On May 13-15, we were able to gather most of the Telcion team in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee for a company retreat—it was a blast!

Because Telcion’s team is primarily remote and spread out across the country from coast to coast, we don’t usually see each other in person that often. So we decided to get ourselves out of our usual day-to-day and get the company together in person. Getting face time with each other and working together in person was a unique and special opportunity to grow and strengthen our connections internally, which makes it easier for us to serve our clients!

Why Prioritize Face-to-face Connection?

Telcion is all about remote work and the flexibility that provides, but we also firmly believe that being in-person matters. Webex meetings enable us to stay connected via high-quality video and audio technology, but it’s just not the same as being together in person.

Face-to-face connection enables a sort of communication that is impossible to capture on video. Additionally, spending time together over multiple days created space for the sorts of organic, casual interactions that don’t happen in an online environment. We were able to eat together, chat and have conversation on breaks and in the evenings, play games and do puzzles, and have all sorts of small connection times throughout the retreat that bred warmth and togetherness, and strengthened our core purposes.

Spending time together face-to-face also created an environment where Telcion’s core values were able to be reinforced and made more cohesive within our company’s culture. Our core values are what Telcion is built off of, so it’s important to continue to strengthen them.

Telcion’s Core Values

Our core values are: transparency, curiosity, work ethic, and selflessness. The retreat was an exhibition of our core values for a few key reasons.

Transparency

One of the most valuable parts of the retreat was our ability to gather in-person for a company-wide meeting where the leadership team popped the hood (transparency!) and engaged everyone in dialogue about company vision and strategy. This was a great opportunity to interface as a whole team and reinforce cohesion—transparency fosters unity.

Curiosity

This trip set a great scene to see different personalities on the team blossom in a different light! We were able to learn about each other’s lives in a way that’s just not as accessible in an online environment. Being curious about different members of the team and asking good questions was a great way for us to connect and strengthen internal rapport.

Work Ethic

Our team members work really hard! We try to recognize this regularly and call out and commend exceptional work when we see it. It was good to be able to work together and encourage each other, whether it was working on the deck with the view of the Smoky Mountains, or taking a break playing Pac-Man in the basement. We work hard, but we also have a lot of fun, too.

Selflessness

From the tireless effort that went into planning the retreat, to individuals asking “how can I help,” to advice sharing and offering to listen, Telcion takes care of Telcion. Our team members are supportive of each other online and offline, but seeing friendly faces in person allows for that core value selflessness to be expressed in a special way. We hope that the retreat cultivated us all to be a little more selfless than we were when we came.

Photos from the trip!