Event Report: Recursive Holds Company Retreat to Accelerate Value Creation

Authors: Oktay Kurtulus (Head of Corporate), Rie Le Maître (Corporate Associate)

Our recent company retreat was more than just a day away from the office. Taking a moment to step back, reflect, and bond with your team is not only beneficial but also essential to further accelerate our business. That is precisely what we aimed for in our recent one-day company retreat, on Friday, March 15, 2024 and oh, what a day it was! If you are interested in Recursive, please read until the end!

Setting the Stage with Keynote Speeches

Our day kicked off with keynote speeches and objective key results presentations by our leadership team which aimed to provide clarity on our company's overarching vision and objectives for the fiscal year. We used this opportunity to recap our success and failure stories in the previous fiscal year and shared our learnings with the whole team.

Our CEO, Tiago, is presenting company vision and strategy for the new fiscal year.

Our COO, Toshi, is dropping exciting news regarding company goals.

The presentations served two purposes: One, they allowed us to realign our individual goals with the broader organizational mission, fostering a sense of purpose and unity, and two, they helped our new members to get a good grip on our company vision and priorities. The session ended with a lively Q&A session in which many members asked various questions, fostering an insightful, engaging, and an interactive dialogue between the leadership team and members.

Our members asked many questions to the leadership team following the OKR presentations.

Lunch and Group Photo Session

Before munching on some nice lunch following the presentations, our members took some time to take some memorable group photos in a great setting. As a fast-growing, hybrid-work style company with members spanning Japan and overseas, it was certainly a moment to remember to cherish and capture everyone together.

Recursive core members, doing their best to make Recursive logo with their hands

It is also worth mentioning that for this year's company retreat, we had the exciting opportunity to immerse ourselves in "Link Forest," the brand new training facilities offered by KDDI Learning Inc. KDDI Learning, a distinguished subsidiary of our esteemed client, KDDI, opened their doors for our company retreat and provided us an experience that is nothing short of spectacular, blending state-of-the-art amenities with an innovative learning environment.

Link Forest Training Facilities in Tama, Tokyo. Source: https://link-forest.jp/

Icebreaker Workshops: Bonding Through Games

After lunch, we moved on to icebreaker workshops. The aim of these activities was to connect with other team members through games. It was a moment to share the laughter, the mistakes, and the unstoppable sense of unity.

Project Management team’s out of the box solution to “Tall Tower Challenge.”

Engineer team’s seems to master the game… do they ?

Workshops Galore

After the icebreaker, we did workshops which were focused on team building and goal setting. These weren't your run-of-the-mill sessions; each workshop was designed to be as engaging as well as educational. While acknowledging our successes is vital, what is equally as important is recognizing areas where we can grow. Through a Strength-Weakness-Opportunities-Threats analysis, we identified key areas for improvement and brainstormed strategies to overcome challenges collectively.

Our workshops for this retreat mark the initial step towards a comprehensive understanding of our strategic landscape, emphasizing the importance of applying these insights in real-world scenarios. Adhering to the 70-20-10 rule for learning and development, we recognize that the bulk of our valuable knowledge will be acquired through hands-on experiences and collaborative efforts, beyond the confines of such training.

Finishing the retreat with a wholesome Award Ceremony

We also took the time to celebrate our peers with an award ceremony, recognizing their embodiment of our Company Values: Trust & Cooperation, Leadership, Impact, and Challenger Mentality. Among them, one of our youngest members, Shuying, received the Excellence Award for embodying all of our 4 values since joining as a new graduate. From heartfelt speeches to peer recognition, we celebrated our collective achievements. Cheers to our incredible team!

For Challenger Mentality, we got 3 recipients! Left to right: David (Machine Learning Engineer), Giuliano (Software Engineer), our CEO Tiago, and Shuying (Business Development).

Our CEO, Tiago (left), awarding Quentin (Project Manager) for both Impact and Trust Cooperation.

From Izakaya to Karaoke

After a day of intense concentration, the evening was our time to let loose. Our first stop? An izakaya in Shinjuku, where laughter and stories flowed. But the fun didn't stop there. Next up was karaoke, a universal equalizer where we cheered each other on regardless of vocal talent, proving that a team that sings together, stays together. And yes, we did discover some hidden talents that night!

Our team is nailing the classic Japanese song, Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze by Yoko Takahashi.

The Voice of Our Team

As the day came to a close, we collected feedback from our team. Many highlighted the retreat as a good moment for team cohesion. "It was a lovely event and I think especially for people that just joined like me it was a great team building event. I got the chance to talk in person to many collaborators that otherwise I would have only met virtually" shared one team member. Another remarked, "The location was a nice change of pace, the award ceremony was really wholesome, and the after-party + karaoke were a blast!"

“Take my picture as if I am not aware.”

What’s Next?

Our one-day company retreat was more than just a series of activities; it was a kick off for the journey that awaits our team for this year. A journey that not only reminds us the excitement of our goals, but also the undeniable strength that lies in our diversity that will help us overcome the myriad of challenges that we will face along the way. Here's to Recursive and to many more success!

Recursive team, more diverse than ever.