My First Corporate Retreat

Last week I was able to attend my first ever corporate retreat. It was amazing! At first I was a little bit shocked to be included since I am a contractor and retreats tend to be more for the inner circle of employees. I am thrilled that I got to go and I feel so much more a part of the team now.

I work for a global organization, so many members of my department are based overseas. Listening to all of the different accents made me feel a bit like I had made a wrong turn and wound up at the U.N.! We had attendees from South Africa, China, France, Singapore, Mexico, U.K., Dubai, India, Brazil, and Poland. That list only includes where they are currently based. If we added country of origin it would be much larger!

Part of the team getting read to play mini-golf

Our retreat was held over 3 days at the Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, TX. Those of us that are based in the Dallas office took a luxury chartered bus down. We had WiFi, food, alcohol, lots of first-class amenities and even an attendant to see to all of our needs. It was more cushy than any first-class flight I have ever taken.

The view from my room

Our three days of meetings were split up with ice breakers, group activities, and lots of small group meetings. Our dinners were always in a private setting, so there was a lot of "getting to know you" time.

Fire pit for telling stories around during our first dinner

By the time we got on the bus to go home I was utterly exhausted, but also rejuvenated and ready to leap back into all of my projects.

It was an incredible three days and I came out of it with new friends from all over the world, a much deeper understanding of my department & how we fit together, and a greater sense of excitement for how my projects will affect the organization going forward.

To sum it all up in one word - INCREDIBLE!