Out of Office, Together

What It Covers

37signals holds twice-yearly company meetups for their remote team, alternating between North America and Europe. They require minimal scheduled sessions, focusing instead on trust-building and high-intensity collaborative work periods together.

Key Questions Answered

• •Minimal required sessions: Only two mandatory daytime sessions across the week—Monday all-hands and Thursday peer appreciation—plus one dinner. Everything else remains optional, allowing spontaneous collaboration and preventing schedule fatigue that undermines relationship-building goals.
• •Trust battery charging: In-person meetups every six months recharge workplace relationships that drain over time in remote settings. Without regular face-to-face contact, written communication reads harsher and colleagues become avatars rather than humans, degrading collaboration quality and workplace satisfaction.
• •Strategic release timing: Schedule major product launches and account closures during meetups to transform mundane digital tasks into shared ceremonies. 37signals launched products and executed their cloud exit on-stage during meetups, creating collective memorable moments that strengthen team bonds.
• •Location strategy matters: Rural retreat settings keep teams together more than city meetups where people scatter to explore. Whistler's remote location increased spontaneous interactions and personal connections despite longer travel times, particularly for European employees requiring eighteen-hour journeys.