Every year, our fully-remote team travels to St. Louis, Missouri, for a week of professional development and teambuilding. This annual event offers the only occasion many of us have to see each other, all together in-person.
So much has happened since last year’s week together! In the spirit of continuous development, we’ve expanded our virtual offerings, developed new and improved educational materials, celebrated the 200th opening of our licensed facilities, and welcomed 14 new faces to the team.
Batter Up!
Our first event knocked it out of the park at Busch Stadium where we watched the St. Louis Cardinals play the Kansas City Royals. While the Cardinals didn’t win, we left our Party Suite feeling like the real winners of the evening. Not only were the food and refreshments fantastic, but the quality of our reunion was even better. We all appreciated the opportunity to casually connect with coworkers in such a laid-back setting.
Professional Development
We spent the following day exploring our company culture through a workshop led by Matt Herzberg of Principled Transformation. Before this meeting, we were each asked to complete a survey, the results of which painted a picture of where our company culture stands: areas we as an organization excel in, and others where we might focus more attention. We were proud of our findings, as overall, they indicated strong leader fitness, team alignment and robust organizational health. Throughout the workshop, the importance of preserving our culture was reinforced.
During our lunch break, we celebrated 200 openings with many more to come!
Through several group discussions and exercises, we learned actionable tools to help us improve both our team and company-wide collaboration and communication. Thanks to the various exercises guided by Matt, we came away from this professional development session with a renewed appreciation for the uniquely welcoming, productive, and supportive culture Pritikin has cultivated. Beyond that, we are acutely aware of the effort required – by each and every one of us - to maintain that strong culture.
Teambuilding
After our day of professional development, we strengthened our culture further by strengthening our relationships with each other in an informal setting. While it’s always great to spend time with our respective teammates, we especially appreciate opportunity to get to know those we might not get to work with as often.
Our first stop was a casual dinner at Bishop’s Post. Afterwards, we were shuttled to a top-secret entertainment spot conveniently named Main Event. We were lucky as we nearly had the whole place to ourselves! Upon our arrival, folks were able to pick from a myriad of activities including arcade games, bowling, laser tag, an obstacle course, and billiards. It was an experience we won't soon forget!
Lake Day!
We rounded out our time together as we always do, in Rhineland, Missouri where we enjoyed the great outdoors. Unlike in years past, the weather was a bit cooler, so instead of water sports being the main attraction [some brave souls in the bunch jumped in!], we enjoyed fishing, walks, ATV rides, Giant Jenga, lawn games, and each other’s company.
This year’s professional development and teambuilding events helped to reaffirm that we really do hire big hearts – not only that, each one of us has a critical role to play in fostering our company’s overall culture. A culture is only as strong as its people, and we’ve got some of the best! Working together, we are able to make a real difference in countless lives of cardiac rehabilitation patients all over the country while also ensuring Pritikin ICR is a great organization to work for!
Every single person on our nationwide team - scattered from coast to coast - is dedicated to inspiring and empowering all people and communities to live heart-healthy lives, eager to lend a helping hand, and excited to plan for our continued growth. We are grateful to have shared another meaningful and memorable week together, and are already looking forward to next year!
