It’s surprising how little I hear about companies who move their office to the beach for a week or two. Workation trips can not only be a great incentive for employees but also an awesome way to improve team building.
An innovative company who has done just this is cloudsider. They took their staff on a workation to sunny Mallorca. So I thought I’d interview them about their company-getaway experience. Turns out that it’s actually quite easy to organize (depending on type and size of the company)…
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your company?
Hi, founded in 2010 as a private project, cloudsider has grown up to be Germany’s biggest review portal and rating platform for cloud services like video on demand, music streaming and many other categories. We are a couple of Online Marketers, SEOs and Developers mainly based in Munich.
Why did you decide to go on workation with your company?
Actually there were two reasons why we decided to go on a workation. On the one hand, if we meet for a cloudsider workshop, some of our colleagues always have to travel, because not all of us are based in Munich. So it was no problem to book the flights to Mallorca instead of Munich. On the other hand, we fix targets every year. Our aims arenormally aligned to some KPIs of our website. In 2013 we reached our objectives, so we decided to go on a workation to Spain with the whole cloudsider team.
Why did you choose Mallorca and for how long did you go?
For our first Cloudsidertrip we chose a destination in Europe. It shouldn’t be so far away, but it ought be sunny and warm. Furthermore we wanted a place where we could go sightseeing in a town and get a view of the countryside. Moreover a location with good wifi was an absolute necessity. So when we fixed our targets in 2013, we determined to stay in a finca on Mallorca for one week.
One week is very short, would you do a longer trip next time?
In hindsight, one week was a good duration of stay for our first team event. Nevertheless I think for our next trip we will take more time. Now we know that it works and got a taste for Work and Travel.
How did you organize your work day?
Normally our day started with an extensive breakfast. Toni, the owner of the finca brought us fresh buns. Then we cooked some eggs and bacon. We enjoyed the meal at our terrace in the sun and discussed how we should organize the day.
During the morning we usually had our working hours. We sat by the pool or in the lounge with our notebooks and worked for the daily business. After that we sometimes did trips through Mallorca or had some free time and played sports.
Mallorca is a wonderful island with different rural areas. So one day we were at the west coast and visited the high seaside bluffs. There was an intriguing view about the sea. Completely different were the south and the north of the island with long and beautiful beaches.
What was the best thing about the trip?
I don’t think there is one best thing. The whole trip was awesome! As a team we chimed together and had loads of fun. The sportsday was particularly good. We played basketball, soccer, tennis and after those little competitions we relaxed with a cool beer at the pool. It was a great afternoon.
What would you do different, if you would do it another time again?
To be honest, we actually did it quite well. In Germany we didn’t plan too much. We booked the Finca from Toni at lifestylefincas.com and hired a rental car. Everything else, like deciding about dinner or organizing our trips, we did locally. Also it was important that the team accepted the working hours and knew when leisure time was. So we all enjoyed the stay very much. I think a workation for companies is a great possibility to bring a team closer together. If your business gives you the opportunity, give it a try!
Are you planning to do it again in the future and if so, where are you going?
Yes, we are planning to webworktravel again. First, some of the Cloudsider team will go to Tenerife in October for surfing and working for a few weeks. What’s more, after reaching our next aims of 2014, the team will fly to the US. There we will do a roadtrip along the West Coast and stop at Sillicon Valley. So if you are from Germany and want to join us working and travelling at the same time, write us a short email.
Thank you cloudsider for the interview and pictures!
Have you been on a workation or are you going anytime soon?
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