go around and introduce ourselves. I ask them to stand and tell everyone their name, what they’re up to (school, work, retired teacher, just graduated, etc.), how many years they’ve worked at Hitch, and one piece of advice they’d give to newer employees about working long wedding days (these are usually hilarious and spot-on).
Why I host employee retreats
Then I talk about WHY we do these all-employee retreats. I explain that our time together is a chance to celebrate THEM, the employees because I ask a lot of them throughout the year. I ask for late nights, early mornings, long days, and more. I make sure each retreat is different and engaging, but I like to hinge my topics on these three “G’s” for consistency:
Growth: By growth, I mean personal growth. A life skill. Something they can take away and teach others. This year’s topic was self defense. I hired a self defense trainer in Brookings, South Dakota (who also trains our local law enforcement) to teach us some basic self-defense moves. We are women who are loading totes and vans really late at night in some dark back alleys or behind venues. I wanted us to have these life skills no matter what situation we’re in.
Past topics of growth have included:
- Entrepreneurial panel (tips and advice as employees choose careers)
- Yoga/Self Care/Love Languages at Work (when you know how someone wants to be loved/appreciated, your work culture skyrockets)
- Public speaking tips (because we could all use a little more of this. SUCH a life skill to master.)
- Dinner etiquette training (do’s and don’ts for formal dinners because likely some of the best times of your life will be had over a formal dinner [wedding, meeting your in-laws, interviewing for a job, etc.])
- How to make floral arrangements (important in our industry!)
- Color/skin analysis (knowing what colors and necklines look best on your skin tone and face shape so you can look and feel your best.)
- Dancing lessons (how to feel confident in formal gatherings when asked to dance!)
- Cooking class (tips and tricks in the kitchen from beginner to advanced)
- Makeup masterclass (how to feel confident using your inner and outer beauty)
- Wine 101 (pairings, tastings, tips for choosing wine, how to hold your glass, etc.)
Future topics that have been suggested are (and more ideas for YOUR retreat!):
- Life coaching in building confidence, joy, boundaries, stress and how to deal with a busy schedule, etc.
- Basic home repairs (patching a wall, etc.) and car maintenance (how to check your tire tread, oil change, change a flat tire, etc.)
- Health and fitness tips
- Goal/Dream setting/Journaling
- How to handle tough and uncomfortable conversations with employees/significant others/friends/parents/bosses
- Saving and investing/finances
- Resume review, interview tips, personal branding, how to dress/what your resume should look like
Gratitude: Gratitude is my moral compass. It’s one of my top values. I always prioritize this in our employee retreats so the staff leaves feeling so thanked and appreciated by me and others. Each retreat, I have a bulletin board with envelopes pinned to it. On each envelope are the employees’ names who could attend that day. When employees arrive at the retreat, they have a pen, three gratitude slips, and a gift at each place setting (we’ll get to the gift next!). After we’ve eaten and done our introductions, I ask each attendee to fill out three gratitude slips and place them into co-workers’ envelopes. The slips say “I’m thankful for you because _______”. As the owner of the business, I pre-write a gratitude slip for EVERY attendee so everyone gets at least one gratitude slip to take home, but most times, the envelopes are overflowing with love, compliments, and little bits of joy for each employee to take home at the end of our time together. I want them to leave feeling so loved and appreciated!
Gifts: Based on each retreat growth topic, I gift each employee with something to take home as a token of our time together. Perhaps it was the idea of wedding favors rubbing off on me, but I LOVE giving a parting gift. Since our retreat topic this fall was self defense, i gifted each attendee a pepper spray. Past gifts have included a color swatch book for the color/skin analysis, makeup eye color palette in the makeup masterclass, a Reidel wine glass in the wine pairing class, a gift card to our local kitchen store to use after the cooking class, etc.
Employee Recognition Awards
Of course, you can take this time to award employees with longevity (5 years at the company, 10 years, etc.), but I choose to do this in a more fun, personable way. This year we handed out awards like:
Most Friendliest Friend Award
Most Likely To Get Stuck In the Mud on the Way to a Wedding Award
Almost Earned a CDL Driving the Biggest Rental Trucks Award
Up For Anything Award
Best Attitude Award
Comin’ In Clutch Award
Latest Take-Down Nights Award
And the prestigious, most coveted Award give annually at Hitch Studio: THE ACCOMMODATING AWARD. It’s one of our driving values and priorities at Hitch Studio — to be the most accommodating wedding planners in the Midwest. Here’s our award winner’s description:
“These are the reasons we love you and why you’re receiving this prestigious award: for driving through a flood just to get to Gregory in someone else’s truck, for picking up last-minute shifts, for taking lead roles at weddings without much instruction, for getting a promotion to Associate wedding planner, for always being up for driving any vehicle, for being trustworthy, reliable, personable, having a good attitude, and having excellent communication, just to name a few. YOU ARE A BADASS, ALLI BAKER!!” (And then I gifted her with the book, You are a Badass by Jen Sincero).
