Monday, April 6, 2009

Staff Retreat

This past Wednesday and Thursday I had the pleasure of going to a neighboring camp with our entire camp staff for our pre-summer staff retreat. It was a great experience not only because I was able to socialize and get to know more of the staff better, but it was extremely productive as well. We attempted to focus on a couple of key issues that were needing to be addressed with the camp including customer service and finances. With the economic hardships that are hitting many businesses, we wanted to brainstorm ways in which our organization could save money so that we could wisely and accurately budget our funds in the most efficient way possible. Also, in order to make our guests feel more comfortable, we brainstormed ways in which we could interact with our guests at a more relational level so that they could be better accommodated and welcomed into a warm environment. It has been an amazing experience taking part in so many different planning activities for the camp. Although I may be the intern and my opinions and suggestions aren't extremely valued, I enjoy the fact that I am able to have a voice in the conversations and be a part of the process, even if I am just listening. Being able to listen to the meetings and see how the processes work has been a huge help because it lets me see how it is all done.

Now comes the real challenge! After coming back from the retreat, we have assembled a HUGE task list of things that need to be done between now and May 20th, which is when summer staff arrive. The list seems to be ever-growing, even as we complete tasks it still seems to be getting bigger. All of the stress, tiredness, and soreness are going to be piling up from here on out and I am extremely stoked to see it all get done.

3 comments:

  1. It's pretty cool that you got to be part of the staff retreat. I bet they value your ideas and insights more than you think. I was kind of amazed at how well recieved my ideas were by the majority (I say this because obviously there will be those who want to do it how it's always been done...) of the management team. Some of them have already been adopted and put into programs! So you never know, stay positive, and voice your opinions =)

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  2. Budget it high on the list of concerns for all business. With the reduction of money coming in to programs, there is a large emphasis in retaining a high quality of customer service and in services. And make sure you keep speaking up in all of the convrsations you are involved in because sometimes even the interns have great ideas.

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  3. Get 'er done! What! I'm sure your opinions are valuable! Also, as we have learned in class, brainstorming as a group is a great way to bounce ideas off each other.

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