Interested in Virtual Team Building Events?
9 mins 
1. Why Should You Choose a Theme for a Retreat?
Company retreat themes clarify the objectives of your corporate escape. Whether you want to place the focus on team building, stress management, or building company culture, a theme will ensure that all your staff understands the goals of the getaway so that everybody starts off enthusiastic and on the same page.
Additionally, themes can lend structure to your itinerary, making it easier to formulate a cohesive experience for your employees. This could include relevant skills workshops, motivational talks and recreational activities that support the principal business targets
2. How to Choose the Right Theme for the Company Retreat?
2.1. Consider the Company's Values and Culture
What are your company’s values, and how can they be woven into your retreat? If you have any statements in your manifesto regarding innovation, diversity, or employee well-being, these can be useful starting points when deciding upon the theme you want to emphasize. At the same time, promoting your business culture via your theme demonstrates to workers a commitment to the company’s values.
2.2. Evaluate the Goals and Objectives of the Retreat
Is there a specific company retreat purpose you want to zoom in on? This could be anything from recognizing staff contributions and rewarding their hard work to fostering creativity and promoting an innovative mindset. If you set out your goals clearly from the start, it will be easier to identify which themes can most neatly reflect your core objectives.
2.3. Take into Account the Preferences of the Employees
Ask staff for their input into what they would like to do on the corporate escape. Even if you have a set list of company retreat themes in mind, you can conduct an informal poll to gauge employee sentiment and see what you think would be most beneficial. Alternatively, if you conduct regular pulse surveys, you may already have identified areas that can be addressed through a company retreat theme.
2.4. Ensure the Theme Aligns with the Retreat Location
Regardless of whether you choose a theme first and then a location or a location first and then a theme, the two facets should complement one another. After all, it’s much easier to host a wellness retreat at a center specifically designed for activities like yoga and meditation than it is to host it in a city hotel. Take into consideration what each venue can offer in terms of when you are making a decision about where to host the retreat and what your theme will be.
3. Examples of Company Retreat Themes
3.1. Outdoor Adventure Retreat
Outdoor retreats combine relaxing nature settings with the opportunity to engage in adventurous team-building activities. Mountain lodges, forest cabins, and lakeside bungalows are all great venues for hosting this kind of team excursion, which is one of the best company retreat themes for imbuing staff with a sense of energy and motivation.
There are lots of fun pursuits you can engage in on an adventure retreat, including hiking, camping, and kayaking. You can also add a competitive element with things like raft building and racing. If you want to include a discussion component, many venues that cater to corporate retreats will offer meeting spaces as well, either outdoors or indoors.
Company retreats themed around outdoor adventure are best for teams looking to bolster their communication and collaboration skills, bringing people together through shared experiences. Particularly with more exciting activities like treetop climbing and ziplining, staff will develop a feeling of camaraderie, which can translate into better workplace dynamics.
3.2. Wellness and Relaxation Retreat
If your organization wants to make strides towards building an in-house wellness scheme, company retreat locations such as health spas and similarly oriented havens are an excellent thematic fit. These kinds of getaways center on advocating for better self-care and promoting work-life balance.
Yoga, meditation, and soothing massages are all common constituents of a wellness retreat, with the overarching goal being to help staff decompress and avoid burnout. These activities can be complemented with nutritious meal plans to reinforce the retreat’s theme.
Many of the skills learned in wellness workshops can be incorporated into your staff’s everyday work schedule back in the office, helping them to reduce anxiety and stress in their daily lives. By breaking old habits that were detrimental and encouraging more positive behaviors, a retreat can contribute to benefiting your team’s overall mental well-being. Healthier workforces are more productive and more motivated, with lower incidences of absenteeism, so it is definitely worth investing in this aspect of your business.
3.3. Innovation and Creativity Retreat
The daily grind can be anathema to blue-sky thinking, which is why one of the most popular company retreat themes is innovation and creativity. These kinds of team sessions aim to inspire new ways of looking at business issues and to foster problem-solving. Taking employees out of the office enables them to obtain fresh perspectives, which can lead to more imaginative ways of tackling a conundrum.
Getaways themed around innovation and creativity should incorporate workshops to teach ideation techniques, brainstorming discussions to come up with unique solutions to your organization’s challenges, and interactive design thinking exercises, such as the Six Thinking Hats methodology.
Other elements you can add to your event to fit with the theme include guest speakers and industry experts to provide inspiration and share their insights into how to develop a workplace and a mindset where innovation thrives. If you want to break up the schedule with a bit of fun, add in art classes that teach painting or pottery – activities that fit nicely with the creativity theme.
3.4. Cultural Exchange Retreat
If one of your company culture touchpoints is diversity, equity and conclusion, a retreat themed around cultural exchange is a great way to reinforce that ethos. Cross-cultural understanding can have benefits both inside and outside your company, fostering better relationships between colleagues as well as between your staff and customers, who may be based in different geographies.
One of the simplest ways to promote cultural exchange is to take your team to another country, where they can experience firsthand the different traditions and cuisines that abound abroad. Consider timing your retreat to coincide with an annual celebration, such as Chinese New Year or Oktoberfest.
Even if you don't have the luxury of being able to schedule an international excursion, there are lots of unique retreat ideas you can utilize to create a richly rewarding culture-themed retreat. For instance, you could arrange for basic language lessons or take employees to see a cultural performance. You could even ask your own members of staff to talk about each of their backgrounds and/or experiences in other cultures, introducing a team-bonding aspect to the retreat.
3.5. Team Olympics Retreat
For a fun team building retreat proposal, consider opting for an office Olympics theme. This option combines light-hearted competition with physical activity, while also fostering better relationships between your staff.
Begin by splitting your staff into teams, either according to department or at random. Schedule a series of sporting events over the course of a few days, with a league table to keep track of the various medals or points that each team has accrued. These events could include things like egg and spoon races, tug of war competitions and three-legged races. You can also include more creative challenges, such as the classic egg drop parachute school experiment.
You can also find retreat locations that will offer more unique competitive activities, such as bubble soccer, outdoor laser tag or archery. At the end of the retreat, award medals and/or prizes for the best individual performances as well as the overall best team performance.
4. FAQs
4.1. How do I choose a retreat theme?
Choosing company retreat themes depends on a number of factors, including consideration of your company culture, any goals and objectives you want to achieve, and an understanding of what will most appeal to your staff. Analyze the corporate retreat meaning you want your getaway to have for your employees.
4.2. What is the aim of a corporate retreat?
There are several aims that corporate retreats can have, including fostering creativity and innovation, or improving soft skills like communication and teamwork. Some companies hold a retreat to incentivize staff, while others focus more on reducing stress and inducing relaxation.
4.3. How do you make a company retreat fun?
You can make a company retreat fun by including engaging team activities, games, and challenges. Incorporate elements of surprise, variety in activities, and opportunities for team members to relax and socialize in a comfortable environment.
