As a company committed to working out loud, inspiring collaboration, and rewarding a job well done—our GANDT team events are very important to us. Held quarterly, this is our chance to let our hair down together, take in some of the best of Zurich, and, of course, work out any current issues while generating tons of fresh ideas for the months ahead.
We believe that having authentic bonds and connections reinforces what we do, and creating these bonds through unique team events helps bolster both our business efforts and our overall well-being. In addition to expanding our communication and planning skills, we always walk away from team events with an uptick in motivation and feeling better prepared to tackle new challenges together. Recently, we hosted our autumn team event in Zurich—and wow, it was a blast! Here’s an inside look at how one of our GANDT team events unfolds.
Day 1 | Munich & Hamburg Meet Zurich
As our event was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, October 6th, at our headquarters in Zurich, members from Munich and Hamburg arrived on Tuesday evening. This gave everyone time to get settled and meant that we could kick off with our classic Croissants and Coffee on Wednesday morning. Our second item on the agenda was a dynamic SEO workshop led by one of our digital marketing experts, Mona Altheimer. Everyone walked away from this one feeling excited about our own company’s blog and eager to share insights with clients.
The afternoon session brought the whole team together to discuss broader topics, like what we can improve as the organization. Some of our favorite ideas included finding more meaningful ways to celebrate new clients and highlight their success stories. We know how much passion and hard work they pour in, and that kind of effort deserves to be honored and shared to inspire others! After a productive and energizing day, we all unwound in the evening with a delicious Italian dinner and by getting in an extra dose of action at the new James Bond film.
Day 2 | Digging Into Working Culture
On Thursday, we started as usual with Croissants and Coffee. This was followed by a Q3 review and outlook for Q4 2021, presented by our CEO Remco Livain. After that, we had our routine update where we covered every project we are currently working on and shared ideas about what has been working really well and where we still have room to level up.
Food is always an essential part of our team events, and we were excited to have an extra little task during our working lunch (which consisted of the epic burgers and fries from Iroquois)—testing the vegan sauces of one of our potential new clients. This was a lot of fun (a picture for the activity follows) and really brought out the expertise of the many foodies in our crew.
In the afternoon, we checked our resources for various projects to ensure that we were all on the same page regarding how many people it would take to have everything running smoothly. We also discussed our personal development and the various roles we have at GANDT. This is really important to us, as we don’t think in strict roles.
As our communications guru, Natascha put it,
One of my highlights from the event was Remco sitting everyone down and giving them the chance to speak their mind freely about what is currently not working for them at the company, how we can improve internal communications and working culture. Not every CEO provides that platform.
In the evening, we dressed up in our Lederhosen and Dirndl and had our own little Oktoberfest in one of our favorite small restaurants, Eisenhof. After many delicious courses, the highlight was (in Mona’s opinion at least) a chocolate cake with a tiny hint of garlic. It turns out that the garlic was not intentional, as the chef accidentally used the cake pan for a different dish before. Nevertheless, it resulted in a ton of laughter and still made for a tasty (if unconventional) end to the meal.
Day 3 | Putting the Pieces Of The Team Event Together
Friday morning was filled with a dynamic Micro Audit Working Session for a possible new client. The whole team worked together on different tasks, and by the end, we had a finished slide deck with all our findings. After lunch, in one of the best Italian restaurants in town, people started to work on their individual tasks and slowly began to say their goodbyes.
As always, the biggest reason we look forward to these quarterly team events is that they allow us to reconnect in person, share ideas and laughs, and get excited about the months ahead. With so much going on, it is fair to say that these few days are both energizing and exhausting. That said, with so much team spirit on supply, everyone went into the weekend with a smile on their face—even after all the information, brainstorming, and co-creating in a short amount of time.
And, of course, we wouldn’t have it any other way! We’re already looking forward to our next team event, which hopefully will be in our new office space and community hub in Zurich. From day one, building a positive company culture has been key to our success. Want to learn more about what it’s like to work for or with the team at GANDT? Get in touch.
