I am a Forbes-featured team building expert with over 20 years of experience. I have worked with companies from 19 countries.

First of all I would caution you against building a team of like-minded individuals. That is one way to ensure that your business is blindsided at every turn. You will have a group of yes men rather than an effective team as Groupthink will set in.

My blog post dives into this:

Avoiding Groupthink: Coming up with Better Team Decisions
https://www.bebee.com/producer/@anne-thornley-brown/avoiding-groupthink-coming-up-with-better-team-decisions

You need team members who will bring a variety of perspectives and listen to each other.

You do want to make sure that you have a shared vision and values. Competency based behavioural interviewing will greatly assist you in the hiring or promotional process.

My company offers training and coaching in this methodology:

http://www.thetrainingoasis.com/cbi.html

You are welcome to reach out to me for more information.

I design and facilitate executive retreats, team building, and meetings. I also have done President's Clubs for some clients.

Event before COVID-19, the market for off-sites had not recovered strongly. Now that companies are hurting financially, their return is not likely.

The exception would be some of the sectors like tech companies that are doing well.

I have done many meetings where family is welcome. The employee pays the extra to bring family. I've organized this for Canadian and Middle Eastern clients.

I think for companies that are doing well, I can see slightly longer offsites (e.g. Thursday to Monday).

When I have organized President's Clubs and designed and facilitated executive retreats and team building retreats, some families do bring children and extend their stay.

The timing would have to be very carefully selected for example just before or after Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Family Day (in some Canadian provinces), March Break, Easter, or during summer holidays. Summer is a great option for sun destinations as rates are lower.

Here is my company's complimentary executive team building guide:

http://www.executiveoasis.com/blog/teambuilding.html

If you need help in planning President's Clubs or planning and facilitating executive retreats or team building, please reach out to me.