Special report: How remote working has changed the corporate off-site
Zoom. Google Meet. Microsoft Teams. With virtual work the new norm, what will become of corporate getaways, asks Alexandra Carlton.
In March 2020, the leadership team from one of the largest business units at ING Australia, led by CEO Melanie Evans, were preparing to head to their annual planning session at Bangalay Luxury Villas (bangalay villas.com.au) at Shoalhaven Heads, a little over two hours drive south of Sydney. The company deliberately chose Bangalay – a collection of 16 chic, self-contained suites around an elegant pool and restaurant – as a way of supporting a region that had been devastated by the 2019-2020 NSW bushfires. No prizes for guessing what happened next. “We were all set,” says Evans, “but then COVID-19 hit.”
Months of lockdown followed and by the time the team was finally able to get together at Bangalay last August, many hadn’t seen each other away from the lens of a laptop camera in months. And they were more than ready. “Our team was very enthusiastic about gathering together in person,” says Evans. “We enjoy each other’s company and we value connection and collaboration.” Unsurprisingly, the off-site ended up focusing less on forward planning and more on simply being together.
A highlight of the two-day trip was a native-ingredients tasting, where the team sampled everything from green ants to wattleseed and kangaroo. But it was the unplanned moments of human connection that felt just as important as the arranged activities. “We had one of the team in the late stages of her pregnancy and it was so nice to see her beaming,” enthuses Evans. “She was so excited to be welcoming her first child and let’s face it, you don’t see a growing baby bump as well on video as you do in real life.” The simplicity of space and fresh air felt invigorating in ways that may not have been so poignant pre-COVID. “I can’t emphasise enough how nice it was to pull back the doors [of the meeting rooms] and have chats on the grass.”
All over Australia, luxury properties are reporting surges in the numbers of executive groups enquiring about immersive, purposeful retreats as they start to figure out how to bring their teams together for real face-to-face time, rather than endless FaceTime. In March, research from Business Events Australia found that 84 per cent of businesses that usually hold an annual overseas event planned to
relocate at least one of these gatherings to an Australian destination in the next 12 months and that 61 per cent of them would be entirely face-to-face rather than only virtual or a hybrid of the two. The usual reasons are still important – like rewarding employees for their work or reinforcing company culture. But the number-one reason teams are planning to get together post-COVID-19? Connection.
There are few better ways to build a sense of affiliation than drawing in deep lungfuls of fresh air and getting your hands dirty. Properties such as the 20-cabin Hazelwood Estate (hazelwoodestate.com. au), a boutique polo and Wagyu-beef farm on the edge of Lamington National Park in Beechmont, Queensland, are seeing a rise in enquiries by groups wanting to go horse riding and have Wagyu-tasting experiences.
It’s a similar story at Freycinet Lodge (freycinetlodge.com.au) on Tasmania’s east coast. “The mindset is shifting around these off-site meetings,” says the lodge’s general manager of marketing and sales, Will Barbour. “Before, people would want dinner and drinks then they’d head off. Now they want somewhere with guaranteed solitude and connection to get their heads cleared.” He’s also seeing an uptick in requests for group activities, such as kayaking and ATV adventures. And when corporate guests are doing “dinner and drinks”, they want a twist. “We might set up dinner on the jetty under the stars with a vigneron talking them through the wine they’re drinking.”
“We often see people who are used to being in charge feeding a rescue crocodile or lighting a fire and they’re more grounded, even disarmed.”
Kaia Wright, co-owner of Tiwi Island Retreat (tiwiislandretreat.com.au) north of Darwin, says executive getaways have always been a core part of their business but she’s noticing a greater interest by groups in doing more with their hands, more outdoors, more that immerses them within the environment.
“The feedback we’re getting is that everyone’s been housebound, sitting in front of screens. They’re longing to get out in nature and see wide open skies.” She finds it’s usually business leaders who get the most out of the resort’s rugged experiences. “We often see people who are used to being in charge feeding a rescue crocodile or lighting a fire and they’re suddenly feeling more grounded, even disarmed,” she says. “It’s almost a spiritual experience for them. We’re definitely seeing a growing demand for this sort of thing.”
Companies choosing cities rather than regions for their off-sites are also looking to delve deeper into the destination, even one that may be familiar to participants. To meet this demand, luxury tour group Abercrombie & Kent (abercrombiekent. com.au) has launched a series of weekend breaks packed with experiences that make every moment count. Recent trips have included explorations of artist David Bromley’s private gallery in Melbourne and behind-the-scenes tours of landscape artist Hans Heydon’s studio and family home in the Adelaide Hills, led by curator Kenneth Park. Sujata Raman, Abercrombie & Kent’s regional managing director Australia Asia Pacific, explains that these tours are less focused on bustling about in boardrooms than just being. “They’re perfect corporate retreats to reward executives, recharge batteries and provide inspirational locations for future planning and strategising.”
For ING Australia’s Melanie Evans, the fresh sea air and relaxed atmosphere of their post-COVID-19 escape at Bangalay was exactly what her team needed, even if – or perhaps because – it was a long time coming. “We knew this time together was important and we’re very glad we remained committed to spending the time together,” she says. “When you’re asking your team to think creatively and beyond the day-to-day, environment matters more than you think.”