What are some of the most creative ways you've seen organizations are investing in key staff members?

We're a Christian based organization so we probably do more than any other company I have worked for, for example:
Our two District Managers have a monthly "mentor" meeting with an outside party that is supposed to help grow them on a personal, business, & spiritual level.

The CEO attends a monthly peer group that is designed to get you out of the office for a day to work "on the business." The Executive team also attends a similar group of our own peers to discuss the same topics (helps keep us all on the same page).

We have access to attend many leadership events designed to grow us as leaders and to continue to build a cohesive team. We recently started doing team building exercises and plan to do a ROPES course with the Executive team and with the Admin team.

I know other companies in our area get together quarterly and have cook outs on a Friday afternoon, I took my team to go bowling one afternoon and they LOVED it.

Continuing professional education opportunities is a big one. For instance, I am not a CPA so I do not need CPE. However, I have been to numerous CPA sponsored continuing education classes. A couple of have been by the state board, others have been with a professional organization for construction finance people (CFMA). Not only covering the cost to attend, but allowing me to be away from work for it.

Corporate retreats work well, as Christie stated.