Event Name:

Breakfast (Continental)

Event Structure:

Open seating - Mixed groups encouraged

Event Location:

Main Resort Ballroom

Contact Person:

Ariel Payne Diaz

Attendees:

Everyone

Even Goal:

Casual mingling. Get to know your colleagues

Buffet Menu:

Coffee, Orange Juice, Milk, Tea, Water, Lemonade, Apple Juice, Scrambled eggs, Meat (e.g., bacon, sausage), Fried potatoes, Omelet station, Waffle station, Pancake station, Granola cereals, Whole grain breads, Low-fat spreads, Assorted fruit yogurts served in glassware, Fresh granola bars made by the executive chef, Assorted baked breakfast breads (e.g., croissants, muffins, toasts), and Seasonal fruit

Meeting Name:

Opening Ceremony

Meeting Structure:

Large conference room with open seating 

Meeting Location:

Room AB 

Speakers:

Elle R. Highwater & Amanda Rechondwyth 

Attendees:

Everyone 

Meeting Goals:

• Address the goals for the retreat and any concerns employees on either side may have in regards to the recent merger and the future of their employment.

• Request the cooperation of both teams so that they can work together to make this retreat and ultimately the merger between the two companies successful. 

Technology:

• Confluence will be used to document the process and meeting notes.

• Skype will be used for video conferencing

• GoToMeeting will be used for web conferencing.

• Screen projectors and a PC will be used to display any information. 

Process:

• Each CEO will take turns speaking

• End with open forum for Q&A 

Outcome/ Deliverable:

All attendees should be aligned on the purpose of the four day retreat and be prepared to cooperate as a team with everyone invited.  

Meeting Name:

Participant Introductions

Meeting Structure:

Large conference room with open seating 

Meeting Location:

Room AB 

Facilitator:

Professional meeting facilitator  

Attendees:

Everyone

Meeting Goals:

• To get employees from both companies acquainted and comfortable with each other

• To create a directory with everyone’s basic information populated on a shared documentation platform.

Technology:

• Confluence will be used to store all employee profiles.

• Skype will be used for video conferencing and GoToMeeting will be used for web conferencing.

• Screen projectors and a PC will be used to display any information.

Process:

• Each person will be handed a sheet of paper with instructions on how to populate their profile with basic information in Confluence. They will need to fill out:

• Name

• Responsibilities

• Experience

• Skills

• Hobbies

• Fun Facts

• Add picture (optional)

• Each person will stand up and state their name, position, company, one interesting fact, and one hobby while their profile is shown on the screen via projector. 

Outcome/ Deliverable:

• Complete profiles of all attendees published in Confluence  

• Create an environment for friendly conversations between employees of companies 

Meeting Name:

Agenda and Technology Overview 

Meeting Structure:

Large conference room with open seating 

Meeting Location:

Room AB 

Facilitator:

Professional meeting facilitator 

Attendees:

Everyone 

Meeting Goals:

• Review Agenda for the following four days

• Provide reference material on how to use the tools

• Provide demo based training on the tools

• Provide map of location with meeting rooms and directions

• Provide details on where to go for technical support 

Technology:

• Confluence will be used to document the process and meeting notes.

• Skype will be used for video conferencing

• GoToMeeting will be used for web conferencing.

• Screen projectors and a PC will be used to display any information.  

Process:

• Distribute a map that highlights conference room locations and how to reference documents for the tools,

• Walk through the Agenda for each day and very briefly explain the goals and outcomes of each meeting.

• Demonstrate where to find reference documents needed in Confluence

• Provide a quick demo for the following tools:

• Meeting Sphere

• How to log in and use the tool

• Confluence WIKI

• How to create spaces and use features.

• Open forum for Q&A 

Outcome/ Deliverable:

All attendees should know how to use tools on a basic level and where to go to find reference material including quick tutorial videos if they have questions. 

Event Name:

Lunch

Event Structure:

Open seating - Mixed groups encouraged

Event Location:

Paisanos ( Located within resort)

Contact Person:

Ariel Payne Diaz

Attendees:

Everyone

Even Goal:

Casual mingling. Get to know your colleagues

Menu:

http://www.eagleridge.com/d/eagleridge/media/PDF/Dining/Paisanos_Updated.pdf

Meeting Name:

Cultural Discovery 

Meeting Structure:

Large conference room with open seating 

Meeting Location:

Room AB 

Facilitator:

Professional meeting facilitator  

Attendees:

Everyone 

Meeting Goals:

 Identify key similarities and differences between the two company cultures  

Technology:

• Confluence will be used to document the process and meeting notes.

