Post by Jared Kleinert

CEO: We just cancelled our company-wide offsite for 2026 Me: WTF!!! Why? CEO: It is a waste of time and money. Especially because we're 400 people. Me: Really?! CEO: Yeah … Why spend $1M+ on a team retreat when what we really need to do is hire more people, spend on OpenAi credits, and run more Meta ads? Me: What about your employees? CEO: What about them? Me: What message are you sending to them by not investing in employee engagement, retention, and alignment? CEO: Uhhhhhh... Me: An offsite (especially because you're a remote-first company) is one of the most important foundational building blocks of company culture. If you don't plan regular team retreats, you run this risk of slowing burning your culture into the ground. CEO: But we have great company culture! Me: Maybe, for now... but what happens when you tell them you decided to cancel your normal All Hands Meeting? They are gonna revolt! CEO: But we pay well...and we're growing...and they get to work remotely (some of them at least). For those who have to come into the office, it's only 3 days/week. Me: All the pioneering remote/hybrid companies like Airbnb, Atlassian, Zapier, GitLab, 15Five, Buffer, etc *swear* by their team retreats. They know you HAVE to give employees time to connect IRL on a regular basis. It's the glue that keeps teams together. CEO: Well, I just can't get over the price tag. Me: What's the cost of NOT doing an offsite, is what you should be asking? What's the cost of disengaged employees? People who are NOT aligned, don't trust one another, aren't collaborating effectively across departments. What if they leave your company for another employer who invests in culture? CEO: THAT would be expensive. Me: Definitely more expensive than investing $2500/person for a team retreat. CEO: Yea...maybe we shouldn't cancel our offsite after all. - - - - - If only I could have this convo more often with CEOs who are on the verge of cancelling their 2026 team retreats. We could save them so much money not only on their team retreats ... But on the cost of NOT doing them, because they aren't seeing the bigger picture of building remote/hybrid company culture, and what it will cost long-term to hold back on investing in your people. Like the old adage goes... "What if we invest in employees and they leave? The real concern, however, should be: What if we don’t...and they stay?" ... What do you think? Comment below! (and repost)