The length of the next CoTech retreat
Dan Sofer PublicSeen by 65None of us at FAC could commit to a 4-day retreat this time and we couldn't really afford it, so we ended up splitting the time between two of us. If it were no longer than 48 hours next time, we would almost certainly be able to send two delegates for the entire retreat. I am strongly in favour of a shorter retreat next time and would like to propose something to that effect here if it gets enough support.
I would like if it was cheaper to attend and definitely see the benefit of making it shorter. My experience - the 3rd day of the event was really productive but it was completely focused on ideas proposed the day before - rightly so - but, people joining new on that day couldn't really get their proposals worked on.
Was this year's CoTech retreat (Wortley Hall) the right length?
poll by Chris Lowis (Go Free Range) Closed Mon 4 Dec 2017 1:03PM
Just a quick (non-binding) poll to get a sense of how long the annual retreat should be. Reasons can be provided with your vote.
Results
| Results | Option | % of points | Voters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| It was too long | 71 | 12 |       | |||
| It was just right | 29 | 5 |     | |||
| It was too short | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Not voted | 94 |            |
I felt it was a little too long - the final afternoon and (I assume, I'd already left) morning were much quieter. Maybe something like Sunday afternoon to Tuesday evening would be better?
Loved every minute and would happily attend a same length repeat but, it may be more accessible to more if shorter.
I think the length is just right at the moment as there is loads to sort out but in time, when we have things in place, it would definitely be better if is was slightly shorter. 4 days is a lot of time away.
I think people joining later in the event might have missed out due to way the work flow went. Also, smaller coops couldn't send big numbers, so people missed the entire event altogether. A shorter time frame would be more accessible, I think.
It was quite a big time commitment, but I wouldn't want to make it too much shorter as a lot of travel involved for those from the far north...
Agree with the suggestions - it would be good if more people could come and it cost a bit less in work time
Perhaps more to the point, it was at the wrong time of year. I know almost any time is challenging to make space for 3+ days out, but towards end November is particularly challenging.
I didn't want to leave part way through, but the 3rd night made it too long re work / family commitments and I think there is real value in as many as possible being there for the entire retreat.
I came for just 48 hours (final 2 days) because I live nearby. Perhaps people who have to travel further travel would prefer just 2 nights away?
I was thinking it might be useful to cut it down to (almost) full three days but some people have to travel from afar so this would be heavy on them. Besides, we need a bit of time to just hang out... Perhaps less busy part of the year?
I agree with @sion I think Sunday - Tuesday evening would be good and more engagement across the network during the year could mean that we're more iterative/people have a clearer idea of what we need to do at WH & what can be done elsewhere.
This year was just right, although I would've proposed starting on a Sunday evening (cuts less into a working week but still gives people a bit of a weekend before joining). I do think next year could be 2 days, starting on a Sunday (i.e. Sunday evening to say 5pm Tuesday afternoon). That's if we succeed in elaborating/communicating/bedding down more of CoTech's constitution/brand/manifesto and process in the coming months, so we can have more focus on collaboration and business opportunities at the big annual retreat.
Couldn't make this year - work commitments - but would echo Sion on starting Sunday. Might even go so far as to say Saturday... least impact on the working week. Ditto to Shaun Fensom re time of year.
I can recognise some of this in our process, 4 days for the whole team would be difficult to achieve with our usual level of client commitments.