Newsroom - BVA Advanced Eye Care
Offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Ada, Elk City, Muskogee and throughout Oklahoma
Caption: Elk City
‘team’ employees with BVA Advanced Eye Care play team-building
games, complete with “Row your Boat” T-shirts. The
ophthalmologists get in the game as well, with Dr. Brian Morgan who serves western Oklahoma, center.
Eye care business sees rewards of employee
retreats
By Paula Burkes Erickson
Business Writer
The Oklahoman, Feb. 19, 2006
It's the
middle of a work day and the employees of BVA Advanced Eye Care
are playing Jeopardy. They're not watching TV, but listening
intently to their executive director Sandy Boles as she assumes
the role of Alex Trebek.
Tips for effective retreats
Agree on a strategy. A muddled strategic direction leads to
confusion and allows people to decide individually what's
important.
Evaluate work processes. Identify and eliminate processes that
no longer serve a real purpose or create value for the company.
Invite dissenting views. Discuss the feasibility of and possible
objections to proposed changes. It's better to address
dissension openly, than deal with it back at the office.
Encourage fresh thinking. Working in smaller break-out groups,
employees often come up with terrific ideas for addressing
long-standing problems.
Source: "Retreats That Work: Everything You Need to Know About
Planning and Leading Great Offsites" by Merianne Liteman, Sheila
Campbell and Jeffrey Liteman.
"This employee once taught sign language to
kids," Boles said.
"Who is Jaimie Seigal?" a few employees yell. ...
"Is that why she works so well with us?" a stray contender
jokes.
The 108 employees are playing on teams from their
respective offices, including Edmond, Norman, Tulsa, Elk City
and Ada, during a day-long retreat. Last year, BVA cared for
nearly 56,000 patients; its nine surgeons performed 18,000
cataract surgeries.
"This day is about celebrating the people who
work for us," Boles said on a break. "When we come together,
everyone's name is important."
BVA's four annual retreats so far have followed a
"Fish" theme, based on the world famous Pike Place Fish Market
in Seattle, whose employees transformed it from a small company
on the verge of bankruptcy into an extraordinary model of
success. "Choosing one's attitude," "making the customer's day"
and "being present" are among the energizing philosophies.
This year's retreat cost BVA about $50,000 in
expenses and lost work time, Boles said. She thinks it's time
worth losing.
"We realize our return on investment in customer
service," she said. "When employees feel the boss appreciates
them, they exhibit more confidence, self esteem and belonging to
a large group."
The annual retreats also improve the relationship
and understanding between employees and doctors, BVA president
Brad Britton said. Moreover, they generate dozens of process
improvements, he said, from resolving billing problems to
reducing patient wait times.
Companies shouldn't sponsor retreats just for the
sake of team building, said Merianne Liteman, co-author of
"Retreats That Work" and an Arlington, Va.-based facilitator of
offsite retreats. "Something good won't necessarily happen, just
by bringing people together," she said.
Retreats are only important, Liteman said, when
there is a serious need for positive, sustainable change. Needs,
for example, may include better collaborating departments, more
client-focused employees or fresh responses to new opportunities
in the market.
"Retreats are about looking closely at what you
do and getting rid of what just doesn't work anymore," Liteman
said. "They can be load-lightening; like throwing away all the
junk in the attic that's gathering dust. Best of all, your team
is taking control and making the tough choices together."
Oklahoma City-based Love's Travel Stops & Country
Stores Inc. holds annual retreats for its estimated 30 senior
staff members, said Doug Stussi, chief financial officer. This
year's retreat was held the second week in January in Phoenix.
"What we call our 'difference makers' share their
individual goals for the year," Stussi said. "And when we put
them together, that drives the goals for the whole company."
Love's, which had roughly $4 billion in revenues last year, has
4,500 employees at 182 sites in 30 states.
Delta Dental of Oklahoma holds retreats sparingly
and then only with its senior staff and board members, said John
Gladden, chief executive officer. The retreats typically
culminate year-long strategic planning processes, Gladden said.
But those only happen every three to five years.
Delta held its most recent retreat -- a three-day
event with several feedback sessions and one sailing social --
in Naples, Fla.
"Holding a retreat in town -- even offsite -- is
difficult," Gladden said, "because it's hard to disconnect your
mind from the daily business. You have no time to think about
strategy and long-term goals because you're so busy doing what
you're doing."
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