Team retreats are a tool for supporting the growth of a team. These planned off site meetings can help teams to develop identity and resolve deeper issues in order to bring their best work to serving the people of Multnomah County. The library can support retreats through our Learning + Organizational Development team. Below are the criteria for that support:

• Any workgroup that gets a new manager/supervisor should have a retreat with the purpose of team building, setting expectations and anything else that the manager/staff identify.
• Workgroups that are experiencing extraordinary turmoil due to unique circumstances should have a retreat to work through these challenges and do some team building work. These retreats require division head approval.
• Decisions about whether workgroups meet the requirements for the retreat should be decided as the need arises.
• Managers should have a conversation with their supervisor, HR and the Learning + OD Manager to determine timing and resource availability, including making a decision if outside resources are needed.

Teams can still meet without additional budget to resolve operational issues and team build through longer meetings run by the manager. Learning + Organizational Development is available to consult with managers to support the creation of a meeting plan as needed.

Contact Amy Honisett for more information.

For questions about refreshments, please see the Staff Retreat Refreshment Guidelines