Just because people want the option to work fully remotely or in a hybrid setup doesn’t mean they’ve stopped valuing in-person connections.
Direct-to-consumer grooming products company Harry’s understands, even though it has a hybrid working setup, that in-person interactions are still incredibly important to its team. The company recently held its first retreat since the pandemic, with more than 400 employees descending on its New York headquarters for the event, including Chief People Officer Danielle Mastrangel Brown.
For Brown, who had just joined the company, the event was an opportunity to meet her colleagues and experience Harry’s culture firsthand. In addition to the organizers packing the itinerary with games and activities and facilitating new connections among colleagues, Brown said the lack of work talk helped make the event a success.
“It was an opportunity to truly unplug, with no strategy sessions or KPI setting,” said Brown.
Of course, work can still be part of an impactful company event, as shown by Opto Investments. The fintech company hosted a four-day offsite in Palm Springs where, along with relaxing and games, employees discussed their reasons for joining the company and their work side projects.
“Sharing these stories with the team helped to establish context and build motivation toward pursuing our ambitious goals,” said Matt Reed, cofounder and head of engineering.
Physically spending time with co-workers has become more valuable in a world where most meetings are held virtually and desk visits are dying out. Continue reading to learn more about how Harry’s and Opto Investments throw memorable in-person events.
Harry’s Inc. is a direct-to-consumer company that produces grooming products such as shaving supplies, skincare and deodorant for men and women under their Harry’s, Flamingo, Lume and Mando brands, as well as feline products under their Cat Person brand.
Share an example of one especially meaningful team gathering.
Within my first month on the job, we had a full team retreat close to our NYC headquarters. Hybrid-first folks in NYC, remote folks across North America and even some of our employees in the United Kingdom came in for the event. We had a full house with 450 teammates in attendance. The day was a great mix of community building, socializing with teammates — both new and familiar — and leveraging some long-time traditions!
We split the team into carefully curated groups for some friendly competition in the morning, including a rock-paper-scissors tournament — which I’ve heard is a tradition — trivia and life-sized Scrabble. A shiny trophy and bragging rights were up for grabs, so people really brought their A game!
Our workplace experience team intentionally structured the groups with folks from all levels and departments to foster new connections. After lunch, we had a talent show — another tradition — and took a sunset cruise back to NYC, complete with a dance party, of course. The day was structured to include a mix of tried-and-true Harry’s activities and some new ones, too, which was such a meaningful touch.
What was some of the positive feedback you received after the event?
We always ask for feedback on our workplace events, and for this one, we received a ton of positive feedback. The biggest headlines were that people made connections, had fun and the experience felt thoughtful. There’s one direct quote that sums it up pretty well: “The retreat was a great experience! It really reinforced my gratitude in working with more than 450 smart, funny and kind people.”
A lot of the feedback was along these lines. The retreat was a fun and low-pressure way to meet other folks at the organization. Spoiler alert: That’s exactly what we were going for. This was our first full-company offsite since the pandemic, and based on the comments, our team was craving the in-person connection.
Another big aspect of the retreat that our team enjoyed was that the day was completely unrelated to work. It was an opportunity to truly unplug, with no strategy sessions or KPI setting. Relationship building is so important to our culture and the way that we operate as a business. We work very cross-functionally across teams and brands, and providing opportunities to connect is a top priority.
Another big aspect of the retreat that our team enjoyed was that the day was completely unrelated to work.”
How did this event have a long-lasting impact on your culture?
For me as a newbie, it was so wonderful to interact with a ton of my colleagues and to meet the broader team right away. It can be intimidating entering such a tight-knit, well-oiled environment, but I was almost immediately comfortable thanks to the warm welcome I received! Two big reasons I decided to come to Harry’s Inc. were the culture and the people, and this offsite really reinforced that I made the right decision.
Seeing colleagues of all levels coming together to run across the grass and break a sweat to compete in games was such a fun experience. Harry’s is truly a special place because of its people. I know our team will be talking about this event for years to come, and people are already asking about plans for next year’s offsite.
Opto Investments’ platform enables financial advisors to learn about and access private market investments, including real estate, venture capital and private equity.
Share an example of one especially meaningful team gathering.
We recently held a four-day offsite in Palm Springs for the product and engineering teams. We rented out an entire hotel so we had the whole place to ourselves, including all the facilities. We made sure to schedule not only work-related sessions but also plenty of fun activities, including hiking, pickleball and dinners. To host a successful event of this size takes a lot of preparation, and we made sure everyone pitched in on the planning effort.
What was some of the positive feedback you received after the event?
For two employees, the offsite was their first week on the job, and what an amazing way to onboard and get to know your peers in a low-pressure environment. Beyond that, we had nearly full attendance, with many folks meeting each other in person for the first time. The mix of public and private space afforded by the hotel was particularly effective at helping folks achieve the right balance of relaxing versus socializing.
The physical activities and offsite meals were especially valuable for helping folks get to know their coworkers in a non-work setting. Even the work activities were well-received because we put in the prep work to make sure the in-person experience was engaging and impactful.
How did this event have a long-lasting impact on your culture?
The most salient benefit of this offsite was that the time spent getting to know each other built trust. With trust comes tighter alignment, better communication and improved collaboration. It was also important to learn from one another about why we joined Opto and what we are excited to achieve.
One specific topic that we were able to realign on was the concept of 20% time. Through our project work and discussions, we demonstrated that our work goes beyond completing our project tasks and that each of us should feel motivated to explore novel approaches that may address current or future challenges at Opto.
The most salient benefit of this offsite was that the time spent getting to know each other built trust.”
Lastly, I’ll note that I was pleasantly surprised to see folks self-organize into groups to collaborate on some urgent engineering work. It speaks to our amazing culture when we see people give up their free time to take advantage of this opportunity to work together in person.
