TextExpander's Retreat Highlights

Hosted at CatBird, located in Denver, Colorado

About TextExpander

TextExpander helps individuals and businesses streamline their written communication, maintain consistency, and improve workflow efficiency by reducing the time spent typing out repetitive information. TextExpander is a fully remote company, that started hosting virtual retreats during COVID. After holding their first in-person retreat, they realized how valuable face-to-face interactions were for their team.

Goals for the Retreat

Marcie Arvelo runs People Ops at TextExpander and planned this year’s retreat. Marcie’s vision was to create an opportunities for the team to connect in person, build deeper relationships, and foster a sense of camaraderie beyond virtual interactions.

“It was about bringing people together, an opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level. It was about building relationships and building bonds, getting to know each other, in a way that you can’t virtually.”

Marcie Arvelo

Mission Mapping

Meaningful Connection

The retreat at CatBird focused on bringing the team together and creating opportunities for building deeper relationships. It gave the TextExpander team an opportunity to put real faces to the names theyinteract with daily, and form true human connections.

Strategy Sync

Meeting & Mingling

The retreat planning strategy was all about creating opportunities for connection and mixing work with fun. Marcie and the TextExpander team focused on creating a balance of structured work sessions and unstructured bonding time with an array of social activities like group meals, fun outings, and a group birthday party. One of the key decisions in the planning process was choosing a venue that facilitated impromptu hangouts, while also having dedicated meeting rooms where the team could address their needs in the coming year and reflect on achievements.

Denver ended up being a wonderful spot for everyone to meet as the airport has nonstop connections for most major U.S. airports. RetreatsandVenues helped alleviate the pressure of finding a venue that not only functioned well for breakouts and meetings, but also encouraged mingling and the water-cooler moments a remote team never experiences.

TEAM BOOST

Fun Activities

The team activities were a blast, featuring:
1. Customer Highlight Session: The team had a session where they shared voice recordings of customer feedback. This was particularly impactful because it gave the team direct insight into how customers were using their product and the challenges and excitement they were experiencing. Hearing the customer’s perspective helped build a deeper connection to the company’s purpose, energized the team, and helped ground their work in the practical needs of their customers.

2. Shared Snippets: Shared snippets was a breakout session series in which different team members shared 15-minute insights about their work. For example, one person talked about a community initiative while another spoke about how they used data in their daily work. This gave different teams an opportunity to showcase their work, get a clearer perspective on everyone’s role, and promote empathy. It was also a fun way to highlight what’s going on at TextExpander.

3. Flight Co Tower: The team headed out for a fun lunch on the town at Flight Co Tower, which offered a range of fun activities to please everyone. This was a well-loved feature of the retreat because it allowed everyone to unwind, play games like darts or bowling, and mingle in a relaxed, social setting.

TEXTEXPANDER’S RETREAT AGENDA

5 Days in Denver, Colorado