{"id":2139,"date":"2020-02-26T08:39:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T13:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog3.canny.io\/wordpress\/?p=2139"},"modified":"2023-06-14T22:07:13","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T02:07:13","slug":"lessons-from-team-retreats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/lessons-from-team-retreats\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from a year of team retreats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year, we went on four international team retreats.<\/p>\n

As a fully remote team, we knew how beneficial it would be for all of us to meet up in person.<\/p>\n

After Dan joined as our fourth person, we decided to meet up for the first time in Lisbon, Portugal.<\/p>\n

Ever since, we’ve been hooked.<\/p>\n

\"Various
Lisbon \u2192 Split \u2192 Denver \u2192 Prague<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our second retreat was in Split, Croatia. Third, in Denver, USA. Fourth, and most recently, Prague, Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

We saw each other every 3-4 months and we had a blast every time. Suffice to say, we highly recommend doing them if your team is remote.<\/p>\n

Communicating via video chat only gets you so far. You really get to know people from meeting them in person.<\/p>\n

Granted, flying and hosting a group in a new city isn’t cheap. That said, we work better together when we take the time to get to know each other.<\/p>\n

We can see the return on investment after we all go home. Plus, they’re super fun.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so much more fulfilling to be friends with your co-workers. It\u2019s hard\/impossible to become friends without hanging out in person. It\u2019s super fun to get together and hang out as a\u00a0team.<\/em>
\n\u2013 Andrew<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let’s first go into how we go about planning awesome team retreats. I’ll include some pro tips for other remote teams like ours. I’ll break down our costs at the end.<\/p>\n

Taking care of logistics for team retreats<\/h2>\n

Since we’re a small team, planning is fairly easy. We aim to plan at least a month in advance.<\/p>\n

Picking a city<\/h4>\n

So far, we’ve used a ranking system to decide where we’re going. People nominate cities for the list and include short blurbs about each.<\/p>\n

Our ideal destinations have lots of fun potential and won’t break the bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don’t have to go to an all inclusive resort in Hawaii to have a successful retreat. We’ve found that we can ball out in cheaper destinations and stress less about budget. Less stress = more fun!”<\/em>
\n\u2013 Dan<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Once we have a final list, each person ranks the list and our winner is the highest scoring city.<\/p>\n

For our next retreat, nominators each did a quick pitch so we all had a good idea of what to expect. After a close vote and working through a tie \u2014 we\u2019re going to Mexico City!<\/p>\n

Deciding on dates<\/h4>\n

Our team retreats go for around 8-10 days. We get in on the weekend before the work starts and leave after a fun weekend.<\/p>\n

We’ve found it’s a good amount of time for a balanced week of work and play.<\/p>\n

Finding a week where everyone is available for our small team isn’t hard. If your team is much larger, plan way in advance so everyone can block their calendars.<\/p>\n

Booking flights<\/h4>\n

Once we lock in our destination and dates, we book flights.<\/p>\n

Everyone is responsible for booking their own flight to\/from the retreat. The earlier you book (usually), the better.<\/p>\n

Choosing accommodations<\/h4>\n

Where you stay will be one of your biggest expenses. We’ve opted for staying in Airbnbs for every retreat.<\/p>\n

We try to book at least a month in advance because options get booked up very quickly.<\/p>\n

Here are things we look for:<\/p>\n

Sleeping arrangements<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’ve tried separate Airbnbs vs. staying all together and we prefer the latter. The day-to-day is easier and we can stay up later to play Overcooked. It works out to be similar pricing-wise, maybe even cheaper.<\/p>\n

Of course, this is much harder with a bigger team. We would still recommend staying in large groups for maximum bonding.<\/p>\n

Location<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look for a place in a cool neighborhood with some good food options nearby. You’ll get the best value if you can get around easily (ride share!) without being directly in the city center.<\/p>\n

About a 15-minute car ride is great. The downtown areas are usually full of tourists anyway.<\/p>\n

Work<\/strong><\/p>\n

We work together during our team retreats, so we make sure the wifi is good. We also filter for places with a “laptop friendly workspace”. Ideally a large table we can work on.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Our Denver Airbnb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having a TV is great for presentations\u2014we always bring a Chromecast.<\/p>\n

Working during team retreats<\/h2>\n

From Monday to Thursday, we get work done. We don’t normally get the chance to work in the same place so we optimize for collaborative work.<\/p>\n

So far, we\u2019ve:<\/p>\n