Beauty Link - Volume 5, Issue 2 - (Page 48) GETTING OUTSIDE THE BOX THE VALUE OF A RETREAT BY SUSAN MILLER B usiness success is full of paradoxes. Case in point: In order to move forward it is often necessary to fi rst retreat. A well-planned and facilitated retreat can help a school’s staff renew their passion, restore their vision and recommit to the school’s mission. On a more practical note, retreats can also help reduce turnover, improve retention and generate revenue. Matthew Fairfax serves as principal of Northern Torch Consulting and is co-owner of James Alan Salon in Shoreline, Washington. Fairfax has played the role of both retreat facilitator and participant. He says that when it comes to incorporating retreats into an organization’s business plan, it’s not a matter of whether or not, but rather how and when. He views retreats as a non-negotiable component of business success. Not surprisingly, time and money are the two biggest objections Fairfax hears when owners explain why they cannot plan a staff retreat. Yet once an organization reaps the benefits of what Fairfax calls “retreat magic,” those objections rarely come up again. At James Alan Salon, retreat magic has been translated into turnover that is 15 percent below industry levels, double-digit revenue increases and new client retention 10 percent higher than the national average. Fairfax says that his salon’s typical retreat typically costs less than $500 per employee and that his salon team’s enthusiasm for the experience enables them to dramatically boost productivity. The Off-Site Perks An off-site retreat allows employees to focus on the big strategic picture. Such perspective is hard to fi nd when a student has a personal crisis, a water heater is broken and the auditor calls with yet another fi nancial question. Leaving the business premises provides the luxury of uninterrupted focus and a literal, different perspective on the enterprise. Retreats are about more than strategy, however. Both teamwork and personal growth are buoyed in the off-site environment. Darrell Camp, president and CEO of Northwest Hair Academy in Everett, Washington, said that while his team discusses continuing education, policy reviews and skills assessment, a far more important benefit arises from each retreat. “Teamwork is the most valuable outcome. By investing in the retreat, my wife Mary and I make it clear to the team that it is not about us and them, but about we,” he said. Camp has been holding off-site retreats for more than a decade at a meeting space 18 miles from campus. Northwest Hair Academy retreats typically last four days, and the school hires substitutes so students can continue their studies while the regular staff is out. The overnight accommodations are not swanky, but they are clean and sparse. Camp compares his retreat’s ambiance to that of a college dorm with twin beds, communal restrooms and a “chow-hall” for meals. He considers the most important facility accoutrements to be sufficient space for group activities, good AV facilities, and an environment that supports academic and teamwork building exercises. The Power of a Plan Like any excursion, pre-planning is important. Camp makes sure that an agenda is outlined in advance of the retreat. Planners must be selective when determining how much they can accomplish during an off-site session. “As tempting as it is, you simply can’t put 10 hours of activity into an eight-hour day and appreciate the experience,” he said. He also advocates that leaders leave their leadership role behind and hire an external facilitator to lead the retreat, providing owners with the opportunity to be learners. To identify a good facilitator, Fairfax suggests that schools make connections with local human resources (HR) directors. HR professionals frequently retain facilitators and consultants and may also be able to point you to HR associations familiar with facilitating resources. He says other good venues for identifying facilitators include industry trade conferences sponsored by AACS, PBA and ISSE. But don’t wait to schedule a facilitator—Fairfax begins planning his October retreat in January. When planning the retreat, Farifax says that schools must be clear on what they want to accomplish and how they will determine whether or not they achieved the desired results. The online courses ML148 - Strategic Thinking and ML129 – Developing Employees are available on the AACS Online Training Center at www.aacstraining.org. Members call AACS at 800-831-1086 for your VIP Discount Code. Visit the following URLs to learn more about these courses: http://bit.ly/BeautyLinkML148 and http://bit.ly/BeautyLinkML129. 48 | B E AU TYLINK | TH I N K ING OUTSIDE THE TOOL B OX | 2013 Learn More http://www.aacstraining.org http://www.bit.ly/BeautyLinkML148 http://www.bit.ly/BeautyLinkML129 http://www.naylornetwork.com/bsa-nxt/ Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Beauty Link - Volume 5, Issue 2 Message from the AACS President and CEA CO-Chairs The workings of Washington Unite to Build a Community The Ultimate Software Review A Student's Perspective The Professional Nail Industry & Schools Step by Step Challenging the Status Quo And then there’s compliance Forward to the Future Listserve Q & A Beauty School Budgeting Skin Care Council The Digital Classroom Outside the Beauty Box Getting Outside the Box Beauty changes lives Think Local! Superstar Graduate Participation Wanted A Profound Impact People & Places New Products & Services Associate Member Profiles: Financial Aid Servicers New School Members Upcoming 2013-14 Events Index to Advertisers Advertisers.com Beauty Link - Volume 5, Issue 2 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0317 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0217 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0117 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0416 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0316 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0216 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0116 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0415 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0315 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0215 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0115 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0414 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0314 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0214 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0114 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0413 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0313 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BSAQ/BSAQ0213 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0113 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0412 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0312 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0212 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0112 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0411 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0311 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0211 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0111 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ2011MediaKit http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0410 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0310 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0210 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0110 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0409 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0309 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0209 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/BSAQ0109 http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com
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