Igniting Team Relationships at Google’s Offsite in Vietnam
“Within the space of an hour, we saw beautiful new authentic connections flourish within the team, with people sharing vulnerably, and visibly able to dive deeper into topics that ultimately enabled us to create a stronger team identity, vision, and set of values. The team felt energized and connected after, and I would strongly recommend this flow for any team that is aiming to feel more seen, heard, and connected together.”
The Challenge
The Google team across Southeast Asia wanted to organize an offsite in Vietnam, focusing on strengthening personal connections and psychological safety between team members. Aaqib Hasnain, leader of their 40-person team, was looking for solutions that could help his team feel connected in an authentic and meaningful way during their offsite. He was constrained in hiring an external facilitator to the event so he searched for a solution that they could run easily and independently with little training required.
Our Solution
“Warmspace is capable of delivering powerful and impactful team experiences without the need for a professional facilitator.”
Our solution included a 5-minute Ignite followed by a 45-minute Align flow, which was completely self-facilitated by the Google team using Warmspace on their handheld devices. The Ignite served as a warm-up to get everyone used to sharing and to ground them in the present moment, as well as help them connect meaningfully with their matched partner. Align is a fast-paced flow that uses our 4-2-2-4 method: it starts with a check-in, splits the group into smaller groups of 2-3 to complete their align questions, and then brings everyone back together for a reflect. The result is a team that feels more aligned with the organization’s purpose and united as a team.
Members of the Google SEA Marketing Team split into groups of 2-3 people during their Align flow.
To execute a flawless self-facilitation, we spent some time coordinating with the team before-hand and training them on how to use our platform and complete a session. With no app installation necessary, there would be no hassle or confusion with downloading apps onto personal devices - everything could be done by simply scanning a QR code which would open the session in a browser tab.
When it came time for the event, the Google team conducted the session successfully on their own without any external facilitator. This showcases that Warmspace is capable of delivering powerful and impactful team experiences without the need for a pricey consultant. After the experience, participants reported feeling more connected, appreciative, and energized, with everyone praising the delightful flow of the session.
The Impact
The overall impact was clear: participants were remarkably more energized after their Warmspace sessions. The self-guidance was received well by the tech-savvy team, which allowed them to fully immerse in the experience. Ignite served as a great way to break down barriers and allow colleagues to connect in truly meaningful ways that they rarely experienced before.
Our live insights allowed the whole team to understand the group sentiment and for Aaqib to understand how his team was feeling after the flow. The word cloud below shows the words participants used to describe their feelings after their sessions, which reflects a sentiment of love, connectedness and appreciation.
If you’re curious about bringing Warmspace to your team offsite, learn more here.
About Google
Google is an American multinational technology company founded in 1998, focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence.