• Skype will be used for video conferencing

• GoToMeeting will be used for web conferencing

• Screen projectors and a PC will be used to display any information

• MeetingSphere will be used to ask questions and collect answers 

Process:

Thinklet: Leafhopper

Steps:

• Post the following questions:

• If you could describe your corporate culture in three words, what would you say?

• What are the most common complaints employees make about your company culture?

• What do you love about your company culture?

• How does your company view customer service?

• How do managers and employees generally communicate? Formally or informally?

• How are management decisions usually communicated within the company? Top down or bottom up?

• Are employees recognized and appreciated for their work at regularly scheduled corporate events?

• Is your company structure Flat or Hierarchical in structure?

• How comfortable are employees in taking extended vacation or time off when necessary?

• Are employees allowed to work from home as needed?

• Explain the questions to the group and verify that they understand.

• Explain the kinds of answers that the group must post under each question.

• Everyone may not get a chance to go through all the questions so they should focus their attentions on the questions that mean most to them before answering all the other ones. 

Outcome/ Deliverable:

• All questions and corresponding answers need to be posted in Confluence

• Employees from each company should have a better understanding of how the other company’s culture is similar or different than their company 

Meeting Name:

Key Cultural Differences

Meeting Structure:

Large conference room with open seating 

Meeting Location:

Room AB 

Facilitator:

Professional meeting facilitator 

Attendees:

Everyone 

Meeting Goals:

To capture a list of key cultural areas that need to be addressed in order to create a new shared culture across organizations. 

Technology:

• Confluence will be used to document the process and meeting notes

• Skype will be used for video conferencing

• GoToMeeting will be used for web conferencing

• Screen projectors and a PC will be used to display any information

• Microsoft Word to collect ideas generated in the room

• Survey Monkey to send out ballots 

Process:

Thinklet: FastFocus

Steps:

• Participants view all comments from previous meeting session.

• Display an empty public list in MS Word.

• Clearly explain the kind of items that belong on the public list.

• Say This:  Each of you need to go through the answers of each question and tell me the single most important area represented in the discussion that should be included on this public list.

• Call on each person in turn and ask them what they picked and why.

• Post a simplified version of the topic on the public list so that it is stated in as few words as possible.

Thinklet: Strawpoll

Steps:  

• Create a ballot of all the topics listed on the pubic list using Survey Monkey.  

• Invite participants to take the ballot.

• Say this: We are going to take a straw poll to rank the list of key cultural areas you all have posted on the public list. Although we are not making a decision right now, we are taking a straw poll to differentiate the most important cultural areas from the least important cultural areas. For each item on the list, please rank each one from 1-10 with 10 being most important. When you are done, click submit.

• Sort through the results and rank them highest to lowest. 

Outcome/ Deliverable:

A ranked list of all key cultural areas should be posted in Confluence 

Meeting Name:

Cultural Consolidation 

Meeting Structure:

Large conference room with open seating 

Meeting Location:

Room AB 

Facilitator: 

Professional meeting facilitator 

Attendees:

Everyone  

Meeting Goals:

Understand the reasons behind peoples rankings and come up with a list of cultural areas that are most important to participants  

Technology:

• Confluence will be used to document the process and meeting notes.

• Skype will be used for video conferencing

• GoToMeeting will be used for web conferencing.

• Screen projectors and a PC will be used to display any information. 

Process:

 Thinklet: Crowbar

Steps:

• Display the sorted results on the public screen.

• Say this: What are your reasons for ranking cultural areas at the top of this list high and the ones at the bottom low?

• Facilitate a discussion about what reasons might exist for high and low ratings of an item. 

Outcome/ Deliverable:

A ranked list of key cultural areas and explanations for high and low ratings should be posted to Confluence 

Event Name:

Dinner

Event Structure:

Open seating - Mixed groups encouraged

Event Location:

Woodlands Restaurant and Lounge (located within resort)

Contact Person:

Ariel Payne Diaz

Attendees:

Everyone

Even Goal:

Casual mingling. Get to know your colleagues

Menu:

http://www.eagleridge.com/d/eagleridge/media/PDF/Dining/6.8.11_Woodlands_Dinner_menu.pdf