{"id":12879,"date":"2018-06-20T08:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T13:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=12879"},"modified":"2019-08-09T15:07:49","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T20:07:49","slug":"6-key-pieces-of-advice-to-help-you-plan-your-firm-retreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/6-key-pieces-of-advice-to-help-you-plan-your-firm-retreat\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Key Pieces of Advice to Help You Plan Your Firm Retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">As a partner in your firm, you are not just an tax professional or accountant; you\u00a0are the leader of your business. Effective business leaders take the\u00a0initiative to plan for the longevity and growth of their business. There are many ways to take that initiative,\u00a0including setting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firmofthefuture.com\/content\/use-smart-goals-to-get-your-firm-where-you-want-it-to-go\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wa-link=\"body_fof-SmartGoals\" target=\"_blank\">SMART goals<\/a>, moving to value pricing\u00a0and identifying niche markets.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Holding a retreat for your tax and accounting firm is also an effective way to plan for longevity and growth.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Why should you plan a firm retreat?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Simply put: retreats work. That\u2019s why corporations have used them for years. Unfortunately, few accounting firms take advantage of this effective method for team building, debriefing, planning and vision casting.\u00a0Just like the clients we serve, we need to take time to step away from our own day-to-day operations, dream about and plan for the future, and help all of our team members see the bigger picture and what success at our firms look like.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">With some thoughtful planning, you can put together a retreat that takes your accounting firm to the next level.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>What should you do first?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Identify the purpose of the firm retreat. Ask yourself what you want to be different about your firm the Monday after the retreat:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Do you want your team to be more unified?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Do you want to have a written vision for the firm?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Do you want to improve on the processes that you currently use to serve clients?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Do you want to have specific measurable goals created so you can reach the vision you already have, or do you need to create a new one?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Once you have decided what you want the retreat to accomplish, the rest of the decision making will fall into place.\u00a0 Throughout the planning, think: will this activity, location\u00a0or idea accomplish the purpose of the retreat?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Who should attend the firm retreat?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When determining who should attend the retreat, be sure to include the members of your accounting firm who have direct responsibility in achieving the purpose of the retreat.\u00a0This may literally mean every person in the firm, from the receptionist to the IT person to the partners. The positive momentum of deeper interpersonal relationships can be worth the little bit of money it costs to shut down the office for a day or two of planning and team building.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Plus, everyone in the firm can benefit from each person\u2019s unique perspective. For example, if you are working on developing a strategy to offer advisory services to clients, you may not think that an IT Director could have anything to offer since he\u00a0isn&#8217;t they directly working with clients; however, an IT Director may be able to think from a client point of view since he is outside the day-to-day client relationship, as well as provide insight on how the tools affect the client experience.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">You will also want to line up a facilitator for the retreat. A facilitator has experience with retreats and knows how to run one well. Having a facilitator means that you can participate in the retreat instead of running it. Facilitators can also diffuse power struggles if they arise, and offer suggestions as you implement the plan after the retreat is over.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Where should you hold your firm retreat?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Be sure to select an off-site location for the retreat. Having a change in scenery helps get the creative ideas flowing\u00a0and cuts a bit of the \u201ccord\u201d to the office.\u00a0If the location is new for everyone, it\u2019s more relaxing\u00a0and puts everyone on a level playing field. At a retreat, you want everyone\u2019s voice to be heard.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">And, don\u2019t just pick a place that has a conference room with four white walls. Pick a beautiful place that encourages inspiration, and has some smaller rooms or spaces for collaborating and small groups to meet to discuss various topics.\u00a0Think outside the norm for the place, such as a\u00a0ski lodge in off season or a little off the beaten path outside the city. Just make sure the location you choose can handle the technology you will need\u00a0and has food there\u00a0or close by!<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>What will you actually do at the firm retreat?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Once you have decided the purpose for the firm retreat, work with the facilitator to create the schedule or agenda.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>First, you\u2019ll need to decide on the length of the retreat.\u00a0<\/strong>Depending on the size of the team\u00a0and the purpose of the retreat, it may be as short as one day\u00a0or as long as three days.\u00a0If you back it up to a weekend, you can have team-building before or after as well.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Second, plan for a balance of large group time and small group discussion.\u00a0<\/strong>Some will not participate in large group discussions, especially with leaders in the room.\u00a0Having a smaller group discussion will allow some people to be more comfortable to share their ideas and feedback.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Finally, be sure to schedule downtime.\u00a0<\/strong>Some of your introverted team members will need a break between sessions\u00a0to process all the conversations.\u00a0And, for your extroverted team members, they want to talk through the sessions and have time to \u201chang out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A couple other tips for the firm retreat:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Check your tech at the door. <\/strong>We all know that smartphones can be distracting. Some retreats benefit from having a phone basket or a no phones\/tablet\/computer policy when there is deep thinking to do.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Help everyone be part of the discussion instead of letting the quick talkers take over.\u00a0<\/strong>Give time for people to write down answers to questions first so that everyone has something to share when discussion time comes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Make sure that the leadership mingles with everyone.\u00a0<\/strong>This is a great opportunity to hear from the \u201cfront lines\u201d what is going on\u00a0and for the leadership to identify rising stars.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>How do I prepare my team for the retreat?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Be sure to give your team\u00a0plenty of notice once the dates are set.\u00a0Babysitters, dog watchers\u00a0and other plans need to be made by team members, so give them time to plan &#8211; and\u00a0to build the excitement.\u00a0Let them know the purpose, but do it in an exciting way that helps them see how they will be a part of the future success of the firm.\u00a0Make it sound like something they want to be a part of! The most important thing to communicate is the purpose of the firm retreat so that everyone has realistic expectations. You cannot over-communicate the purpose of the retreat.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">As it gets closer to the retreat, you may also want to give participants a few questions to think about ahead of time or even a quick survey so that people have ideas ready and their thoughts gathered for the first discussion time.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">It takes a lot of time and energy to plan a retreat well, but the benefits will be worth it as you align your team around a common vision, build momentum and start to take your firm to the next level!<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:<\/strong> This article was originally published on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firmofthefuture.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wa-link=\"body_fof\" target=\"_blank\">Firm of the Future blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Holding a retreat for your tax and accounting firm is an effective way to plan for longevity and growth, but how to you plan an effective meeting? Here are six  points from Carla Caldwell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140281095,"featured_media":10659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rkv_browse_by_id":0,"rkv_cta_id":0,"rkv_optimize_for_pagespeed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"useModifiedDate":false,"customPublishDate":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[116807],"tags":[],"intuit_collection":[],"intuit_series":[],"coauthors":[605132287],"class_list":["post-12879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practice-management"],"header_image":"","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6 Key Pieces of Advice to Help You Plan Your Firm Retreat - Tax Pro Center | Intuit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/6-key-pieces-of-advice-to-help-you-plan-your-firm-retreat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Key Pieces of Advice to Help You Plan Your Firm Retreat - Tax Pro Center | Intuit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Holding a retreat for your tax and accounting firm is an effective way to plan for longevity and growth, but how to you plan an effective meeting? 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