Essentials for a Successful Board Retreat

Any meeting that involves key stakeholders builds an added layer of stress for even the sharpest planners. Add the entire board, and the success of an event at that scale suddenly becomes mission critical. How often do companies allot time for their C-suite to get in a room and concentrate on priorities for the year ahead? As this audience knows, the answer is infrequently.

That’s why finding a partner with an event space that prioritizes your needs can be nearly as mission critical as the event execution itself. At Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Pocono Mountains, we’ve become masters at navigating the complexities that come with planning board retreats.

Here are three of the essential things we’ve learned when helping to plan a successful board retreat:

Versatility is Key

As a planner, we’re not always looped in on the exact agenda for board retreats. Though we always put in the ask, we often end up having to use our best judgement determining the best layout for these events. Adaptability in this field is crucial, and that’s why having a space that adapts with you is just as important.

At Kalahari, we offer a range of flexible meeting spaces equipped with advanced audiovisual technology, high-speed Wi-Fi and numerous seating arrangements. From intimate breakout rooms to large ballrooms, our conventions provide the ideal environment for presentations, brainstorming sessions, and teambuilding exercises– even if all three weren’t included on the original agenda.
Being able to adapt quickly helps ensure that every board member can stay focused and engaged and takes some of the pressure off our planners when we must do the dreaded pivot.

Make Itinerary Suggestions

It might not always feel like your place to intervene, but does the agenda look a little stale? Just as you’d help make menu suggestions when someone has dietary restrictions, why not offer to help amp it up with some fun, collaborative activities? Ultimately, your clients want this to be a successful meeting, too, so change it up if you can!
From wine pairing dinners and culinary classes to a quick trip down a water slide — you’d be surprised what board members can leverage to spark creativity and strengthen camaraderie. These experiences provide a refreshing break from traditional meetings, helping foster strong team relationships, and make it more memorable for everyone in the long run.

Build in Time to Relax and Recharge

Remember earlier when we talked about how difficult it can be to get key stakeholders in a room together? Well, that ends up creating a need to fill every second of every day with something. Breakfast at 6 am, icebreaker at 2, cocktails following dinner. By day two, brainstorming turns into gibberish because everyone is exhausted. What if stakeholders skipped cocktail hour and went to the spa instead, wouldn’t that lead to a more productive day two?

Help build in breaks for your attendees with amenity packages they actually want to take advantage of. Give them a chance to refresh between sessions with a manicure, layout at the pool to get some Vitamin D before going back into the conference center, get a massage after dinner instead of going to the bar. At Kalahari, we’ve found that providing a seamless blend of focus and relaxation gives board members a chance to be more productive – resulting in stronger feedback and happier clients.

Written for MPI Philadelphia's MPI to Eye Blog