Request E-Mail: Should We Plan a Team Retreat?

E-Mail Tiptoeing gingerly across a wobbling jerrybuilt bridge of slender planks stretched between two boxes, the chief financial officer of Wells Fargo completed his task. Cheers greeted Howard Atkins as he reached the other side with a final lunge. His team of senior financial executives applauded their leader, who had made it across the bridge without falling off. Atkins had pulled together a group of 73 financial executives, risk managers, accountants, and group presidents for team-building exercises on the sun-drenched lawns of a luxury hotel in Sonoma, California.

The three-day retreat also provided conventional business meetings with reports and presentations. He credits double-digit gains in Wells Fargo income and earnings in large part to the bank's people programs. "Success is more often than not a function of execution, and execution is really about people, so we invest pretty heavily in our people." For his company's team-building exercises, Atkins chose low-stress challenges such as balancing on planks, building tents blindfolded, and stepping through complex webs of ropes.

But other companies use whitewater rafting, rock walls, treetop rope bridges, and even fire pits as metaphors for the business world. Your boss at Banc First saw the news about Wells Fargo and is intrigued. He is understandably dubious about whether team building could result from a retreat. However, he is interested because he believes that the widespread use of electronic technology is reducing personal contact. He asks you to have the Human Resources Department investigate.

Task:- As assistant to the president, draft an e-mail to Charlotte Evers, manager, Human Resources. Ask her to investigate the possibility of a retreat for BancFirst. Your message should include many questions for her to answer. Include an end date and a reason.