The San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Community Behavioral Health Services (CBHS) Branch has a Substance Use Disorders Team that coordinates a range of services for residents of San Francisco who have substance use disorders. The team had experienced recent growth, and wanted to hold a retreat focused on team-building and discussion of priorities for action in the coming year.
Facente Consulting facilitated a day-long team retreat for the six staff of the Substance Use Disorders Team. We first conducted individual interviews with staff to get input on the retreat, then designed an agenda matched to the stated needs of the group. On the day of the retreat, attendees participated in a full day of interactive activities, working together to discuss upcoming changes and develop action items. At the end of the retreat, each person addressed a postcard to themselves with an action item they personally committed to completing in the next month, and Facente Consulting mailed the postcards one month later to help with team accountability.