18 August 2021
After a period of only seeing most of our colleagues from the chest upwards during video calls, it was time for a real get-together again. This time, the SparkOptimus team took the latter part of the motto ‘work hard, play hard’ rather literally: We met for a fun game-day at the western fringes of Amsterdam.
But first the work: The day started early with a training session for all managers. Removed from the daily business, the team learned, discussed, and brainstormed the morning away in one of the repurposed hangars at the location. After lunch, the rest of the Sparkies, coming from the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland – all vaccinated or tested – joined for the rest of the program. Even a few of the new-joiners who will start early next month bravely took the opportunity to meet their new colleagues in this special environment.
Grouped randomly in different teams, all Sparkies set to the first task: come up with a name for their game team, design a team flag and practice a team cheer! When all chants were demonstrated and ranked, the teams were ready for the real “Robinson” survival challenges. Redirecting water, solving puzzles, cracking codes, making fire, and building a slingshot – these and all the other tasks could only be solved when working together as a strong team!
Next to learning how to ‘fight’ a colleague with a rope, the Sparkies surely got to see some surprising facets of their teammates’ personalities playing each of the games.
With all riddles solved and the prizes collected, it was finally time to mingle with a few cool drinks and a delicious barbeque. With the great weather and the sand at their feet, some Sparkies even had some extra energy for a match of beach volleyball!
What a great way to finally get together with the whole team to celebrate the summer!