The whey flowed out of the net and the white granular cheese mass remained stuck. The two employees who were hoisting the cream-white net were as fascinated with the catch as the observing group of colleagues standing around. Real cheese will mature from this in two months, only now it looks like a noble milk product. For two hours we had stirred, cut and whisked the milk mass manually. The invested time has paid off. Crashing thunder came over the Nüenalp, it became very fresh and wet very quickly, while the sense of community was strengthened. Team retreats, a growing trend in the corporate world, connect employees at different levels and create a real team atmosphere. Studies show that such events will change the pace of communication, boost the team, encourage cross-departmental collaboration and strengthen internal bonds.
The idea came from the company founders. They were looking for a place outside the company, at first somewhat mysteriously, to create a surprise effect. So it became a half day seminar conference in the seminar hotel Römerturm in Filzbach and a half day team event. We decided to go to the mountains with a somewhat relaxed morning for the meeting, with coffee and croissants, some brainstorming and exchanging criticism, in order to go even higher with the Kerenzerberg cable car afterwards. That wasn't enough, after that a thirty minute walk had to be completed to let highly trained academics from the data preparation industry get down to cheese in a quiet place. It was one of the best days in recent years on the Kerenzerberg, a high plateau above Lake Walen in the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland.
This Company Retreat gave some distance to the daily tasks and developed a new overall thinking. Employees who work around the clock throughout the year help retreats to pause the stress of completing daily tasks so that they can break out of the details and develop a big picture for the future. It is a way to take time to learn about the personalities of colleagues and to experience what makes each other stand out. It's a sensible investment in the business.
The team explores something new together, in an interesting environment, and almost playfully opens the door to learn more about each other. Companies increasingly report that these retreats help to refocus and facilitate important company-wide decisions. It is definitely a way to show employees that they are loved and appreciated. Team retreats are a chance to just hang out as a group, laugh and talk to gently teach others, and employees report that it is a time to relax together, a break from the stress of everyday life. They don't know what they don't know, need colleagues to help them see things from a different perspective. In this way, new relations are understood and the brain is refreshed. One feels appreciated and understood, bonds are formed. Most importantly, one looks forward to the coming working day after the trip. Another important element of any retreat is what happens after it is over.
The nice lady who helped create and explain the group cheese-making brought a large light wooden bucket of pasta, cheese, applesauce and caramelized onions to the rustic wooden table. We had just admired the pigs, listened to a lesson on cow-feeding, and finished exploring the rooms of Nüenalp. It was dinner time. The freshly prepared Ziger Hörnli with a fine glaze of egg, milk and refined with a decent portion of cream, concluded the mountain experience day.
Finally we were allowed to ride down the alp with the scooter, steeply down. One of the colleagues was much faster than most of the others, stopped more often and shot with the camera behind every second curve shots of racing colleagues on the scooter. A spectacular ride in heavy rain, with wind in the face, slippery leaves under the wheels and countless curvy turns. But every soaked head on the slightly rickety scooters knew exactly; behind or in front of me is someone I can rely on.
