pr.co

Hi World! 👋 It’s the pr.co team here, fresh from our latest team retreat. We’re proud to be a remote team, but sometimes we like to get together in real life. We spent last week working, learning, and laughing in person, and it confirmed a few things we already knew about pr.co. Here are our top ten takeaways: 1. Real team building happens in the quiet places between activities when you have time to relax, play a game, or chat with your teammates one-on-one. 2. Perks are cool (who doesn’t want to hang out in a fancy villa and call it work?!), but it’s culture that makes or breaks a company. Our culture is based on shared values like a willingness to help, mutual respect, active communication, honesty, and kindness. 3. There is value in failing together. Learning to surf was far from easy. But there was something special about cheering each other on through mouthfuls of salty water and watching your colleague succeed where you had fallen that encouraged us to try again and again until we slowly improved. 4. People will surprise you. From being breakfast-bowl-maker-extraordinaire to being a secret comedian. Everyone has a skill and a quirk to celebrate. 5. Being a remote company means that borders do not limit our recruitment. As a result, we have found the perfect fit for every role in the team. Everyone’s personality brings something unique to the table, and although many of us had never met before, spending a whole week in each other's company felt natural and easy. 6. Pushing yourself outside your comfort zone teaches you more about yourself and your team than a boring ice-breaker ever will. We’ve paraglided, climbed a volcano, and learned to play golf as a team—creating memories to last a lifetime. 7. The Sunday scaries are not a necessary evil of life. It is possible to build a company and a job where you can be yourself and feel excited about what you are building every day. 8. Communication is key. We come from many different countries and backgrounds, and although we speak weekly via Zoom, most of our communication is async and in writing. Being able to communicate in person, pick up on body language, and share a joke helped us bond much more deeply and quickly than we can online. 9. Little things go a long way. From being the first to offer help in the kitchen to bringing treats from our home countries, these gestures create shared moments that Slack can't replicate. 10. There is something special about choosing to spend time together. We are a successful team without our retreats. So choosing to fly across the world to spend time with our colleagues reflects our commitment to pr.co, our mission, and each other. This week we're settling back into our remote routines with an added boost of energy and motivation for the months ahead. If you're thinking about planning a #teamretreat we thoroughly recommend it. #remotework