The most wonderful time of the year has arrived, and I don't mean fall or the major U.S. holiday season. I’m talking about the time of year when Formstackers everywhere gather for our annual all-company meetup.
This year’s All Hands event took place just outside Chicago at Eaglewood Resort and Spa. To usher in the month of October, most of the team—which now includes over 120 employees from 75 cities and 6 countries—came together for a week of growth, community, and fun.All Hands 2017 was the fifth annual gathering for the Formstack team, and it was the most momentous to date. Here’s why:
- The group was noticeably larger than in past years (nearly double the numbers from our 2016 event).
- The meetup came on the heels of Formstack’s acquisition of Fast Forms, and all eight Fast Forms team members were able to attend as an official welcome to the Formstack family.
Want an inside look at how we united for an awesome week? Here are the highlights:
Growing Together
One of the main goals of Formstack’s annual All Hands gatherings is to build confidence in the company’s mission and vision for the upcoming year. To that end, All Hands 2017 included daily presentations and meetings aimed at informing, engaging, and uniting Formstackers. What exactly did the presentations cover? A little bit of everything:
- Removing complexity to get work done
- Understanding Fast Forms (now Formstack for Salesforce) and the AppExchange
- Welcoming global diversity in the workforce and customer base
- Building customer communities and bettering our local communities
Other unifying events from the week included CEO Chris Byers memorizing and reciting all 122 employee names and home cities, business guru and serial entrepreneur Kristian Andersen joining us as a powerful guest speaker, and long-time Formstackers receiving recognition for milestone anniversaries (three, five, and seven years). Oh, and did I mention all the swag?!
Giving Back
For the first time in Formstack’s remote company history, all team members participated in a service project together. Since we’re a distributed team, group volunteer work typically isn’t possible. But we made it happen at All Hands 2017!The Formstack team stopped by St. James Farm—a forest preserve in DuPage County, Illinois—to help harvest seeds for the preserve. In just two hours of work, we picked enough seeds to restore over 10 acres of forest preserve! The weather was great, and we really enjoyed ourselves (as you can see below).
Additionally, Formstack announced a bigger focus on volunteerism going forward. The company has formed a volunteer team to help research and coordinate volunteer efforts. And every Formstack employee is now allowed to use eight paid hours per quarter for volunteer efforts of their choosing.
Having Fun
If you know anything about Formstack, it’s that we know how to have a good time. And All Hands 2017 was no exception! From an afternoon of team-building (and brain-busting) activities organized by Windy City Fieldhouse (WCF), to a few competitive games of bowling and WhirlyBall, to a 1980s-themed farewell party (complete with costumes and 80s trivia), fun times were had by all. To see for yourself, check out these photo highlights:
Team "Another One Bites the Dust" assembled this wooden structure in 14 seconds—just one second away from the all-time record.
A group of Formstackers played WhirlyBall, a team sport that combines lacrosse and bumper cars.
The 80s night attire was fresh. ;)
It’s hard to believe All Hands 2017 has come and gone, but—as always—we’ve returned with stronger bonds and a shared sense of urgency and purpose. Onward!
What a crew! (Don't mind the unicorn.)
Check out what our team did for All Hands last year down below!
