At capSpire, we believe in people first. It’s one of the cornerstones of our unique culture that focuses on:
- Bringing in the best talent who aligns with our values.
- Fostering collaboration and connection between team members.
- Encouraging growth and development through knowledge and idea sharing, as well as peer learning.
- Creating a high-trust, high-autonomy workplace that empowers our people to be successful.
- Being a workplace where people are happy, fulfilled, and genuinely enjoy spending time.
Nowhere is our people-first mindset more apparent than how we conduct our company retreats for our team.
The capSpire retreat 101
Recently, capSpire hosted our global annual retreats, a series of three two-day, company-wide events taking place around the world that bring our people distributed in different regions together to meet some capSpirians for the first time, reconnect with team members, network, and just have fun together while enjoying face-to-face time. It’s also a valuable opportunity for leaders to get in front of the whole team to discuss where the company has been and what’s next on the horizon, explaining significant decisions, introducing new strategies, and announcing new goals.
Combined, the 2024 retreats were attended by more than 330 of our people in strategically selected sites that were chosen for their optimal location near major airports and city centers, variety of amenities, capability to offer diverse experiences, and intimate size:
- North America Retreat: Horseshoe Bay Resort in Austin, Texas
- Europe Retreat: De Vere Beaumont Estate in Windsor, UK
- India Retreat: Hotel Lakend in Udaipur in Rajasthan, India
“It’s so important to bring our people together consistently. We can talk to each other via a computer screen as much as we want, but nothing replaces that personal interaction in a fun, casual setting and the spontaneous meetings and conversations that result,” said Jim Kiser, capSpire CEO. “Following these retreats, we all disperse with a greater sense of connection, belonging, and purpose, and are re-energized to go serve our clients.”
Because the retreats are such a vital part of our people-first culture, company leadership prioritizes this annual activity and invests heavily in the time and financial resources to make sure they happen and are both enjoyable and memorable experiences for all team members.
As a result, the retreats require a large amount of planning throughout the rest of the year by our retreat leaders—Daysi Rodriguez, People Services Director, North America in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Jean McCarthy O’Neill, Operations Manager in Cork, Ireland; and Subha Nair, Senior Human Resources Business Partner in Gurugram, India—and their entire teams.
But, for all the individuals who help put together these retreats, the significant effort is well worth it.
Retreat theming
Selected by global leadership, each year’s retreat theme is a reflection of where the company is at that moment.
2024 was a year of transformation at capSpire. That’s why this year’s retreat theme was capSpire Kinetic. We believe this showcases how our company is anything but a static organization—we are always on the move, focused on continual improvement, seeking new opportunities, expanding around the world at increasing rates, and changing and growing for the better, all while staying true to who we are and what we value. With all our incredible recent growth and our new partnership with Falfurrias, there’s much to be excited about in the near future.
What makes our retreats so special?
By now, the capSpire retreats have become a beloved tradition that our leaders and team members alike eagerly anticipate.
In short, this isn’t the standard corporate retreat that employees dread. The way we do it, capSpirians actually get really fired up about these events—they want to be there and derive meaningful value from their participation.
The positive experience starts immediately when capSpirians arrive and check in on day 1.
“It’s one of my favorite things to observe the reaction of each team member when they receive their capSpire-branded room key, retreat t-shirt, swag kit, and then they go to their rooms to discover even more custom gifts. It’s like a day of surprises,” said Subha. “Our people definitely get a warm capSpire welcome.”
Each retreat features plenty of opportunities for connection between team members, from fun team-building activities and competitions among smaller groups to excursions, dinners together and unscheduled free time for more in-depth discussion and networking.
“My favorite part of the retreat is dinner on the second night. By then, that’s when you see the magic unfold. All the activities we’ve planned have come to fruition and you really see the camaraderie and how comfortable everyone is with each other,” said Daysi, of the North American retreat.
The most important criteria for any retreat activity is that they:
- Support the capSpire culture.
- Promote togetherness and teamwork.
- Involve each attendee, giving everyone a role and a voice.
- Allow each person’s strengths to shine, demonstrating their importance and value.
- Enable people to have fun and get to know each other better as humans outside work.
“At most company retreats, typically only a few people actively participate and everyone else is a spectator. Not so at capSpire—our aim is for everybody to join in and have fun, and we choose activities accordingly,” said Subha.
Global events with local personality
Although these retreats share the same priorities and follow generally consistent itineraries, each event has its own local flavor and special traditions, and aims to showcase aspects of the regional culture.
In fact, it’s really important to us that capSpirians participate in activities that pay homage to these unique differences, thus enabling them to take a unique and meaningful memory home with them.
In India, capSpirians took part in an Amazing Race-style game that encouraged them to work together while exploring must-visit sites in Rajasthan, a destination known for its beautiful scenery and architecture, rich royal heritage, and historically and culturally significant attractions, including forts and palaces.
And the conclusion of this event was all about the party that extended into the early morning hours. In Indian culture, any great success calls for an equally big celebration. The final party was a celebration of successful meetings, fruitful conversations, great brainstorming, and excitement for the future of our company. Therefore, the main dinner was set up similarly to a traditional Indian wedding, complete with vibrant colors everywhere, live music, and lots of energetic dancing.
In the UK, as a nod to the popular theme park Legoland in close proximity to the hotel, groups competed to construct the best Lego structures based on creative instructions. For the first dinner of the retreat, attendees enjoyed an exquisite dinner in the hotel’s chapel, accompanied by a violin duet, to deliver the royal treatment and share a classically European experience.
In North America, at a resort that prizes outdoor adventures and highlights Texas Hill Country beauty, team members played beach volleyball and putt-putt golf. For these attendees, the highly anticipated finale of the retreat is always the Ignite party, which is given a fun theme (this year: Western) and hosted by the prior year’s Ignite program graduates.
“My biggest piece of advice in planning retreats is to remember that it’s about the people attending, not us the organizers. We have to make the retreats enjoyable for everyone,” said Jean.
“I’m really proud to be part of an organization that values this type of interaction and places so much emphasis on people—it’s unique for an organization to do so,” added Daysi.
Respectful of tradition but open to change
The capSpirian commitment to finding a better way to serve clients carries over to our approach to the company retreats.
“Although we have our traditions, we also listen to what our people want to ensure that our retreats remain popular and well loved. When called for, we will be bold and make changes. We never want to get stuck in the mindset of ‘we can’t do this’ or be unwilling to explore other options,” said Daysi.
Does this sound like the type of team you want to be part of? We encourage you to learn more about us and contact us with any questions. We hope to see you at the next retreat as a new capSpirian!
