The workation. Work-a-tion. It’s three syllables and a portmanteau of two existing words we all know: work and vacation. A good workation lets you have it both ways; you can work during the day and have a vacation at night. You can go alone or organize a workation as a company, as we did as Team Consultday. 

Creativity and strategy 

By working in a new environment and away from the daily routine, a workation can stimulate creativity and offer new perspectives. Together, this can lead to increased productivity and fresh ideas. You can combine this with some company milestones; for example, going at the end of the calendar year to new year’s plans. The same goes for March/April to flesh out the second half of the year.  

The Consultday workation 

 That is exactly what we as Team Consultday did last week. Together, we left for Cascais, Portugal, for team building, internal workshops, and knowledge sharing and working remotely on ongoing projects at our clients.  

We set several goals before we left;  

• Team building. We are a fast-growing organization and are not together every day, not even always weekly.

• Brainstorming. 2025 is coming, time to solicit input regarding plans, strategies and our own direction.  

• Internal knowledge sharing. Workshops, co-working and asking each other for help. There is so much knowledge in our house, that becomes extra apparent during such a week.  

• Leading by example. We help organizations to digitally transform, which can also include remote working. We like to lead by example, preferably from Portugal.

Team building 

Team building starts with being together. Many times flying together, maybe even traveling towards Schiphol Airport as an early start. In Portugal, group building included eating out together on different days, as well as joint activities. Cruising through Lisbon in GoCars, a tour of a palace in Sintra, and great conversations and fun games. Teambuilding comes in many shapes and sizes with us.  

Teambuilding also exists with us by creating space for the individual. Every team has more introverted or extroverted types. Especially for the former, a workation can be quite a strain on the social battery. Build your team by allowing room to breathe. 

Brainstorming 

The new calendar year is just around the corner, time to connect the dots in terms of related plans. Where are we going as Consultday, how can we support organizations even better, and where are the new opportunities? Many new ideas that we will weigh and (possibly) develop in the upcoming time. 

Internal knowledge sharing 

Workshops, information sessions or learning something new in a game. We have a lot of specialized knowledge in house, spread across all teams and disciplines. A number of consultants shared their specific knowledge this week. From payroll, to data and analytics and overall business consultancy – common topics that lend themselves beautifully to a week like this.  

Internal knowledge sharing happens best when you’re together, when you make explicit time and space for it. That is why we organize monthly knowledge sessions at our office in Baarn and are an integral part of our annual workation.   

Leading by example 

 Workshops, information sessions, or learning something new in a game. We have a lot of specialized knowledge in house, spread across all teams and disciplines. A number of consultants shared their specific knowledge this week. From payroll to data and analytics and overall business consultancy – common topics that lend themselves beautifully to a week like this.  

Internal knowledge sharing happens best when you’re together, when you dedicate time and space for it. That is why we organize monthly knowledge sessions at our office in Baarn and they are an integral part of our annual workation.   

Workations, a world of content 

With thorough preparation, a diverse program and a good dose of enthusiasm from all participants, the workation is an all-in-one company activity. You can do a lot of brainstorming and strategizing without being distracted by other work, your team gets closer, your skin gets a little more tanned and -fair is fair- your marketing colleagues shoot enough photos for upcoming social posts and othercontent. For a blog like this, for example. 

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