Last month, we posted a news article about embarking on our annual Team Retreat to Puerto Aventuras in Mexico! Being a newcomer to Lullabot and to a distributed team environment in general, meeting everyone in person in an amazing locale like Mexico was invaluable. From day one at Lullabot, the communication between all employees and the tools provided to do so are abundant and easily accessible. Feeling part of a real team and company is a non-issue, more so than I could ever imagine. Still, there’s something to be said for direct eye contact, body language, hearing someone’s sense of humor in person, and witnessing the passion that spills out when they present to a full room of coworkers. That face to face interaction that people working in offices take for granted is often the glue that binds working relationships. It solidifies that what you’re doing, working for, and who you are working with are “real”.
Since the last team retreat a little over a year ago, the Lullabot family has more than doubled in size! Organizing and delivering 43 grown adults to 4 villas just outside of Cancun Mexico is no small feat! All made it safe, sound and ready to take on the jam-packed week. Each day started with a group breakfast overlooking the breathtaking Caribbean waters and then followed with a number of meetings and presentations going over the current status of departments, projects, and various goings-on at Lullabot. Seeing and hearing this from the people who were most passionate about each topic was energizing. It helped to connect all of us to each other, and the common goals at Lullabot. Important take-away from these meetings - Lullabot has had a tremendous year thanks to all of the incredibly talented and motivated ‘Bots!
Throughout the week we typically took all meals together, helping us build the real-life relationships that carry through to IRC chats, Yammer conversations, Google hangouts during the rest of the year. Every evening there was a special event: Trivia Night, Ignite Talks, a Talent Show, a Storytelling night... We finished the week in the only way possible: with a Fiesta! Everyone was encouraged to participate in one or more of these events. We showcased Lullabot knowledge, passions, talents, hilarious stories and finished it off by celebrating our time together with not just our new coworkers, but friends. So, perhaps we could say that Lullabot didn’t really go on a “team retreat” at all… It was a “team uniting adventure!”
