Photo gallery: 4 team retreat ideas

Now that you know what goes into the planning stages of a team retreat, check out these photos and descriptions of a few of my favorite past retreats. I hope they inspire you as much they inspired me and my team members. (Click "next" for the first photo, which shows our Recipe for Success retreat.)

2010 Recipe for Success

Photo courtesy of Nancy Potter

Our retreat this year was “Recipes for Success.” We went to a culinary center and split into four teams of six staff members who don’t typically work together. We combined doctors, technicians, client service specialists, assistants, and kennel attendants.

Each team was assigned a recipe to prepare for the group. One team made salad, another side dishes, another the main entrée, and another desserts. A chef rotated among the teams to answer questions. The results were delicious, and employees told me they had a great time working together.

Our related team-building activity for this retreat was what Olathe Animal Hospital’s "recipe for success" would be. Employees mentioned teamwork, communication, passion, and excellence. We turned the ideas into "key ingredients," provided laminated cards with this recipe for success to everyone, and focused on different ingredients back at work to remind each other of our recipe for success.

Click here to download a Word document with our finished cards of key ingredients for practice success.

(Click "next" to see the Got GAME retreat.)

2009 Got GAME

Photo courtesy of Nancy Potter

For our “Got GAME—Greatness, Attitude, Motivation, Everyday” retreat, we went to a recreational facility and let loose: bowling, go-carts, laser tag. On the serious note, we discussed what makes greatness: what things are great, how do we go from good to great, and how do we make sure we have the right people to be great.

(Click "next" to see the Fish Philosophy retreat.)

2008 Fish Philosophy

Photo courtesy of Nancy Potter

Everyone received a $50 gift card and ran a scavenger hunt in the store. The person closest to $50 with their purchases was the winner. We handed out booklets, and we each wrote what we liked about other people and what we thought their strengths were. We followed the fish philosophy: Choose your attitude, make their day, be present, play. This was one of our least-expensive retreats, but one of the staff's favorites.

(Click "next" to see the Surviving Together retreat.)

2006 Surviving Together

Photo courtesy of Nancy Potter

We rented a Hummer limousine and drove to a nature area. At the park, we played Survivor-type games. Some were strictly fun—we divided into teams and directed each other to construct buildings out of LEGOs without looking. We ran a patient-cycle relay from clients walking in the door to releasing the pets at the end, making sure to include all the steps in-between. Our more serious activity was talking about what it takes to be an effective team, what we call the 5 Cs of teamwork: consideration of clients and coworkers, cooperation, communication, coach and training, and contribute always.

Need help planning your retreat? Read my article "7 Steps to a Great Retreat" to learn how to get the practice owner's approval and the ball rolling.