Once a year, we pack up our laptops and head off together to the status C retreat - our most important employee event. This year, we travelled to Waldkappel-Gehau: three days away from the daily grind and into team life. The place itself was quiet and tranquil - but our mood was all the more exuberant.
A total of 35 colleagues travelled from Cologne, Berlin and beyond. Exciting workshops were on the agenda for the first day: among other things, we looked at the use of AI in everyday working life, discussed the further development of our mentor-mentee programme and collected ideas for the future.
At our retreat, we combined professional dialogue with the strengthening of our corporate culture - a key building block for employee retention and sustainable growth.
But the surroundings were at least as important as the work: whether it was a meal together in the brewery, a sociable barbecue, quick rounds of table tennis, evenings around the campfire or the legendary party nights - boredom was guaranteed to be a thing of the past.
On the second day, our team events took centre stage: paintball, bubble soccer, hiking and puzzles in the escape game were sporty, playful and sometimes really challenging. Another special highlight was our joint bingo, which was guaranteed to be a lot of fun.
It was particularly nice that even colleagues who were there for the first time immediately felt the special togetherness. Juliane puts it in a nutshell:
"It doesn't feel like we're going on a business trip, it feels like we're going on an ecursion with friends. It's really unique and I've never experienced it like this before!"
This feedback shows what our retreat is all about: it's not just a date in the diary, but a real team-building event that brings us together.
The atmosphere? Quite clearly: more class trip than business trip. That's exactly how it should be - because the status C retreat is a highlight for us every year. It gives us the chance not only to be colleagues, but also to come together as friends, celebrate together and create memories that will carry us forward in our day-to-day work.
We are already looking forward to the next retreat - with new workshops, exciting team events and plenty of team spirit.
