No Alcohol at a Company Conference or Retreat? Are you serious?
Socialising over a drink or two is a key fabric of our culture in Australia and one that certainly flows into most corporate social gatherings and conferences. No doubt it has it's place for celebrations and certain gatherings however if we take a moment to challenge how we approach Wellness and Performance in the workplace, could there be benefits of a 'Dry' Conference?
We've all been to numerous conferences in our career, and it's surprising that in an era where innovation is so prevalent that the formula for conferences has largely stayed the same. Casual welcome night, day of content, guest speaker, formal Gala dinner and so on. Many companies are now incorporating volunteer and community focused initiatives in addition to active inclusions as part of their conferences which is a great step forward.
So what if we remove alcohol from a conference?
1. It challenges us to do better
A couple of drinks certainly helps to relax people (especially the introverts in your team) and improve socialising at company functions. Removing it really challenges the Executive Team to design a conference that creates this in alternate ways to inspire and bond their people. People, Content, Experiences and Inspiration should be doing the heavy lifting rather than alcohol. And surely the Gala Dinner format started to lose it's appeal in the 1990's. How many times have we all sat at a table of 10, dressed in a suit or cocktail dress, drinking an $8 wine, working out with your neighbour who would prefer the chicken or the beef whilst aimlessly trying to hold a conversation with the people at your table over the load music? Let's face it we've all done the nod across the table, being polite acting like we understood what they said. Imagine the possibilities if we think outside the square regarding evening events at conferences
2. Your team comes back from a conference fresh and recharged
We've all experienced the buffet breakfast the next morning, pale faces from the people that didn't know when to stop the night before. The conversation is usually "what time did you wrap up last night?" with the latest time sometimes being a badge of honour. How often have you heard an employee come back to work from a conference recharged and refreshed, full of energy to tackle the lofty company goals? Inspired yes, full or energy......Not often. Given the expense of a conference, does this seem silly?
3. It challenges us to re-think the purpose and outcomes we seek for bringing our team together
Often an annual conference is designed as a reward and sometimes it's even just part of the calendar that happens each year - "I Guess we need to start working on our annual conference?" is often raised at a senior management meeting. As an essential communication and engagement tool for companies of any size, the common purposes are generally; communicating critical goals, plans & strategies, creating true alignment across the workforce, creating stronger teams and fostering a deeper connection with companies values and vision. A company that values the health and well being of their people and who courageously demonstrates it through every opportunity would want their employees to return to work a better person from a conference than when they arrived. The opposite is quite often what happens with tired and worn out employees returning to work, bye-bye productivity!
4. It makes a statement about Performance
A company that puts the well-being of it's employees as number 1 priority sets a culture of high expectations and self discipline. It sends a consistent message that we want everyone to be at their best and constantly striving for excellence in life and at work. I don't know about you but that sounds like a company I want to work for!
Is your company ready? I'm interested in your thoughts, reach out if you have an opinion on this or if you have already taken some courageous steps to change up your company retreats or conferences I would love to hear from you!
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