From its inception, We Make Platforms decided to hire only the best of the best irrespective of where they are in the world. Although an office is considered the traditional approach to a physical working space, it comes with its challenges; chiefly, the cost of running one (including overheads), commuting time spent by team members and the potential need for relocation for team members. The obvious solution to these is a fully remote working environment. This also helps our team members achieve a great degree of work-life balance, which is essential in maintaining sound physical and mental health.
What about communication? Microsoft Teams provides us a great platform to hold our daily standups and keep everyone in the loop. What’s more, the benefit of savings generated by not having a physical office is passed onto our clients in the form of very competitive rates. So, the way we see it, remote work is a win-win solution for us all.
Having said that, we believe that meeting each other occasionally is key to maintaining team spirit and cohesion. Thus, the idea for the annual company retreat was born. This year, it took place from the 12th-14th of October at Amaya Lake in Dambulla, a sprawling hotel nestled beside a calm lake, making for picturesque views and a sight for sore eyes.
The drive was a long one for many of us, so the first day was one mainly of rest and relaxation. Greetings and hugs were exchanged as this is one of the few times in the year we get to see each other. After lounging about in various locations of the hotel, we got together in the evening in a specially reserved outdoor area where our President, Dave Morris, had an informal chat with the team. A meeting was then held with several senior members of the team and the night was capped off by a karaoke session.
On the second day, after breakfast, was when the more serious matters were taken up. Meetings and discussions were held throughout the day regarding several key projects. A conference was held in the late afternoon where the company’s direction was discussed. Front-End Development, Back-End Development, Design, QA, SEO, and Technical Writing teams each had prepared presentations on how they use AI in their work, and these were presented. This highlighted how AI can be leveraged to achieve our goals. Afterall, one must not only work hard, but also must work smart as well!
Post conference, each team member was presented with a gift pack as a token of appreciation from the company.
The highlight of the night was the DJ session, where we danced into the late hours of the night.
The third day was departure day. We had a short photo session by the lake with its beautiful scenery. Come departure time, we brought our packed bags to the lobby. After over 2 days of reveling in camaraderie, banter and friendly company, we felt refreshed and rejuvenated. After bidding goodbye to each other we went our separate ways, much looking forward to next year’s retreat.
