On the first day, the executive committee members went through a Clarity Workshop during which they discussed the key developments of the organisation as well as best practices. High level discussions regarding challenges within the organisation were also conducted. Mona Hanim, MERCY Malaysia’s new General Manager was in attendance throughout the retreat and later that day, Mona gave a briefing of the Clarity Workshop to the Heads of Departments. Following this session, everyone went out for a barbeque at the lagoon, giving everybody the chance to mingle and to get to know each other better in a less formal environment.

The next day began with an overview by the President. Dr. Jemilah talked about the vision and direction clarification of the organisation. After that, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT Analysis) involved in running the organisation were discussed. During the rest of the day, the Gap Analysis was carried out, during which the actual performance of the organisation was compared to its potential performance. This exercise provided insight into areas with room for improvement. The day was concluded with proposed recommendations to improve the organisation.

Strategic and Program Planning was the subject of the final day. Matters that were discussed during this session included MERCY Malaysia’s future direction, how it is going to get there and how we will know if and when we get there. Before lunch, the first cut of plans were presented by every department and by the end of the day, the Strategic and Program Plan was completed.

To mark the end of the retreat, the 3-day meeting was brought to a close with final words from the President. Everyone left pondering the new plan, coupled with a burning eagerness to achieve its goals.