From Zoom to Slovenia: Behind the Scenes of Our Annual Company Getaway
Buckle Up, Buttercup! We’re Headed to Ljubljana!
Every year, our motley crew at Confio ditches the digital world for a few glorious days of real-life bonding. In the past, we’ve hit up sunny Malaga and picturesque Porto. This year, we set our sights on the charming streets of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Spoiler alert: It was epic.
The Magical (But Not Really) World of Retreat Planning
Company retreats can be great fun — you finally get to meet and know the whole person, not just that disembodied head you see on Zoom. And if it all goes smoothly, then that is because behind the scenes, in the months leading up to the retreat, a lot of hard work takes place.
Our team, representing 10 nationalities, is distributed over 8 countries, and finding a location that was (reasonably) easily accessible by train & plane is crucial. Endless research into travel and accommodation options, as well as our desire to find somewhere with great outdoor activities — we spend enough time indoors at our desks as it is — led us to choose Slovenia.
As the sole, annual, opportunity for all the team to meet, there is a lot of excitement and expectation, and it is, frankly speaking, certainly ambitious/a challenge to try meet those expectations in four days. The list of ideas is quite broad, and the activities we end up organizing depend very much on the actual meeting place we pick as a destination.
For us, it started with deciding on the purpose of the retreat, which is all about connecting and getting to know one another (and ourselves) better. We wanted to organize activities to encourage team spirit and bonding that we cannot do online, and a balance between indoor and outdoor activities, soft skills and technical training, and some free time to explore the city or to go and check out the independent coffee shops with colleagues — this last point is fundamental, it is something most of us have in common in our team: our weakness for a good cup of specialty coffee 😉.
We prefer to work with local facilitators and suppliers, when possible, as a way of supporting local businesses in those places we visit. This time, we opted for a Lego Serious Play workshop focusing on improving teamwork & collaboration, and a more technical workshop on Security. The outdoor day was spent in Triglav National Park hiking, white water rafting and boating on Lake Bled. The sun was not shining on our day outdoors, but the landscape was so breathtaking that the weather mattered little.
We work for the people, so the well-being of “Confians” is at the core: it is not just about choosing the most appropriate workshops or a well-located hotel to facilitate logistics, but also about ensuring that we eat well and get enough rest during those days away. Carefully choosing the places to eat and knowing the food preferences of the team play an important role. Sometimes, the list of requirements cannot be fully met, but we try our best, and this is much appreciated by the team. We have people from many different cultures working for Confio, and we always joke about the eating times — central Europeans may start dining at 6 pm when southern Europeans are still digesting their lunch 😀; so we must meet halfway and find suitable eating times for the team. And this is just another challenge of working in a multicultural environment: the concept of “meeting halfway” is pretty much extended in Confio, and we can feel proud of having embraced it wonderfully.
And after all these months of research and planning — what were the outcomes, and why was it worth it?
Cohesion, Connection, Belonging
Our team had changed since our last retreat, half of us had not yet met in person and meeting in Ljubljana offered the opportunity for team members to build relationships, get to know one another and share experiences. For our newest member of the team, it was a great way to onboard and strengthen the sense of connection, and be part of the Confio team. Meeting in real life fosters a sense of community and belonging in a way that is not possible online.
Cross-Team Understanding & Collaboration
We’re not just a bunch of developers at Confio. Meeting in person helped us understand each other’s roles and challenges, fostering a spirit of collaboration. It’s amazing what a difference it makes to discuss projects while hiking a mountain or sharing a meal.
Serendipity
It is the casual conversation you have with a colleague whilst hiking in the Triglav mountains or walking to a restaurant that sparks new ideas. Overhearing a conversation with those around you at lunch can spark unexpected new ideas and plant the seeds for upcoming projects. During our most recent retreat, there were a couple of these moments, and because everyone was together, it was easy to quickly decide to progress with the new ideas that came out of a casual conversation walking along the Ljubljanica River ice cream in hand.
Nuance & Depth
Retreats allow for more nuance and depth in communication, which can be lacking during Zoom calls, when reading someone’s mood or body language isn’t always easy. Despite the fact that we invest much time and effort in ameliorating the way in which we communicate digitally, meeting in person is highly valuable, and we know these moments together can take us further.
Magic
Our post-retreat feedback was a treasure trove of highlights and takeaways. Everyone had different moments that stood out, proving that while remote work has its perks, there’s something truly magical about meeting in person.
How valuable has the retreat been for you, and why?
David Komer, Tooling Dev: “This experience was incredibly enriching because it allowed us to engage in meaningful interactions and share experiences outside the usual work environment. The bottom-line is that it was really, really cool to meet everyone and get a sense that this is a group that’s full of integrity, honesty, acceptance, and sensitivity. Pretty rare combo!”
Blanka Trojan, Finance Manager: “The moments we shared, such as walking and eating together, were what really helped me get to know my colleagues better. These informal interactions allowed us to connect on a more personal level and appreciate each other’s personalities and preferences. These moments remind us that behind our screens, we are collaborating with real, wonderful people. I think the retreat has fostered a more harmonious and productive work environment.”
Chris Otter, Rust Dev: “The retreat is incredibly valuable to me because it’s one of the few opportunities to get to know everybody on a more personal level with less focus on work. It was especially great for me to meet the people I hadn’t met in person yet before that. It’s always a bit of a special moment when you meet someone you’ve only seen on screen in real life. I also loved the rafting and hiking! Having these kinds of shared experiences is very valuable, as it binds you together as a team.”
What was the highlight of the Ljubljana retreat for you?
Chris Otter, Rust Dev: “The rafting experience. It was very engaging because everybody had to stay in sync, but also some pauses in between where we could chat and make jokes. Also, the nature was just beautiful.”
David Komer, Tooling Dev: “The day out was probably one of the most memorable experiences of my life:
- First time seeing a real mountain
- First-time whitewater rafting (outside of a school trip in high school, which was different.)
- The overall experience in nature.
- Opportunity to connect with the team outside of work domains.”
What helped you to get to know your colleagues better?
Chris Otter, Rust Dev: “The free time where we could chat. The Tuesday workshop also helped with that since we were talking about struggles with our groups.”
David Komer, Tooling Dev: “Their attitudes. The same exact circumstances with different people wouldn’t have resulted in the same degree of openness and positive curiosity/sharing. Really great people.”
Aumetra Weisman, Software Dev: “Just being together, spending time during the activities we had together, and talking. There isn’t really anything specifically I’d highlight here; it’s just the possibility of just coming together and talking.”
Tomek Kulik, Rust Library Dev: “Time spent at tables together during dinners gave us a chance to get to know each other better and to realize we are all people, even though we work remotely.”
And there you have it! Our Ljubljana retreat was a whirlwind of connection, collaboration, and, yes, a lot of coffee. Can’t wait to see where our next adventure takes us!
