Question: “What did you enjoy most about the Radish Retreat?”
The Radishes met in the Dominican Republic last month for Radish Lab’s first-ever team retreat in order to focus on being together and to work on several big internal initiatives. We were grateful to have the opportunity to improve how Radish operates and how we serve our clients.
During the week, we had time and space to focus on our roles at Radish Lab, reconnect to ‘why’ Radish exists and our history, as well as to ideate on the Objective and Key Results we want to focus on as a team in the next 3 months.
So, what did our team appreciate the most, about our time together?
1. Getting to know each other
“The time invested in getting to know my co-workers.”
- Pedro, Developer
“Getting to know everyone in-depth!”
- Pierce, Project Manager
By far, something the team appreciated the most was getting to know each other. For many of the Radishes, this was the very first time we were able to meet each other in person. Our team of 16 is based in the US (including in the states of: New York, Colorado, Oregon, Florida, Texas, and Michigan), Haiti, Argentina (Buenos Aires, La Plata) and Brazil (Belo Horizonte) and many team members were hired on as remote employees.
Since we’ve transitioned to a fully remote team this past year, we make time to connect with each other on team meetings, virtual birthdays, work anniversaries, etc. Every Monday we have a meeting called “Sobremesa” or “Around the Table”, where we spend an hour connecting about our weekends and sharing our priorities for the week. Having time and space to get to know each other in person – around an actual table – was hugely valuable: not only to find out more about who we are, but also about how we work.
2. Feeling the alignment
“The organic bonding (meals, free time) and the realization of how aligned everyone is during the working sessions.”
- Becky, Design Director
We are a team of project managers, strategists, designers, developers, and administrators all working together to deliver for our clients, and ultimately, to make the world a more just, equitable, and sustainable place.
Typically, we spend our days focusing our specific portfolios and areas of expertise – how we can support the agency through our own skill sets.
Zooming out and coming together in-person helped to break down the silos that sometimes can appear in virtual spaces, and align on how – although our roles are different – we have shared challenges and goals.
3. Thinking ‘Big Picture’
“Being together, feeling who we are as a collective team. I also enjoyed engaging with Big Picture work on retreat, and staying out of the weeds.”
- Simone, Project Manager
“The time and space the retreat created for organic conversations and getting to know each other. The ability to come together on "Radish" goals.”
- Alexa, Director of Partnerships & Strategic Communications
When we’re working hard to deliver for our clients, it can be challenging to dedicate the time to “big picture”, full-team conversations. Having the opportunity to step away from our laptops and reconnect with what drives Radish Lab and how we want to move forward was energizing and connective. Through our sessions, we were able to come up with an overarching agency objective to focus on in the next quarter.
4. Exploring nature
“I enjoyed meeting everybody in person, the space, the beach, nature, and the food!”
- Dukens, Developer
“Getting to know my coworkers, group meals, journaling and reflection, free time, hiking, the gorgeous location.”
- Kora, UX Designer
The environment was also an incredibly valuable part of the experience. Being immersed in nature: the ocean, waterfalls, and sand helped us restore, expand our thinking, and bring a calm, groundedness to our conversations. It created the right context for our programming.
5. Soaking up the good energy
“Seeing everyone for the first time in person and the bright energy we shared with each other.”
- Ana, Senior Developer
“I think the right kind of space and energy was created for people to relax and connect.”
- Alana, Founder & Owner
Everyone brought great, inclusive energy that was tangible throughout the week. From team volleyball, to room tours, makeup tutorials, and a sandcastle building competition, the spark of good energy is something that the team wanted to bring back home and to infuse into our cross-screen, cross-team collaborations.
So what’s next? We’re hoping to plan another retreat and are already thinking about how we can continue to improve: more time, digging even more deeply into shared challenges and opportunities, and maybe a karaoke night.
Want to get in touch? We’d love to hear from you.