Ways to design an effective work retreat (examples) | Surf Office

Tips for a great work offsite

There are a few ways to make sure your work offsite is a success.

First, it’s a good idea to take your team to a remote location.
Head to the countryside to decrease the distractions of city life. Surf Office runs work retreats int he charming, remote fishing village of Ericeira. We also recommend the Catskill Mountains, Zion national park, and Gran Canaria, or one of our remote villas close to Barcelona or Valencia. Click here to see all our locations.

After you have your location, work on the agenda ahead of time.
Ask your team members what problems they would like to solve. Brainstorm which areas of the business you would like to improve. Then, organize a hackathon or design sprint to work on your project in groups.

We’ve also found it’s important to balance work and play.
Leave some free time every day for your team; otherwise, people are going to be exhausted.

Prioritize which ideas you want to work on.
Don’t try to do too much in one retreat! Focus on brainstorming ideas, creating quick concepts/prototypes, and feedbacking them. You can test your concepts in the real world once you are back from the retreat.

Not sure where to focus?
Before the retreat, ask your team what projects they would work on with a budget of US$10,000, and what projects they would choose with a budget of US$1 million. We did this exercise during our Surf Office retreat in Prague. Then we brainstormed and worked on the best ideas. You might realize that many “one million dollar ideas” you can actually develop with a much lower budget.

Lastly, make sure you’re equipped with the right environment and tools.
Book an office or workspace and make sure it has enough whiteboards or presentation tools.