Summer Retreat 2022: There and Back Again!

As someone who joined the ranks of Atolye15 only two weeks before the Summer Retreat of 2021, I could hardly wait for this year’s event to arrive. Especially as one of the “veterans” of the Summer Retreat concept, my excitement was through the roof! This three-day-long experience got us in such a positive mood that I wanted to walk you through those three days from the perspective of an insider.

First things first, I would like to start by emphasizing Atolye15’s general stance on in-house events and the importance it attaches to team happiness. In every second of each event, you can feel that the starting point of our marketing team when planning these organizations is to always provide exciting and unforgettable experiences for our teammates. And this event was no exception. We spent extremely enjoyable three days which were meticulously planned by taking into account the schedules of the previous retreats in order to avoid repetition, and we took part in experiences that opened new horizons for the whole team and allowed us to engage in activities that we could not even think of doing on our own.

A separate parenthesis about Summer Retreat should surely be opened for our welcome kit as well! The jerseys personalized with our names and preferred numbers which were specifically designed for the event’s scheduled sports activities and packages filled with carefully thought-out and impeccably crafted items — beautiful but also functional enough to be used daily — were all waiting for us on our beds as soon as we stepped foot into our rooms. Needless to say, I immediately snapped a quick photo of the whole kit, put on my new t-shirt, and rushed to the assembly point. Just by looking at the spark in the eyes of my teammates, I could easily tell that they were impressed with the kit as much as I was. As we walked through the hotel together in our identical t-shirts and hats, it felt like the whole team was just one unified body. And every single one of us was like a kid, cheerful and zappy!

It was quite clear that the planning process of this year’s Summer Retreat was heavily influenced by last year’s feedback gathered from the entire team. First and foremost, we played the return match of last retreat’s beach volleyball game. Then, skipping the water polo goal posts by the pool for this year, we competed in the miniature football tournament wearing our extremely cool jerseys which has been a dream come true for all of us. But the biggest surprise in store for us was our incredible boat party right off the coast of Marmaris during a wonderful sunset! When I first saw the boat anchored by the pier of our hotel and the most famous DJ of Marmaris at the fancy DJ booth, I remember thinking to myself: “No way!” It was an excellent feeling to end the day on one of the most stunning coastlines of Marmaris, sipping our cocktails and special Summer Retreat beers!

Both during and after the retreat, each conversation we had with our team made it quite obvious that everyone shared the same excitement as me and that they were all ecstatic to be a part of this family! But the sentence that best summed up Atolye15’s vision and the positive impact it had on the team was this: “What we haven’t conquered yet is only the sky and the underwater, what’s next now?”

Personally, I think that an extraordinary vision is needed to organize such an event, which might be perceived as merely a “vacation” from outside the company. After all, we’re talking about a team that names the position, Marketing Specialist, as “Happiness Manager.” :) But honestly, no one could have expected less from a team that’s committed to caring about people at the maximum level and adopting a vision that puts creating brand new experiences for its employees — both technical and social — above all product development processes.

Before you leave, here is your cue to take a closer look at this event by checking out our video on YouTube!
Have a great day!