A Mexican celebration and summit

No. of delegates: 110

Location: Cancun, Mexico

Event type: Employee engagement

Industry: Technology

Event objectives:

With team members from all across the globe, this large tech company operates entirely remotely. Having recently experienced a growth spurt across the organisation, and in the face of global pandemic travel restrictions, this client hadn’t been able to conduct an in person annual meeting with the new, expanded team. At this annual meeting, the client wanted to align their targets for the coming year, but more specifically, this event was about bringing people together. Family and children of the team were also invited to this event, reinforcing how this meeting in Mexico was about creating the deep, strong relationships between the new team, in order to facilitate the delivery of their strategy. 

 

 

Event overview:

This event was designed to create an abundance of opportunities for fun and socialising as well as strategising for the coming year. The first day of the trip was marked with a poolside buffet, a relaxed environment where the team would be meeting for the first time as they arrived at the resort. Later that day, guests enjoyed a welcome dinner, with all 80 attendees and 30 guests, located on a gorgeous rooftop next to the beach. 

The First Event onsite team were always available at the 24/7 hospitality desk, ready to answer any questions or solve any queries the attendees had, leaving them free to focus on making the most of the trip itself. The conference during the daytime intentionally had no set agenda, designed to reflect the agile and unique culture the organisation. There was also a remote working space, meaning attendees could work remotely for the whole week, creating the space for everyone to work collaboratively together for the first time. Activities and events were also organised for the families and non working delegates. Such as a trip to the world renowned archaeological site, Rio Secreto in Tulum and a tour of the cave systems.

The highlight of the trip was the team cook off. Something that had previously been organised in house, this cook off allowed the multinational team to bring the heat in the kitchen and create the best dish for team members to enjoy. Adding the First Event twist to this loved tradition within the team, attendees could unleash their culinary flare in our masterchef inspired version of this cook-off. With bountiful store sections that contestants could run between to grab key ingredients and industrial level cooking sections with BBQs and grills, attendees loved competing for the title in this once in a lifetime cooking experience.  

Results:

Our client’s vision for this event was as unique as they are, but it was a vision that they were able to see come to fruition tenfold. The client loved the fact that the First Event team had hand picked an all inclusive venue, as this meant the team could stay together and socialise in the same space throughout the trip. Tables were pre booked for the client throughout the resort, making as many opportunities as possible for socialising and building relationships. Core strategy secured in the daily meetings, this trip also saw key relationships being forged throughout this newly expanded team. 

“It was our first time working with an agency for our annual team-wide gathering at an international location. After organising these ourselves for years, it was an adventurous challenge to find the best way to work together but First Event worked hard to understand our needs and put together what we wanted. Their help and support during the event were great and allowed our internal planning team to enjoy themselves as the FE team was there to deal with any issues and further planning. The event was a success for our team!”

Natasa Kyvetou – People Operations & Team Happiness