How to run a great company off-site in 2021 (and beyond)
It’s hard enough planning a team dinner every few months.
Never mind getting 370 people from 20 countries to the Costa Brava, Spain for a team off-site…but that’s exactly what we did.
It rocked but it also taught us a lot about hosting major events after the upheaval of the past few years.
But first, what’s Team Camp?
Think of a Team Camp (or TC) as a way to kill the routine, and combine strategy with socialising.
It’s a chance for every Pleo’er to get together and get excited about what we stand for, where we’re going, and who we’re going there with.
Read more about why we think hosting company-wide TCs are crucial.
Seriously...how did we do it?
Clearly this has “logistical nightmare” written all over it – not to mention the extra layer of Covid restrictions that were necessary this year.
Despite this, the People team here at Pleo still created a memorable, inclusive and safe experience.
A pretty impressive feat – so it felt like a good time to catch up with the team to learn more about all the moving parts that go into planning TCs and how they see these company-wide events evolving as we continue to grow (pssst – we’re hiring).
The logistics
“Planning the next TC is this huge side project to our day-to-day responsibilities that carries a big, important cultural aspect for Pleo. We really have to dedicate ourselves to finding that balance,” says Hannah Randera, People Ops Manager.
Pleo’s past TCs weren’t on such a grand scale because, well, we were a much smaller team back then. Taking ten people to go skiing in Saalbach, Austria versus 300+ to Spain – it’s a different ball game.
To kick-off a project like this, the People team focused on four key points as a group:
- Accommodation
- Location
- Flights
- Safety
Finding the right fit
“For an event at this size, we really needed to make sure that the accommodation would suit all of our needs – and I don’t just mean comfy pillows and a delicious breakfast," says Evangelos Diamantis, Employee Experience Manager.