capSpire Blog

Each year, capSpire’s retreat is an opportunity to gather team members from across the U.S. together in one place to encourage face-to-face meetings and foster camaraderie—and maybe also play basketball and cornhole, navigate a blow-up maze (with a slide at the end!), sample tasty fare from area food trucks, and jump at the opportunity to dunk Mike Scharf, capSpire Co-Founder, in a tank.

Well, the last four activities were part of the capSpire Carnival, this retreat’s unique team-building event and games competition. But no matter what’s on the agenda, the capSpire retreat is a super fun time outside the day-to-day office atmosphere that everyone looks forward to throughout the year. (And yes, Mike did get dunked more than once in the tank. Maybe more like nine or 10 times? Sorry not sorry, Mike. At least he’s a good sport.)

However, this year the event also took on a much larger purpose. It wasn’t primarily just about building internal relationships within capSpire, but also inspiring and reinforcing connections to capSpire’s overall vision, clients, and the community. In mid-June, the entire capSpire team in the U.S. convened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the Post Oak Lodge—the host of capSpire’s retreat for the last five years—for an action-packed itinerary with big goals.

capSpire Connections

For the first time, the company hosted a capSpire Expo for team members—and it was the highlight of the retreat. The purpose of the Expo was to educate everyone about the work that each team across the company performs, as well as deliver an overview of each product and service offering.

“The capSpire Expo enabled a better understanding of how each piece of the company works together in contributing to capSpire’s vision, and gives our different teams a more comprehensive view of the value that capSpire brings to clients,” said Megan Coger, Director, People Team. “Additionally, it encouraged colleagues to get to know one another outside their immediate teams and identify opportunities for collaboration on projects, which furthers our main goal of working together to help clients solve complex business scenarios.”

Client Connections

Representatives from some of capSpire’s largest clients participated in an insightful Industry Panel. During this Q&A, they shared their thoughts on many timely issues that directly impact how capSpire works with clients:

• The challenges they face today and how their businesses are impacted
• Which commodity segments represent the most opportunity for growth in their businesses
• How companies leverage technology today and how industry changes could impact future technology use
• What they value most in a consultant
  

  “Armed with this critical client feedback, the capSpire team can better understand what clients are thinking and consider important, and the direction in which clients predict their business are going over the next few years. Then we can go back to the office and assess how we can improve our alignment with client needs and concerns,” said Jeff Hardcastle, capSpire Co-Founder.
  

  Community Connections

  From organizing volunteer events to donating to worthy causes, capSpire has always emphasized active involvement in the communities in which team members operate. This annual retreat was no exception.

  However, this time members of the community became part of the retreat. At the capSpire Carnival, local YMCA staff served as judges at each of the 12 stations set up for games and helped to determine which team won the most points. To thank the YMCA for its part in making the retreat a big hit, capSpire made a donation to the W.L. Hutcherson YMCA Annual For a Better Us Campaign.
  

  “This campaign provides financial assistance for families in need to be able to join the YMCA of Greater Tulsa and participate in all of its programs,” said Victoria Scott, Chief of Staff. “capSpire is happy to make a contribution that enables more families, and especially their children, to forge stronger social connections in their communities and live more healthy, active lifestyles. capSpire and the YMCA agree wholeheartedly that no family should be turned away from membership and all the opportunities it affords because of an inability to pay fees.”
  

  Furthermore, in recognition of the close, ongoing connections that capSpire enjoys with various communities, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum spoke at the retreat about how capSpire embodies the values that the city seeks and encourages in its local businesses.

Does capSpire sound like the type of company where you want to build your career? Connect with us!

If you long to work at the type of place where people are valued as individuals and the workplace culture prizes camaraderie and fun as much as talent and initiative—or if you just want to be part of a team in which it’s not a career-ending move to dunk the company’s co-founder in a tank of water—then we encourage you to connect with us. Visit our careers page to learn more about who we are, what we do, and where we have opportunities. You can also email info@capspire.com to ask questions or introduce yourself.