Before Planning Your Retreat

Source: Practical Accountant

Here are some of the many suggestions from this article on how to plan a retreat:

• Some firms concentrate on strategy and save operating issues for monthly meetings.
• Some firms limit attendance to owners so they can be more open.
• Others invite non-owners to attend certain segments of the retreats.
• Some firms have two retreats a year so they can re-focus on mission and action plans.
• A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis survey is best facilitated in a pre-retreat. Larger firms can have department meetings prior to the retreat to do a SWOT analysis, which is reviewed at the retreat.
• Retreats seem to run for two to four-and-a-half days.
• Typical retreat topics include:
  • Vision.
  • Mission.
  • Core values.
  • Strategic planning.
  • Standards of performance for partners.
  • Client service.
  • Succession planning.
  • Leadership training.
  • Culture and change.
  • Marketing and sales training.
• Some firms conduct family retreats as part of the firm retreat.
• Speakers at retreats sometimes include leaders of major firms.
• Benefits of retreats include:
  • A good decision-making forum.
  • A venue to develop long-term strategy.
  • Development of initiatives for attracting larger clients.
  • Improvement of partner relationships.
  • Establishment of consensus and commitment to firm goals.
  • Addition of niches.
  • Learning new things about the firm, e.g., that the managing partner was feared by staff and was exacerbating the turnover problem.
  • Make staff feel comfortable in voicing their opinions.
  • One firm decided at a retreat to fire its biggest client because of staff unhappiness and low realization.
• One of the major problems is implementing plans developed at retreats. The retreat agenda should include adoption of an implementation, monitoring, accountability, and follow-up plan.
• Periodic follow-up meetings after the retreat are extremely important.
• Most observers believe an outside facilitator is essential.

For the complete article, click here and select "Retreats Defining Firms’ Futures" in the March 2008 issue.

From Practical Accountant, February 2008, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809.

Measuring CPA Leadership Effectiveness

Full Service Real Estate Investment and Mortgage Finance.