For the typically cash-strapped nonprofit, a staff retreat can seem like a luxury, reserved for private companies with revenue to spare. But organizing a staff retreat on a budget is not only feasible, some executive directors argue it’s a necessary and integral component of long-term strategic planning. Dave Kranenburg, executive director of Toronto-based Meal Exchange and Ben Peterson, co-founder and executive director of Journalists for Human Rights, maintain that nonprofit retreats offer a unique set of advantages. Both lent their perspectives on the challenges and successes of organizing staff retreats on a shoestring budget.

Be creative

Finding a retreat venue on a small budget takes resourcefulness. Kranenburg says creativity has been key to finding a place that will accommodate Meal Exchange’s modest staff of five, either at an affordable price or free of charge.

For their first annual staff retreat last year, Meal Exchange had to pay to stay in a farm near Orillia. For their second retreat this past summer, Kranenburg found a farm outside Toronto that supports Meal Exchange’s mission to achieve food security. The farm owners agreed to donate their premises as a tax-deductable contribution. Kranenburg says the venue proved particularly beneficial, because their host arranged for the team to visit a neighbouring farm at no additional cost, to observe the process of making cheese. Farm visits fit their mandate because, according to Kranenburg, “In order to fix the food system so that good food is accessible to everyone, local farmers must be appreciated.” Retreat costs were limited to transportation and food, the latter handled by each member bringing ingredients for a shared meal.

Kranenburg says in future his practice will be to budget for retreat costs in the annual budget, but if the cost can be reduced through in-kind donations, they will aim for that.

Ben Peterson cites a similar experience finding a site for Journalists for Human Rights’ annual staff retreat. He says their retreats are typically held at a donated farm space in Caledon, Ontario. “The key is to keep it extraordinarily cheap, and I think the staff members appreciate that.” With the venue covered, Peterson says staff bring food and cook together, creating a communal experience. He insists there are always ways to alleviate costs, “whether you have the retreat in the middle of the city or the middle of nowhere.”

Gena Rotstein is the founder and CEO of Dexterity Consulting, a Calgary-based firm that aims to maximize donor impact by matching contributors with charitable organizations. Her services include facilitating board and staff retreats for nonprofits. Having held retreats everywhere from hotel conference rooms to the mountains, Rotstein emphasizes that a key element — rather than the venue itself — is ensuring staff break from their everyday office routines. It doesn’t matter whether it’s held in a local park or in the director’s living room.

“The opportunity to take yourself out of your comfort zone, approach a critical issue and delve deep into the conversation…allows for new ideas to be created and connections to be formed,” she says.

Fresh creativity can then be brought back to the office to re-jig things and infuse new energy into projects.

View simplicity as an asset

Rather than focus on what can’t be done without a lot of money, consider that a no-frills retreat may establish a greater sense of community and bonding among staff, and perhaps, when it’s time to work, an increased level of focus.

Kranenburg says he purposely chose to hold the retreat at a farm with minimal cell phone reception and no Internet access, because simplicity makes for a more genuine social experience. “It’s more about getting everyone out of the office…just sitting around, drinking beers, playing cards and getting to know one another on a different level than in the office.” And when they weren’t socializing, Kranenburg says the unplugged environment got staff to think beyond the immediate “putting out of fires” that the nonprofit world often entails, and to focus on long-term programming. “It’s about getting people away to think about what all of this work is leading to.”

Peterson suggests there is a distinct egalitarian element to a nonprofit staff retreat, giving it real value.

“From what I understand, private sector retreats tend to be more like a mini-vacation, often at fancy places, with free food and drinks. In the nonprofit world, partly because of a lack of resources and partly because of a different orientation, a retreat is not handled like a bonus…it’s an exercise in bringing everyone together as equals in the management of the organization — more serious in tone, less fancy.”

