This past summer we had our very first all team retreat! It was soooo fun and we can’t wait to do more of these!
We’ve been prioritizing more in-person connections—our annual planning meeting, networking events, and now a team retreat.
Connection is so important in entrepreneurship. We feel so much closer to our team and we’re all pumped about the future of Duo.
Meet The Team
We are obsessed with the team we’re building! We’ve been making more of an effort to highlight them and the work they do for us and our clients.
So who are the wonderful ladies behind Duo Collective besides us two?
- Heidi: Director of Smooth Sailing, AKA project manager.
- Dana: Court’s design sidekick, with a natural eye for design.
- Lauren: SEO strategist, helping Abbey with SEO client work.
- Laura: Showit web designer to bring design and SEO together.
- Jamie: Hand-Drawn Hype Girl, AKA brand illustrator.
We introduced the team in episode #147!
Why Did We Have a Team Retreat?
We decided to host a team retreat to build relationships. Our team is spread out and we wanted everyone to meet face-to-face and get to know each other.
Abbey and Lauren talk almost every day, and so do Court and Dana, but Court hadn’t spent much time with Lauren, so it was good to have quality time together as a team.
The point wasn’t to work—in fact, we made everyone put on an OOO! We wanted our team to relax and connect with one another.
How Did We Prepare?
A team retreat takes a lot of planning. On top of our already busy mom and work schedules, we had to make this process as easy as possible.
First, we sent the team a Google Forms survey to ask about date availability, dietary restrictions, and expectations for the retreat. We wanted input from our team!
Court and Dana worked on a custom logo and ordered swag materials. They absolutely crushed it!
We made the agenda and shared it in advance to help our team prepare. We sent them packing list ideas because we wanted our photos to be on-brand, of course. Take a peek at our agenda!
We made a simple OOO template for our team to use. We explained that we were all at a team retreat and would respond when we’re all back and refreshed.
We tasked Heidi with thrifting outfits for our brand shoot and did she kill it, or did she kill it?!
Team Retreat Logistics
Some of us were local, and others we flew into Minnesota. We hired a brand illustrator the week before our retreat and she’s in Scotland, so she wasn’t able to make it. Next time!
But we all still had to travel because the Airbnb we picked was about 2.5 hours away from where we live. It was so beautiful and peaceful—in the woods, on a lake, very open and naturey. We loved it.
We ordered swag bags for everyone, and hired a private chef and photographer, who happens to be Abbey’s mom.
The goal was to make everything as easy and relaxing as possible for everyone.
The Importance of Connection with a Remote Team
Not everyone collaborates in the same way. Sometimes SEO and branding don’t overlap on certain clients.
This is how we build stronger relationships—we want everyone to be open to talk to each other and not always come to us when a question could be answered by someone else.
We try daily to make this apparent outside the retreat, too:
- Group Voxer messages
- Bi-weekly full team meetings (we start each meeting with everyone sharing a personal and business win.)
- Shout out emails
Cost and Budgeting
This is part of our employee’s contracts. We account for it at the beginning of every year.
You don’t have to go crazy and rent out a private island. This is half the reason why we chose to have it close to home for half our team.
This limited some of the travel costs (but Court had to find the most expensively beautiful Airbnb to make up for it lol.)
Plan a Team Retreat
How do you make it work? PLAN for it. It’s not a “nice to have.” It’s a “must have” with remote teams.
So consider this episode your permission slip to make it happen.
And hey if you don’t have a team, maybe you have a crew of biz besties who you can retreat with together?!
FAQs About Hosting a Team Retreat
What is the purpose of a retreat?
The purpose of a team retreat is to connect with your team. The closer you are, the better you work together. You understand each other’s thought-process and personality, and can learn how to work with them.
What are the activities for team retreats?
We had a lot of hang outs! We spent time around a campfire, shopping, hiking, hot tubbing, and playing games. You can make it your own based on your team’s personalities.
How to structure a team retreat?
Schedule a mix of fun activities and downtime. We love connection, but also need time by ourselves!
Listen to our full team retreat experience on the Pod!
Apple Podcasts | Spotify
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Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen are Minnesota-based marketing experts, educators, and co-founders of boutique marketing agency Duo Collective, which specializes in SEO, social media strategy, and branding for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. To learn more about Duo Collective, or to inquire about working with our team, head over to www.duocollective.com.
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