In February, on “Return to the Mothership,” as I call it, our team gathered to spend three days at an airport hotel in Minnesota. We wanted participants to be able to fly where they needed to without going outside into the cold Minneapolis winter. There was even a direct link via mass transit to the Mall of America to visit, but the site itself wasn't where everyone found the greatest value.

Since the pandemic, people have been less engaged and more disconnected from their company's mission and purpose. A strong one workplace culture it can create healthier, happier and more productive people who stick around and increase profits. However, as leaders adopt greater remote and hybrid flexibility, this culture becomes more difficult to achieve.

Regular in-person meetings help us bridge this gap for our largely hybrid company. We spend a lot of money on our annual event, but cultural stimulus and the energy boost we get in return is always worth the investment. Instead of considering the cost of holding these experiences personally, I evaluate whether I got the most possible value out of them. Here's what I consider:

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Do the digitally impossible

Design in-person activities that can only be done in-person. Instead of product demonstrations on screen, we put products in people's hands. Instead of speakers in large lecture halls that can be viewed by Zoom, we rent many small rooms for two-way exchanges between small groups. Personal coaching must go beyond skill development to ensure alignment around the leader's vision, direction and path. At the heart of any activity, consider all the possible ways it can foster and mix culture.

Lunch can also be an option. Encourage team members to get to know colleagues they don't normally associate with. Gallup the data has been linked for a long time from having close friends at work to higher engagement, a stronger and more mature culture profitability. These are business results that, since the pandemic, have become even more pronounced. some experts estimate A high degree of employee engagement can save a 10,000-person company $52 million a year. Taking every advantage to promote meaningful connections in person can be an effective way to build that sense of community.

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Consider everyone in the room

Plan activities with the needs of all participating groups in mind. Most of us retailers are distant and may need more support to feel connected. Instead of keeping them separate, we plan their time with others around shared needs. We held a large group sales training, but restructured the conversation to accommodate the inclusion of non-sales people. By helping accountants better understand the goals of people seeking commission audits, they can more easily build relationships and improve cross-departmental collaboration.

What people want from personal gatherings can be different, so ask. When our company was smaller, we knew each other's spouses and families and often included them in team meetings. Today, our workforce is larger, younger, and less oriented toward marital or family events. Compared to an in-person gathering of 200 employees, an event with 400 people, including spouses, is much more expensive. By asking what my team members want, I can determine if this additional cost is needed or if $100 gift certificates to recognize a spouse's support would be more appreciated.

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Timing is everything

We used to hold our annual meeting in October at the beginning of our fiscal year, but last year we were in transition and couldn't focus on the event. So we were delayed until February, but the cancellation fees cost us a 20 to 25% increase on the entire event. Still, if we had paid full expenses and invited everyone to the field without being ready to offer them an event worth attending, the negative energy in response would have been much more devastating.

As it turned out, rescheduling the event gave us a boost of energy, leading into our busiest time of year and maximizing our annual opportunity. To help keep that energy up, we also encourage smaller gatherings throughout the year as needed. Our regional sales teams meet several times a year, while our inside sales group prefers to meet quarterly. Schedule in-person events with enough frequency to carry the resulting energy from one gathering to the next, and if you're late, adding another one can be a worthwhile investment.

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Follow and improve

Asking for feedback ensures that efforts to bring people together in person are more effective. Our management team monitors the event round the clock signs of pleasure or displeasure. We also ask people to share what they liked most as the event ends. Within the following week, we send out a formal survey asking for feedback on each part of the agenda, including factors such as the setting, hotel and event dates. Finally, we discussed our notes as a planning committee to adapt and improve them for the coming year.

This year, we tried to help people mitigate agenda conflicts with their day jobs. Instead of setting aside another 15 minutes of unscheduled free time, we built intentional breaks into the day dedicated to getting work done. We also asked people who prioritize that time for work and free yourself from distractions the rest of the day. Be direct in asking employees for buy-in and start early, well before the pick-up happens. By getting people to invest their focus in the particular environment, we better ensure that they benefit as much as we do.

Despite a mild winter, we were lucky this year and it snowed – a perfect powder. We had participants from all over the country and beyond, including from our Mexican production team, who had never seen snow. We all watched with shared joy as they climbed onto the ground to make snow angels for the first time – a moment I could never have planned for and probably will never be able to recreate. As long as we set the stage to maximize authentic connections, some of the most meaningful interactions happen when we just sit back and let them.