What We Changed After Running Four Company Offsites

At Conduktor, one of our values is "we learn". I want to share how we applied this to our fourth company offsite. As a distributed company with employees in the UK, France, and the US, our team works remotely or hybrid. This year we gathered in Cély, outside Paris.

Bringing a distributed team together helps kick off projects, celebrate wins, and build team cohesion. But each offsite needs its own purpose. For our fourth event, we could have repeated our previous formula: pack in as much as possible.

We chose differently. After a turbulent year in tech, we wanted to strengthen our team's understanding of strategy and vision. We wanted people to leave with renewed energy and motivation, not exhaustion.

Three Days Beats Five Days

Previous offsites were a full week. A week overstretches people. Weekend travel, time away from commitments, and jet lag add up. By day four, energy drops.

This time: three nights at the venue. Monday and Thursday were travel days. We added TravelPerk to let employees book their own travel within clear guidelines and budget. People could build flexibility into their plans and manage their own time.

Activities Should Include Everyone

Previous offsites focused on sports. Not everyone likes sports. With a diverse team, activities need to work for everyone. Chateauform offered an Escape Room, a cooking challenge, and modified Olympic Games.

We deliberately mixed teams for each activity: people from different countries, departments, and seniority levels worked together, often for the first time. I am already seeing new collaborations and projects that came directly from these connections.

Have a Contingency Plan for Everything

Our Paris event coincided with nationwide strikes against pension reform. With French train strikes, we were not sure half the company could reach the venue.

Our People team created backup plans for all transport. We accepted we might need to reschedule entirely. We communicated the situation transparently, changed some travel plans and meeting points. The offsite happened, but we were ready to pivot completely if needed.

With an international team traveling to an unpredictable area, clear communication matters more than optimism.

These are learnings from our fourth offsite. 100% of the team rated the event 4 out of 5 or above. We measured a notable increase in team confidence and knowledge of our products and strategy since the event.

If you want to join us for the next one, check our careers page for open positions.