Consumer Reports published a review of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) and Preferred Provided Organizations (PPO) health plans in their October 2001 issue. The report is available free online. Like most other CR reports, you have to be knowledgeable in subject material and really read between lines to get true value of ratings report.

Since my company MedSave.com doesn't handle HMOs and I personally don't like them, I skipped that section. The report on PPOs is likely to be much more interesting to most individual or small businesses buyers of health insurance. Certainly HMOs are right answer – or even only answer - in some situations, but I just think that “quality shopping for a HMO” is an oxymoron. But flexible design of PPO plans in today’s market makes it is more likely that a shopper will find an attractive value in a PPO plan rather than in an HMO.

Team members who feel appreciated.

A great sense of team unity & commitment to common goal.

Less conflict or more easily resolved conflicts in a neutral setting.

The opportunity to resolve complicated issues away from usual daily distractions.

More effective long range planning.

Better results due to better use of your team's creative potential.

A more skilled team that regularly works to develop a fresh perspective on task at hand.

So what are keys to making a retreat work?

=>Comfort =>Interactive-ness =>Relevance

Make it comfortable 1. Plan your retreat for a site away from normal workplace. Your goal here is to create a learning environment that is positive & relaxed. One that encourages openness & a sense of warmth. If you want your staff to gain a fresh perspective on each other -- then they need to see each other in a new place doing new things.

2. Encourage staff to dress comfortably. Few people can truly relax in formal business dress Plus, you will hopefully have planned lots of fun, energizing activities that will be much easier to do in casual dress.

3. Start day with coffee & donuts or juice & muffins. By providing a few goodies, you set a tone of appreciation. It sends message -- "this day is for you (the team) because we appreciate all that you do & we want to help you do it even better!"

4. Don't forget some social time. As kids we socialized with our friends at school & as adults most of us form friendships with our co-workers. It you want your team members to care about each other & help each to perform well, then it's important to allow some "social time" for everyone to re-connect with team members they don't see frequently. The easiest way to incorporate this into your staff retreat is to include lunch as a group. This can be an on-site meal catered by organization or group can simply go out to lunch together. If your group is large, don't forget to make reservations ahead of time -- you don't want lunch to take all afternoon!

Make it interactive

1. Just moving your lecture to a new location won't do it! The key to a productive retreat is to use it as a time to really draw out all creativity & problems solving skills of your team. Skills that may be getting buried in "busyness" of completing daily routines & paperwork. If you simply move your lecture from agency conference room to somewhere else -- you've accomplished nothing!

2. Fun IS important. Experts tell us that adults learn better when they are engaged & having a good time. How do you engage average adult? Make it fun & interesting.

3. Get them involved! You will find far fewer complaints about retreats being long & boring if you get folks physically involved. Use training activities, have them move around room for different phases of retreat, do role playing, take turns recording information for group, brainstorm on post it note pads & have them get up & down to post their ideas. Whatever it takes to keep your team members awake, alert, & involved.

Make it relevant

1. Plan ahead. In order for retreat to be productive it needs to meet current needs of your team. Doing this effectively will take some planning. Don't expect to throw together an agenda & activity materials day before. Also as facilitator, your presence in discussion will be key. You don't want flow of ideas to grind to a halt because you had to run out & make copies!

2. Make an agenda. I've included a sample agenda below to help you get started, but you should have a clear idea of exactly how you want day to flow. This is also a good time to identify exactly what objectives you have for retreat -- what issues do you want to tackle?

3. Be prepared to get things rolling. If a current problem in your organization is lack of communication, then come prepared with some "real life examples". That way you can start conversation not with, "We need to improve our communication skills" but with, "Last week we missed 3 consumer appointments, because we didn't get dates imes recorded in logbook". Which sentence do you think will generate more discussion? Me too!