After awards, we also congratulate the graduates with a gift and applause and a chance for them to share with everyone their plans after graduation. We make a big deal out of major life accomplishments at Hitch.
Sharing Company Goals and New Announcements
I try to make this section the least boring as possible. I choose the top 5-10 goals that Hitch reached in those six months and share them with the employees. Most are because of the employees, so it’s a real reason to celebrate! I also share any new announcements, like raises, new processes or procedures, new ways to clock their time, etc. For anyone who couldn’t make the employee retreat, I also post the goals, updates, and announcements to our group hub online so everyone feels in the loop.
Speed Networking
Our final activity before off-site self defense training was a speed networking activity. It took 25 minutes because the pattern is 1. Find a group of 2-3 people. 2. Ask the question. 3. Take 1-2 minutes of time to reflect and write down your answer. 3. Take 3-4 minutes to share answers with each other. 4. Take 1 minute to find another group of 2-3 people. 5. Ask another question.
Tip: The longer you give people to reflect on their own answers and share with the group, the deeper the answers will be. I only had 25 minutes for my speed networking, but this exercise could easily take an hour. Here are the questions I asked — each one taking about 5 minutes (or longer would be ideal):
What is one thing on the very top of your bucket list?
What is your favorite thing to do locally?
What’s something you’re really proud of accomplishing?
If someone followed you around work or school for a day, what 3 things would they say you value? (After sharing, you can ask follow-up questions like “Did anyone think of things they want to change about their day?”)
When has life taught you that you weren’t in control – and how did that shape you?
What makes your heart sing? What makes you jump out of bed in the morning and get excited? What can you do for hours and still have energy leftover? (This is about YOU and not other people) (A follow-up question could be “How can you better keep your passions alive? How can you always try to have them in your back pocket?”)
What is your greatest challenge in your life today? (Follow-up question: As you shared your challenge, how did you feel sharing it? Did you connect with someone?”)
What is your favorite thing about yourself? And how has this served you in your life? (Follow-up questions: What really rose to the top for you in this? Is it easier to think of your favorite thing about someone else? Text someone right now and tell them how grateful you are for them.)
Conclude and Survey
I share some final thoughts and my appreciation for them taking time out of their busy schedules to attend. We take a group photo, they grab their envelope full of gratitude slips, and we all leave feeling fulfilled! The next day, I send a survey about the event. I want real, honest feedback about how to make these retreats better, so the survey is anonymous. That’s where employees vote for the NEXT retreat topic. You could also do an in-person survey before they leave to make sure you’re getting everyone’s feedback.
I hope this gives you some ideas for your next employee retreat! I hope this builds your employee culture and sets the tone for the year. Tailor your retreat to fit your work culture and vibe — and make it your own! The employees will notice how much work and effort and care you put into this event and they will reciprocate.
Wishing you the best as you plan!
Renee Bauman, CEO at Hitch Studio
Feedback from the Retreat:
The survey results came in….and it’s safe to say the employees loved it. Here’s what they said about the Fall 2024 retreat:
“I always love the topics that we cover each retreat!”
“Great seeing everyone, good timing, love our ice breaker activity and learned!”
“I think that it’s great that all of us women learned this crucial skill of self defense as it could save our life one day. Also I never thought of anything happening on the job, so THANK YOU for bringing this to all of our attention!”
“I can tell you put so much effort into every piece!”
“I loved having the awards! It was a fun way to hear little stories from the year and get to recognize staff!”
“THANK YOU for going through all the work of putting these on! I would love more time set aside to learn about the new people.”
“Thank you for all the work you put towards making this happen and bringing us all together!”
“I love working at Hitch and these retreats make it such a fun work environment where I can get to know people better!!”
“Thank you for all you do for our Hitch family I am proud to say that I work her and absolutely love our job. Thank you for being a fantastic boss, as well with Lyric, Natalie, and Cameron.”