Now that WFH is becoming an acceptable norm, will companies be open to going on extended offsites or retreats for a month or so with the whole company to work + have teambuilding activities?
For example: renting a villa in Bali or Costa Rica and just working from there for a month?
If you're a CEO or HR person is your company considering adopting something like this as an employee perk?
Hi,
Interesting idea.
My only concerns are these:
1. Budget limitations...companies would still have to pay for a whole month of rent + travel + food...etc.
2. Many (most?) employees have families - so leaving them for a whole month might be difficult and not in their interest.
Good luck
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With the exception of the "extended" qualifier, I believe the answer is yes. I have extensive experience growing remote engineering teams. As somebody else here mentioned, extended offsites are difficult because schedules are tough to coordinate, people have families, etc. However, it is very common for remote teams to have anywhere from 1-4 offsite meetups per year - anywhere from 3-7 days in length - where a combination of work and play occur. The more the better, but the frequency and length tends to be dictated by budget. These are great opportunities to build culture and rally around big projects. As more companies go remote, I suspect they'll find the same types of offsites and cadences making sense for them.
I design and facilitate executive retreats, team building, and meetings. I also have done President's Clubs for some clients.
Event before COVID-19, the market for off-sites had not recovered strongly. Now that companies are hurting financially, their return is not likely.
The exception would be some of the sectors like tech companies that are doing well.
I have done many meetings where family is welcome. The employee pays the extra to bring family. I've organized this for Canadian and Middle Eastern clients.
I think for companies that are doing well, I can see slightly longer offsites (e.g. Thursday to Monday).
When I have organized President's Clubs and designed and facilitated executive retreats and team building retreats, some families do bring children and extend their stay.
The timing would have to be very carefully selected for example just before or after Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Family Day (in some Canadian provinces), March Break, Easter, or during summer holidays. Summer is a great option for sun destinations as rates are lower.
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