The teambuildings at Stenik are always the best
The scale of the annual team buildings at Stenik has been on a steady rise since Greece in 2016, followed by Pamporovo in 2017, then Serbia in 2018 and Trigrad in 2019. Eventually, we reached Panagyurishte in 2021. After each conducted team building, we collect feedback from the team to see if they liked the organization and overall experience. What we have learned over the past years is that there has always been a tremendous positive growth.
We have often shared that our team knows how to have fun together outside the office. Every gathering of ours proves and reaffirms this.
Read about what happened in Panagyurishte in June 2021.
We stunned the team-building agency...
The teambuilding in Panagyurishte 2021 was yet another team event that will be talked about for a long time. The difference this time was that not only did our team say it was the best team building so far, but we also received recognition from the EnterEvent teambuilding agency. Their representatives and action program coordinators, Bozho and Zhorо, were very delighted. During the confession round after the final game, they shared that they rarely see such a united team enthusiastically participating in the games, with no one shying away or complaining. The amazing professionals from the EnterEvent agency couldn't hide their positive emotions about how everyone from our team was fully engaged and motivated.
Their words not only delighted us but also instilled confidence and self-assurance that together we can achieve many more successes and conquer new heights in the field of online store development.
"The code game" in harsh conditions
The most impressive part was our team's performance in the challenge called "The code game".
The game itself, prepared by EnterEvents, was extremely interesting, with elements of logical thinking, physics, accuracy, and precision. We positioned ourselves in a nearby wooded area where, besides facing the challenges set by EnterEvent, our team also confronted the forces of nature. The weather surprised us with rain (occasionally accompanied by a lightning show), wind and relatively cool conditions, but these factors didn't affect our sportsmanship and performance in any way. Divided into two teams, none of us gave up - we ran, defied gravity, exercised our minds and tested our precision, communication and teamwork skills to the maximum!
Despite the challenging field, all players engaged in the game with all their strength and half of them had their raincoats fly off during the battle. Each of us was ready to give our all on the field, just as we do in both work and personal life! No one held back their strength; we all ran, solved the puzzles, so that the better team could achieve victory.
However, in the end, we realized that even though both teams competed with all their might, the ultimate result in the game could only be achieved by uniting our efforts. This approach also applies to our work on e-commerce projects for Stenik's clients.
Warm up for champions with "Mission possible"
To get the necessary energy to burst into "The code game," our friends from EnterEvent prepared a suitable warm up and starting game. Right after the morning coffee, we warmed up with a few exercises and mini-games to awaken and prepare us for the upcoming unexpected challenges.
After the warm up, we divided into two teams and for that purpose, each of us individually chose whether to be a cow or a sheep - entirely randomly and without suspecting anything. Thus, unsuspectingly, quite honestly and randomly, we determined who they would be. Of course, we also selected captains, battle cries and names for each team, without which the game's excitement wouldn't be the same. And so, we formed the two teams - the Shepherds and the Diamond.
After the team division, we had the warm-up game "Mission possible", during which we completed various challenges, each carrying a certain number of points. We documented each task with photos or videos as evidence. Everything was accompanied by lots of laughter. The game made us wake up, think creatively and get moving, warming us up for the upcoming challenges.
Time for meaningful conversations and overview
We always make an effort to allocate time for meaningful conversations during each team building. It's a time where we can calmly exchange ideas, discuss best practices, share personal experiences and propose improvements to our work processes. Some of the topics we discussed included:
- Acknowledging and rewarding the excellent work of the teams on projects for our clients and internal projects at Stenik;
- Inspiring individual teams such as Dev, Design, Support, PM, Sales & Marketing departments and working on enhancing the leadership qualities of their team leaders;
- Discussing our regular Fridays, where we don't work on client tasks but focus on internal projects, training, and skill development for the team to deliver better products and services to our clients;
- A plan to shorten the workweek to 37 hours and have even freer Fridays;
- Enhancing our internship and young talent training program, providing opportunities for development and long-term careers in the field of online stores.
"Boom-boom" surprise for the finale
The whole adventure ended up with an unexpected surprise from the management of Stenik. Before heading back to Sofia, we learned that another destination awaited us - the Optix shooting range in Panagyurishte. For many of us, it was a new experience and successfully filled us with a fresh dose of adrenaline. At this unexpected location, we fired 9mm pistols and Kalashnikov rifles. In addition to the standard target we've seen only on television, we also engaged in an exciting interactive 3D visualization. It transported us to a forest where we turned into real hunters and virtually targeted wild game. No animals were harmed during the team building! In fact, many cats were fed :)
There was also time for walks in nature
At Stenik, we are well-organized. Despite the challenging and adrenaline-filled program, we still had time to enjoy the history and nature of Panagyurishte.
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We managed to visit the historical museum in the city, where a replica of the Panagyurishte Gold Treasure is located. We delved into the city's contribution to Bulgarian history and explored its unique museum exhibits. We also visited the house of Rayna Knyaginya, again a key figure in Bulgarian history, especially during the April Uprising. During our tour, the museum hosts were kind enough to present a short film about the life and achievements of the great Bulgarian woman. We didn't miss the opportunity to visit the locality of Oborishte, where the first Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria took place in history.
You can see more photos from the Panagyurishte 2021 team building on our Facebook page.
Looking forward to the next teambuilding
At Stenik, we have created an environment that motivates more than half of our employees to work for over 6 years in the company and everyone starts their workday with a smile and joy because they know they will learn something new and because they are among wonderful friends. We are eagerly looking forward to the next team building and its location.
If you wish to be a part of it and join the Stenik team, visit the careers page.