Set the expectations

When Rotstein meets with a chair of the board or executive director to plan a retreat, she focuses on concrete goals in multiples of three: three objectives they want to achieve during the retreat, three deliverables to come out of those objectives and three action items the team will commit to after the retreat. She insists that establishing clear goals and efforts to achieve them means plans won’t just sit on the shelf. “I think being very clear from the beginning about why everyone’s there — who’s sitting on the bus and why they’re in those seats on that bus — is very important.”

When there is no external advisor to assist the process, making sure that staff’ expectations are clearly laid out typically falls on the executive director.

Kranenburg says the annual staff retreat is an opportunity to check in with staff on their strategic priorities, “to evaluate how we’re doing and to use that as a starting point about where we’re going.” He usually only consults with the program director prior to the retreat, but says one of the first conversations the whole group has when they convene is what everyone hopes to see accomplished over the few days. From there, Kranenburg checks in with staff throughout the retreat to ensure he is “hitting people’s expectations.”

Peterson takes a collaborative pre-retreat approach. He holds several meetings prior to the event, so all departments within his organization can decide what they want to get out of the experience and how they will go about accomplishing it.

“We work together to structure the retreat, so that we maximize our ability to reach overall goals and the goals of each department.”

Be a fair facilitator

When hiring an external facilitator is impossible, it is often assumed that the executive director will moderate the retreat discussion. But from her own experience attending retreats facilitated by a director, Rotstein says it presents a challenge, prohibiting him or her from contributing to the discussion on an equal footing.

Further, staff may be more comfortable bringing up tense subjects if their executive director is not the one moderating. “It allows for more honesty or candour to come out.” And if a serious conflict arises between members of staff, Rotstein brings in another expert to help mediate.

If you can’t hire a facilitator, she recommends staff divvy up duties so that the director is not singlehandedly responsible for moderating the discussion, dealing with event logistics and managing staff issues and other conflicts of interest. Kranenburg concedes that facilitating as a director makes it difficult to avoid steering the conversation to topics of personal interest. “For most nonprofits that’s going to be one of the biggest challenges. How do I signal when I as executive director have something to contribute rather than I as facilitator?” Ultimately, he says, a director should be cognizant of the fact that particular biases are inevitable, and aim to be as flexible as possible.

For Peterson, the delicate internal issues of an organization are best handled as a group. So costs notwithstanding, he finds the prospect of hiring an external facilitator unappealing. “It’s not something that we want to do, quite frankly. I think part of the retreat is to keep it personal and tight within the organization.” Peterson typically moderates the retreat overall, but turns the floor over to various program managers to lead different sections within the discussion.

Integrate meaningful breaks

A group retreat can be intense and Rotstein stresses the importance of establishing meaningful breaks, where the time is maximized and staff are given the chance to re-energize. “You physically get so tired from tackling difficult problems or learning new information; you need a break.” So rather than simply telling people to grab a snack and go to the washroom, she suggests activities like going for a walk or spending time in silent meditation, “whatever is part of the culture of the group.” For a retreat she is planning this spring, Rotstein says she has scheduled a touch football game, simply because the intensity of the discussion means “we’re going to need 20 minutes to just throw a football.”

Both Kranenburg and Peterson say socializing is an intrinsic element of the typically low-maintenance staff retreat.

Kranenburg views retreat breaks as less contrived and more about spending time informally as a group, or taking part in the built-in social activities that come with a low-budget, like collective cooking.

Peterson shares the sentiment that informal socializing is key to establishing a productive work environment. “Bonding is very important — people that know and like each other work better together.”

Whether breaks are formally constructed or come about naturally depends on the particular group dynamic. Either way, a solid work-play balance throughout the duration of the retreat is regarded as crucial to ensuring retreat goals are met. Achieving this balance will helps staff feel more refreshed when they return to the office and sets them up well to tackle the challenges ahead.

Jodie Shupac is a Toronto-based freelance writer. She contributes to a range of publications, covering culture, urban issues, health and the environment.

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