Retreat

I am told that work retreats are supposed to combine team building, learning about the company, fun and getting to know your co-workers. Well, based on the most recent retreat I was on I can say in fact it just involves work.

Every year the company that I work for does a two day retreat. This year without thinking I agreed to help organise the retreat and I have now learned my lesson. However, to be fair I did get to know the members of the retreat committee very well indeed, and we had a great time organising it.

This years retreat was in Banff (as the past three years have been) at the Banff Centre. The Banff Centre is a great location in a lot of ways. Loads of space, a variety of food options, stores, bars etc...and it suited our purposes nicely. Our theme was Hollywood North and the team building activity involved them filming a pre-assigned movie in some fashion that was no longer than 5 minutes. We screend them that evening and what a hoot. I was very impressed with the creativity shown in the making of these movies. Kudos to my co-workers. The committee did not film a movie but was available for questions, took pictures of them filming the movies and worked on some things for the evenings entertainments. That evening we had dinner, watched the movies and had an awards ceremony for everyone. Then we socialised for awhile (or a very long time depending on when you left) and everyone drifted off to bed. The next morning involved a speaker and some mental exercises - again I was busy for a chunk of it - and then everyone got to go home.

So, I guess even I accomplished the requirements for the retreat. Just at a different timeline than most of them. I did get to know the committee, in planning I learned the office plan, and I had a load of fun. That still doesn't mean I will be planning next years though.