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Guidance for in-person gatherings

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TL;DR

We want teams to get together! And, we want folks to plan their get-togethers thoughtfully, taking advantage of our office space and synchronizing with our company calendar when it makes sense to do so. Please use this guidance when planning in-person gatherings of Codans and complete this form to get Finance and People team support.

Philosophy

Why have an in-person gathering?

In our fully distributed company, in-person gatherings are one of our more powerful tools for building connection within and across teams. By occupying the same physical space and getting to know one another beyond our Zoom squares, we can build the trust and empathy that reduces the potential friction that comes with collaboration. Getting together is both fun and productive!

And, compared to working from home, it’s resource intensive (planning, time, travel, $$, putting on real pants) so we want Codans to be thoughtful about when, why and how they gather.

Note: we are intentionally using the term “gathering” (vs offsites or onsites) to be as explicit as we can about what we are aiming towards. We want to focus on the what, rather than the where.

Considerations

Decide who needs to be there

Who is getting together? There are a few different groupings of Codans that might want to get together. When we say team, we mean functions (eg Engineering or Sales), focus areas (eg Superserve), and/or investment areas (eg Monetization). Basically, a group of Codans who work together and would benefit from spending in-person time together.

Define your purpose

What are you accomplishing with this gathering? There are many reasons teams might want to get together - bonding with new teammates, getting aligned on a new strategy, visioning for the future, etc. Any Codan team gathering should have a clear purpose that aligns with needs of the business.

Be mindful of the company calendar

What’s happening when? We have anchor events (Hackathons, Codathon) for Coda-all basically every quarter. Those may not fit the needs of your team getting together, but they might. Think about whether tacking on to an existing event would make sense for your team, or not.

Use our offices

We have three beautiful offices that can easily host teams <20 without disrupting the folks who work regularly from those offices. Over 20 people, we can likely host, we just have to think about balancing the needs of the other Codans who utilize those offices for day-to-day work and the needs of your group. It would be a challenge for us to host multiple larger team gatherings in one of our offices at the same time.

Consult the Team Gathering Calendar to see when offices will be more or less crowded.

Design your gathering inclusively

When bringing folks together, consider how you can the experience comfortable and inclusive for everyone. Here are some examples of steps you can take to ensure inclusivity.

Have a remote option. Not everyone may be able to make the trip. Have a way for teammates to join remotely for as much of the gathering as possible.

Be considerate of working hours and trip length. Plan in advance and give time for folks to re-arrange their lives. Travel and team events can be disruptive for anyone with a routine, but particularly Codans who are caretakers.

Avoid relying on alcohol for connection. When it comes to celebrations, be sure to have EANABs (equally appealing non-alcoholic beverages) and make things fun for everyone, regardless of whether they drink or not.

Public health considerations

The People Team is staying abreast of the latest recommendations in terms of Covid safety and exposure. We will give you the most updated guidance on testing and public health measures to avoid Covid spread.

Logistics

Budget guidelines

As a general guidance, be conscious of spend. Travel costs are accounted for in our travel policy. By using offices, we can keep venue costs down.

For meals, aim for under $25/person/meal and having them in the office. We assume you’ll have one celebratory meal out and about that might include drinks and will likely rack up to more than $25/person - that’s fine, just be reasonable! As a reminder, we do review expense reports and would hate to have an awkward conversation if we see something extremely out of line.

For other activities, whether it be for fun or enrichment, you can go up to (but don’t have to!) $100/person to spend on experiences. Unsure what makes sense here? Reach out to the People team.

Timing guidelines

Check the 2023 calendar to see when the next time we are gathering as a company is happening. Depending on the nature of the gathering and the locations of your people, it may make sense to tack on to an existing event like a Hackathon. Or, it may makes sense to find a different time and spread the travel / in-person time out.

Partnering with the People Team

The People team is here to ensure you have what you need to make your gathering a success, and you feel empowered to make it your own!

Expectations of People Team, Gathering Team

Expectations of People Team, Gathering Team

Group

Responsibility

Office setup Once we know what you need, we can help make sure the office you choose is set up to support your needs

Porters & extra janitorial staff to ensure everything stays tidy

Communications to local offices We will let people working in the office know that the event is happening & guidance around any changes they might need to make to accommodate the gathering (work from home, work from wework), or extend the invite for local folks to join lunches or programming.

Space planning Think about what you need for your group and communicate that to the People Team. If you have a group that can fit in one or two conference rooms, please book those yourself via Google Calendar.

Content and communications for your gathering. You are best positioned to decide how to make the time most meaningful for your team and communicating that to the team. The People team is here to partner with you if you need support on content and can give you example docs for communications.

Some templates:

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Claire’s Offsite Toolkit⁠

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Meals You get to decide how to feed your people. If it’s a smaller group, hop on the local lunch train (2x/week in our offices). If you need suggestions of catering options or have a really big group, check out the catering options below. People Team can support you making decisions here.

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Process

Ready to plan a gathering? After reading the above Considerations & Logistics...

Get approval from your functional lead.

Let the Finance and Employee Experience teams know what you are planning by submitting the team gathering form. This step is required in order to get Finance approval, reserve office space, and ensure no conflicts with the company calendar. *Note: This form must be submitted at least 3 weeks in advance of your planned event.

Finance/EX will get back to you with the go-ahead, or guidance on what needs to change in order to make your gathering happen.

Thanks for working with us on this!

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In-person gatherings: Q&A