When done well, Team Retreats are long-term investments.
Like for any other investment, understanding its Return On Investment matters.
As a company, your most valuable (and expensive) asset is your team.
However, it is not one that can be "serviced" once a year and put away into a cupboard, measured and weighted. Everything that has to do with human beings has to do with emotions, and that is not as easy to quantify as number of sales.
Luckily, we have done enough team retreats to know the parameters to look at to make sure you will reap a return.
The ROI you can't add up: Feelings...
After a few days of a well planned and executed team retreat we can see people starting to relax. We recognize the signs:
Big smiles everywhere
No more shyness around the space (we see people lounging around under trees, by the pool, creating makeshift desks in the park)
Camaraderie and loud laughter
Meals drag on
Spontaneous games
People stay up later at night
All of these, and more, show that the team is sharing experiences making them more and more comfortable with each other. They are also creating memories outside of the work set up that will act as a "reminder that they are in the same boat" when times are tough.
All of this is great. But what we are after is what these "symptoms" reveal:
When people feel more comfortable with each other and share a (Hi)story they start trusting each other more, relying on each other more, they are more loyal, and more creative, and more innovative. Silos are being broken between department, improving collaboration and communication, values are discussed and "re"aligned...
And that is when you can take out the measuring tape.
The ROI you can add up: The outcome of these feelings
Measuring the outcome of increased trust
Trust in a team leads to better collaboration and communication, better morale, and something we can all measure (well, researchers did), more productivity and more engagement. A lot more actually, respectively 50% and 76% more according to Edelman Trust Barometer in 2020)
It also boosts productivity and creativity, according to an article from Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): highly trusted workplaces enjoy 50% more productivity and when there is more trust in the workplace, employees are 23% more likely to come up with ideas and solutions.
It reduces stress! The American Psychological Association (APA) found that employees in high-trust organizations have 74% less stress and 13% fewer sick days.
Measuring the outcome of better mental health
Research shows that employees with good mental health are more focused and productive, reducing errors and increasing efficiency.
The World Health Organization put 2 and 2 together: for every $1 invested in mental health treatment, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity!
Measuring the outcome of enhanced creativity
McKinsey research revealed that creative leaders outperform their peers on key financial metrics (revenue growth and return to shareholders).
Measuring the outcome of improved collaboration
According to the market research company Frost & Sullivan, a team that knows how to collaborate well can increase innovation by 30%.
A 2022 Alludo report shows that about 64% of workers say they are losing at least three hours of productivity per week due to poor collaboration!
And there are plenty more data where these came from. Unfortunately we also have the data that an average 55% of readers will only spend 15 seconds on an article, so we will stop here for now.
The ROI Of team retreats: The seed investment
Of course, like for most other investment, the more you put it the higher the chance of reward. It is essential to approach your retreat like any other work project: with thorough planning, defining clear goals and deliverables, with enlisting the help of experts help and doing a proper follow up.
And if this doesn't convince you, another way to look at it is, what if you dont create a space for your team to bond and reconnect in nature? What would be the cost of that?
To sum things up, a beautiful graph.
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