Hackathon, treasure hunting & more: Highlights from Leapsome’s spring 2022 offsite

A huge part of what has made Leapsome so successful is our wonderful people and company culture. With so much to be proud of — including our Series A funding, the upcoming opening of our NYC office, growing team, and happy customers —, it was time for another company-wide offsite to celebrate wins and strengthen our bond. 

This time, we stayed at Schloss & Gut Ulrichshusen, an estate a few hours away from our Berlin HQ. Surrounded by tranquil lakes and sprawling fields, it was the perfect setting to pause, reflect, toast to our wins, and nurture innovation and collaborative thinking. 

And we’d love to share highlights of this experience with you!
‍

🏴‍☠️ Treasure hunting

The friendly staff at Gut Ulrichshusen greeted us with snacks and drinks — the good German tradition of having coffee and cake in the afternoon! Afterwards, it was time for an exciting treasure hunt. 

In groups of four, we put our heads together to solve riddles and follow clues left around the entire estate — all organized by a very creative internal committee! The final task led some to wade into the lake to secure the final clue and retrieve the treasure; in true pirate fashion, the lucky winners found themselves a bottle of rum and gold coins (well, made of chocolate 🍫).

‍

🎈BBQ & Pub quiz

We ended the first evening on a high note: with a barbecue and a pub quiz! In groups, we explored our knowledge of Berlin and New York culture, music, celebrities, and Leapsome expertise.

Having our founders Jenny and Kajetan participate gave two teams a bit of an advantage on the latter, but another team still won! 😉

‍

🧠 Leapsome Hackathon

Before the offsite, we collected what people thought were some of the most important topics we should further explore at Leapsome right now. The goal was to dedicate a concentrated time to brainstorming solutions in cross-department groups — a company “hackathon!” 

Some of the chosen topics were: 

• DEI initiatives
• How to foster a culture of innovation
• Becoming the largest, most useful, and most engaged community for HR professionals (with our People Over Perks Slack community)
• Preserving our special company culture
• Staying connected as we grow larger
• Employer branding
• Hiring for junior-level roles

Once divided into teams, we set out to come up with ideas together and prepared a pitch to present our proposed initiatives and solutions to the other colleagues. 

After listening to each team’s presentation and evaluating their solutions, it was time to vote on the group we thought had the most innovative ideas and an engaging pitch.

Ultimately, the top three projects were: 

• DEI strategy
• Environmental initiatives
• Finding a better way to drive meaningful connection and information-sharing via different formats in Slack

These projects will now be tackled by the company, considering the solutions presented by the Leapsome Hackathon teams.

‍

⛵️ Testing our survival skills: Raft building & team sports

After putting our heads to work, it was time to get moving! We set out to the nearby lake, where our teamwork was put to the test once again. This time, our task was to build our own rafts that would (hopefully) allow us to sail on the lake. 

Some teams unveiled hidden carpentry skills, building catamarans with the barrels and wood provided to us, while others had a more pragmatic approach and tried to use the barrels by themselves to float.

All teams succeeded and deployed their rafts onto the lake. After a refreshing time spent on (and for some, in) the water, we recharged in the sun. One of our colleagues at Leapsome, a licensed yoga instructor, hosted a movement session — followed by games of badminton and soccer.

‍

🥳 Party time!

Part of what makes work fulfilling for the Leapsome team is having fun and spending time celebrating our achievements and each other. So, of course, we had to wrap our offsite with a proper party!

We’ve already achieved so much in 2022 — from our Series A funding to growing our team and serving over 1,000 customers worldwide — and this is more than enough cause for celebration.

There was music, dancing, games, and a fully stocked bar. The weather blessed us with a beautiful sunset and a mild night to enjoy outside around the fire. 

‍

👋 Saying goodbye — and looking forward to so much more

Our offsite ended with a late breakfast and a joint bus ride for those of us heading back to Berlin. We were surely tired, but grateful for the time we spent together. We look forward to more opportunities to connect with each other and making more amazing memories together.
‍

💙 Want to join us next time & help us make work fulfilling for everyone?

Leapsome is hiring for many positions! And we’d love to get to know you.

👉 Apply now