At Magenta, getting together to connect and celebrate our accomplishments has always been a priority. That’s been difficult over the last 18 months. While we have had plenty of opportunity to catch up online, it’s been a long time since we were able to get together in person, so the return of our annual Magenta team trip was a real treat.
Off road in Dorset
Ensuring everyone felt safe and happy was priority number one so we avoided the usual sightseeing and restaurant meals, opting instead to try out quad biking. It certainly pushed plenty of us outside our comfort zones, but everyone gave it a shot – even if that meant a lot of dust and several detours off-track.
We spent the afternoon absorbing the autumnal colours in the garden of a stunning country house before breaking out the games. With Kat, our office and employee wellbeing manager, having hunted through various card games to remove anything too work-inappropriate, we tested our communication skills and how well we knew one another over the course of the evening.
With a couple of team members having joined our ranks during the pandemic, this was the perfect chance to get to know each other. It was a real reminder that, as essential as video calls have been, they are no replacement for face-to-face connection.
Our team trips are often times to get our heads together to spark new ideas so there is usually time set aside to talk business. But after 18 months or more of turbulence, uncertainty, and stress, this trip was a chance to celebrate that things are getting back to some form of normal, so the focus was on having fun.
A catered feast
The focus was on eating – lots of eating. We were treated to an in-house meal of spectacular all-veggie and vegan food so tasty that even the avid carnivores admitted they didn’t miss meat. Bellies full and wine bottles emptied, we headed to bed.
The following day was relaxed. We shared a light breakfast and several rounds of coffee, watching the sun burn the mist from the garden. Then we headed to Poole harbour for a boat trip. We were graced with good weather despite the forecast.
The importance of relaxing
Personally, I don’t remember much of the drive home. I had a great nap. Catching up with the team on Monday, I discovered I wasn’t the only one exhausted by socialising. Plenty of us took the weekend to reset. It was an amazing reminder that after so long in survival mode, lots of us have forgotten how to relax and have fun.
The trip was a chance to dip our toes back into a sense of normalcy – a reminder of how to have fun with people outside of our bubbles. In lots of ways, the team trip didn’t have the glamour of going abroad and exploring a new city as we often do. But with everything else going on a couple of days to shake it all off and remember what makes us a great team probably makes this trip one to go down in the books.
