Coteau des Prairies Lodge

A View In Every Direction

There’s no golf and certainly no marina at Coteau des Prairies Lodge; the lodge sits on a hill overlooking a North Dakota farm. But there is that same commitment to watershed moments: The best ideas happen when people are away from their workplace and its emails, deadlines and phone calls, said Olivia Stenvold, lodge manager.

“The ability to basically disconnect from the office and be out of the city, away from distractions, but still have all the amenities you need to have a successful meeting: That’s what we offer,” she said.

The 13-bedroom log lodge, which can sleep up to 25 people, occupies a striking geography: the point near Rutland, N.D., where the plains and the Coteau des Prairies range of hills meet.

As a result, “the lodge boasts one of the premier 360-degree views of

IMAGE: the northern Great Plains,” the facility’s website notes.

“Where else do you find a tall hill with a full view of flat prairie that isn’t obstructed by more hills or trees?”

Over the five years since the lodge’s opening, corporate bookings have grown, and the lodge even has hosted ag groups from Norway, Russia and Ukraine, Stenvold said. One unique attraction: the farm tours offered by Stenvold’s father, Joe Breker, owner of the surrounding farmland and co-owner of the lodge.

“My dad is an active farmer,” Stenvold said.

“So, he incorporates his farm and farming practices into an educational farm tour. He takes the groups out, and it doesn’t matter whether the combines are running, the sprayers are running or nothing is running, there’s always something for people to see.”

Square One Kitchens

RETREAT TO THE KITCHEN

Square One Rental Kitchens & Events is another venue that offers a unique – and tasty – retreat.

The commercial kitchen in Fargo, N.D., got its start by renting out space to food startups. “But we had a lot of people approach us looking for team-building opportunities, which ties into that idea of building morale,” said Casey Steele, owner and kitchen manager.

So, Square One started offering Team Building Workshops. In these, groups split into teams, each of which prepares a different portion of a gourmet meal.

“We have chef instructors, but they do not prepare the meal. The teams do,” using the recipes and ingredients Square One provides, Steele said.

“The groups we’ve hosted have been looking for something outside of the workplace, something different. This is different because cooking together forces everyone to communicate and cooperate. Then they all sit down together to eat, and they’re always so impressed with they’ve made.”

Favorite dishes include Beeramisu, a tiramisu-like dessert in which the ladyfingers are soaked in Guinness instead of coffee, then layered with both a cream filling and a chocolate-cream filling and topped with cocoa powder.

“We get lots of happy faces when people are done,” Steele said.

Sugar Lake Lodge

Smart Retreats

Such team-building efforts may seem indulgent. But again, they’re not, said Scearcy of Stoneridge Software.

Stoneridge Software “collectively retreats” four times a year – twice in videoconferences and twice in person, with one of those all-employee gatherings in Minneapolis and the other at a Minnesota resort.

At the latter, employees can bring their families at Stoneridge Software’s expense.

Consider that – then consider this: In August, Inc. magazine ranked Stoneridge the 12th fastestgrowing company in Minnesota.

That’s not a coincidence, especially in a time of workforce shortages. Instead, it’s due in part to Stoneridge Software’s generous benefit and retreat policies, a big point of which is to attract and retain workers, Scearcy said.

“Leading up to these events, there’s a buzz going on,” she said.

“People are excited; there’s laughter and there’s motivation. … There’s a sense of always having something to look forward to, as well.

“And afterward, there’s just a general sense of rejuvenation,” Scearcy continued.

“You can tell that team spirit increases.” And just to be sure, Stoneridge Software tracks morale in surveys and acts on what it finds.

Another tip: retreats work best when they’re strategic – when they’re set up to generate ideas in addition to goodwill, said Michelle Mongeon Allen of JLG Architects.

For example, “one element that’s very important to us is design,” she said.

“Design is a core value for us. We like to be inspired by the spaces that we’re in.

“So, the experience of the space is also a major driver of where we go for our retreats,” she said.

All things considered, “retreats have just become an invaluable part of our our planning process,” Allen said.

“And the more experience we have with them, the truer that becomes.”

Tom Dennis

Editor, Prairie Business tdennis@prairiebusinessmagazine.com 701-789-1276