A Beachside Retreat for the Tanda Product Team
What happens when work and play collide?
Dev Retreat is a Tanda tradition , where the Product team is treated to a short getaway to solve some problems and have a bit of fun. I have recently started working at Tanda, and when I received my invitation for my first Dev Retreat I had no clue what to expect!
First impressions
During my first few months at Tanda I heard many funny and embarrassing stories about previous Dev Retreats. I was still unsure about what goes on at Retreat, so I asked a few of my work colleagues for the lowdown:
- My Manager explained that Dev Retreat consists of team building exercises and drinking.
- A fellow Designer told me of a time someone had a little too much to drink, and passed out on the couch.
- A Developer told me it was a time for relaxing, and, you guessed it — drinking.
So Dev Retreat sounded pretty fun, but I was sceptical of whether it was a good use of Tanda’s resources — and as a shy person, the thought of being in a social environment for so long wasn’t exactly appealing!
Despite my doubts, I kept an open mind. Before I knew it, my bag was packed, and I was on my way to Peregian Beach for the Dev Retreat.
What went down (the highlights)
My colleagues weren’t wrong — there was a lot of drinking, but there was a bit more to it. Between burgers at Noosa, late-night beach shenanigans, cards games, tennis, and drinking games, we actually did some work.
The Retreat kicked off with an open discussion around our problems and concerns. We took turns to express our issues, and had a group discussion to problem-solve resolutions. I was particularly impressed that Alex, one of Tanda’s founders, took the time to address each of our concerns.
Next, we moved on to the Tech Talks, where we each did a 10 minute presentation on an topic related to our field of work. I found this was a great way to learn something new, and get an insight into what others in my team were passionate about. We had Tech Talks on everything from Disruptive Innovation, Design Systems, and Nudging, to Defensive Programming and Chaos Engineering.
On Day 2 the Designers did a Sprint workshop, lead by our Growth Team, to kick the creative block we were having around a particular feature in our core product. In the space of three hours, we sifted through the symptoms to identify the cause of the problem, sketched possible alternatives, and came to a solid solution.
What did I learn about Dev Retreat?
Dev Retreat is a getaway for the Product team, packed with team-building and problem solving exercises, open discussions, and lots of drinking. It was a great way for us to unwind, be candid, and think about problems and resolve conflicts in a relaxed environment.
What happens in Dev Retreat, doesn’t stay in Dev Retreat
Now that Dev Retreat is over, we keep in the mind the lessons learned and key takeaways from our short getaway:
- We actively work to resolve the problems and concerns brought up during open discussions.
(e.g. employees who were feeling too comfortable in their roles are taking on more challenging responsibilities) - We apply the knowledge learned from our Tech Talks to our day-to-day.
(e.g. Consider how we can ‘nudge’ our users to make better decisions) - We are implementing our solution derived from the Design Sprint.
(e.g. prototyping and refining our solution to improve our leave and unavailability process)
As it turns out, I was wrong — the Dev Retreat is a great use of resources as it boosts morale, helps us solve problems, and makes us stronger as a team through a healthy mix of work and play.
I feel more connected to my team after my first Dev Retreat. It allowed me to come out of my shell, and build better, personal relations with my team. Despite my initial doubts, I thoroughly enjoyed my first Dev Retreat, and can’t wait for the next one in September!
