Your employees are an integral part of your company. They serve in the frontlines, establishing relationships with your customers to ensure that your clients’ needs and expectations are met.
With the hustle and bustle surrounding everyday office life, it can be easy for you and them to neglect their welfare, specifically regarding their mental health. Burnout is a significant problem in today’s workforce. It has become a hindrance to productivity, which is directly related to a business’s output.
One possible solution to this is to plan a team-building vacation with your employees. It shouldn’t be too formal; anyway, the end goal is for them to enjoy and have a great time, as well as build camaraderie with you and their colleagues. You can rent a corporate charter cruise ship or reserve an entire ski resort to accommodate everyone and to have some space where you can spend quality time outside the office.
Here are ways to plan vacations with your employees:
Get Your Team Involved
It’s best to have your team be a part of the decision-making process for the vacation right at the start of planning. You can vote on where you should go and what activities you should do.
Moreover, since the expenses will be shouldered by the company and you have to book the venue ahead of time, your employees must confirm their attendance and block off their schedule for the agreed dates. Make sure to distribute the tasks as well, such as preparing the details of the itinerary and other related to-dos.
Make The Travel Objectives And Policies Clear
Even if the team-building vacation is supposed to be a casual one, you still have to set your employees’ expectations and explain the objectives of the trip. You need to let them know what you want to achieve after the excursion.
You can even insert a few sessions of activities that will allow them to learn new skills or enhance their current skill set. Remember that investing in your team’s learning is one of the best ways to manage and maximize their productivity.
You also have to make the travel policies clear before you go on the trip. These are some areas that you should think about:
- Dress Code – If you’re planning to go to a beach resort, of course, you have to make allowances for swimwear. However, you can make it clear that your team should, still, be mindful of decency and appropriateness in their choice of outfits.
- Meal Budget – You may be planning on providing them with cash allowances during the trip for their meals. You should be clear on the amount that you’re allocating for each individual to make sure that the company doesn’t overspend.
- Travel Details – Clarify the mode of transportation you’ll be using, as well as the particulars of accommodation to ensure that everyone is on the same page. If you’re traveling overseas, you can even include a reminder on the culture of the place you’re visiting to make sure that no one offends a local.
Plan Your Budget
For trips that involve the entire company, you’ll have to be meticulous about the budget. Plan every possible expense right down to the last cent so that you can forecast the amount that you need and put a limit to the cost.
You can even ask airlines, hotels, and resorts if they offer corporate packages. You get to save money on these deals since they’re calculated for a lot of people and come with some perks or freebies. Credit card companies can also help you with this task.
Be Deliberate About Leisure Time
It can be tempting to still think about productivity and fill the schedule to the brim with learning activities. Nonetheless, you have to be conscious of the time you allocate for your employees’ leisure. After all, all of you are going on this trip to get some much-needed R&R while still learning new things about the industry or each other.
Create a semi-flexible timetable and give them the freedom to spend their time however they want it. Strive to attain a balance of group sessions with individual leisure time for the best company outing ever.
Whether you’re planning for a team-building activity or an excursion with your employees, you have to think about how you can encourage everyone to work together even for this project. You must get them involved by having them take part in making decisions for the trip. You should also make the travel objectives and policies clear, as well as plan your budget meticulously. It also pays to be mindful of including leisure time in your planned activities.
