Retreating To Roseto
This article featured in the May newsletter from The Freelance(r) Hub, where Naomi Bacon - founder of The Tandem Collective (UK & Global) wrote on her thoughts on her most recent refreshing retreat to Roseto, Italy.
As a remote-first company and a founder who is always on the move, spending time with my team in person is the highlight of my year. We launched the company retreat last May in the hometown of one of our Italian colleagues; the team feedback - and evident joy - led to the decision to make the company retreat an annual fixture.
And so it was that the team arrived once again in the seaside town of Roseto Degli Abruzzi, with new team members in tow and a finessed itinerary of activities and events.
Day one consisted of refresher sessions to ensure that the quality and consistency of our work continues to be top-notch; revisiting the company manifesto; celebratory presentations of recent creative campaigns to inspire the wider team; and an in-depth breakdown of the finances for complete team transparency. This was followed by beach time, sea swims, aperitivo and, of course, gelato.
As we have a number of sober team members, alcohol is never present during the retreats, and this has been a big factor in creating such a sense of safety amongst colleagues. We avoid the inevitable booze-fuelled dramas and next day anxieties that I remember so well from working in-house. I am proud that we have created a space where not drinking is the standard.
We kicked off day two with a workshop on Digital Body Language. We are a team of very different personalities and communication styles; therefore itโs important to understand how our different styles translate over email, WhatsApp and Zoom, and that we always communicate consciously rather than firing off messages.
As a collective of freelancers, the fully-fledged freelancers on the team then ran a session for those new to this lifestyle on how to pitch oneself and bring in new business; and the dos and donโts of freelancing. We rounded off the day with workshops exploring new company ventures and problem-solving current issues, as well as a session โlooking to the futureโ, announcing new business developments. Then it was time for team-bonding, or rather reading our books beside one another on the beach, before a seven course pasta feast.
It makes complete sense to me that for creativity to flourish you need an environment that activates this. Being barefoot on a beach in the sunshine, rather than staring at a screen, will of course give rise to a plethora of brilliant, intelligent ideas. During the retreat, we are able to find solutions to problems weโve been sitting on for months, and the excited chatter amongst colleagues as they co-create makes my heart feel so full.
My biggest win, however cheesy it sounds, is watching the friendships blossom. This is a team of introverts and self-proclaimed misfits who inspire confidence in one another. There is no competition here, only the drive to learn, improve and be better, together.