The ROI of Disconnect: How Retreats Drive Better Business Decisions?

Want to dramatically improve your team’s decision-making?

Remove them from the office.

OK, that sounds backwards but step away from your laptops and delegate your work for a week because a quality team building retreat is one of the best investments you can make as a business. Getting away from the office together does wonders, and when you consider how these experiences spark creativity and build trust, the ROI of team building retreats becomes clear through the better decisions and stronger collaboration they produce.

The issue?

Team retreats are still viewed as a ‘nice-to-have’ by businesses everywhere. They look at the price tag and back away. But those who have embraced team building retreats know that there is quantifiable ROI that will take your company to the next level.

Why Getting Away From the Office Improves Decision-Making?

Take a second to think about when the last big idea happened during a meeting.

Bet you had to think hard on that one. Because it probably never happens during meetings or in the office. There’s just too much distraction. Emails, Slack, Zoom meetings, reports. It’s mental chaos that doesn’t allow for team members to think creatively or develop solid strategies.

Enter… the team building retreat.

When you get out of the office and into a space like a corporate retreat venue Costa Rica offers, something shifts. Your brain shifts. People start thinking differently when they’re not tied to their desk and stressed about the pile of work they left behind. Being in nature and away from distractions allows your team to communicate better, work collaboratively and make high-quality decisions.

There’s research to prove this:

Gallup’s 2025 Global Workplace Report revealed that only 21% of employees worldwide feel engaged at work. In 2024. Can you believe that? Employee engagement has hit an all-time low and businesses are starting to feel it. When employees aren’t engaged, their decisions suffer. Projects don’t get finished. Employees aren’t collaborating the way they should.

Which is why team building retreats are critical. Getting away and reconnecting with your team and your purpose is one of the quickest ways to improve employee engagement.

How Team Building Retreats Deliver a Measurable ROI?

Ah yes… ROI.

Everyone clicks on articles like this just to find numbers. So let’s get down to business.

Understanding the ROI of team building retreats proves they are far from a ‘nice-to-have.’ When executed correctly, team building retreats have a 73% reduction in turnover, improved productivity, better communication and help teams align faster.

But how does that help the bottom line?

Let’s use turnover as an example.

High employee turnover is expensive. Hiring and training new talent costs your company thousands (that’s 50-200% of their salary.) When you invest in a retreat and reduce turnover, you’re saving your company thousands of dollars that can be spent elsewhere.

And that hasn’t even touched on productivity and efficiency.

Ready for more?

Higher levels of employee engagement create an 18% increase in sales per employee. Read that again. Sales. When your employees feel connected to the company and each other, they perform better which equals more sales.

It all comes full circle.

Strategies for a Powerful and Impactful Retreat

Just in case you haven’t picked up on it yet, not all retreats are built the same.

Going away for a weekend and throwing in some team building activities isn’t going to cut it. If you want a ROI that your CFO will cheer about, you have to strategize every part of your retreat.

Let’s dive into the components of a successful retreat:

• Objectives – Every decision should be supported by the retreat’s objectives. What does the team need to get out of it? Better communication? Once that’s clear, it becomes easy to plan activities and the perfect location to complement those goals.

• Location, location, location – Once the goals are locked down, it’s time to find the perfect place to host your retreat. Where you host is just as important as what you plan to do there. Team retreat venues are so popular right now because they provide a space for your team to think outside of the box. They’re normally located somewhere incredible so your team is inspired by nature and far away from distractions.

• Activities – This goes hand in hand with your objectives. All activities should be planned with your objectives in mind. You don’t want to show up to a retreat and do random team building activities that don’t support your goals. Each activity should challenge your team and help them grow.

• Follow-up – This is where most companies fail. They come back from their retreat feeling inspired and refreshed, but once they’re back in the office it’s back to business as usual. Taking notes and holding your team accountable for the things they wanted to improve will help solidify your retreat.

Over 70% of mid to large companies host an annual meeting or offsite. But those who squeeze the most value from their retreats are the ones who spend time planning every detail.

How To Ensure Your Investment Creates Results?

Since the team is convinced that the ROI of team building retreats justifies the investment, it is now time to focus on the planning phase.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when preparing for the next retreat:

• Measure your results – Before the retreat, take note of how your team is performing. Send out a survey to measure how connected they feel or look at their productivity over the past month. Once the team gets back from the retreat, measure it again.

• Timing is everything – September, October and May are the most common months for businesses to host a retreat. That’s probably because most people are refreshed and ready to take on something new. Plan your retreat during these months and you’ll have high energy team members and more venue options.

• Don’t sacrifice your venue – When cutting costs, businesses tend to go cheap on the location. Think about it… you could save money if your team stays in a hotel room together. But that’s kind of boring, right? Plus where’s the fun in that? Your venue sets the tone for your entire retreat, so make sure it’s somewhere that will spark creativity. When the team is kicked back in a cozy villa surrounded by nature, they’ll feel more relaxed and open to team building exercises.

• Less is more – There’s a growing trend among teams who book shorter retreats. They tend to get more out of them. Instead of the typical week-long vacation, try pushing for 3-4 days. It’s long enough to get your team bonding, but not too long that they have to take too much time off of work.

And don’t forget…

• Leadership matters – Get buy-in from your leaders. When the head honchos are onboard and participating in the retreat, your team will feed off of that energy.

Wrap Up

Here’s the deal. Team retreats are an investment that will save your business money in the long run. If employees are engaged, they’re making better decisions and costing your business less money.

Here’s the recap:

• Disconnecting from work helps your team make better decisions
• Spending money on retreats gives your company a ROI like improved sales and reduced turnover
• Strategy is everything when planning your retreat. Dig deep on your objectives and plan activities around that
• Without follow-up, your retreat will be nothing more than a team vacation
• Leadership support will ensure your team gets the most out of the retreat

Businesses that prioritize the ROI of team building retreats consistently outperform the competition. While other companies are dragging their feet, your team will be ripping through goals left and right.

Don’t forget to retreat!