Twice a year, RVers from every office around the globe gather at our Charlotte, NC headquarters for a few jam-packed days of business updates, cross-team connection, and a little external stiumli. But over the last few months, we’ve been operating 100% remotely because of … well, a pandemic. There was no way we could bring 3,000 people together in one building this year. So, how do we host a company-wide event without gathering the masses? We Reboot!
To reboot means to start anew–making it the perfect name for our virtual company-wide event. Reboot was a way for us to gather from afar and realign in the midst of what has likely been our most challenging year yet. It allowed us to relish in our progress and achievements, review high-level business trends, connect with new teammates, and share inspiration–something we need now more than ever.
Here are five things we learned from our first-ever Reboot.
Anything is VIRTUALLY possible
Meeting in person wasn’t an option, which left one giant virtual Zoom gathering as our only choice. But, as we all know, technology is unpredictable. There were many details we needed to consider as we scoped out the obstacles: How will we host over 3,000 people in a webinar (and keep them engaged)? How will we create real connections through a screen?
After many brainstorming sessions, we landed on the right balance of pre-recorded content and live updates. We also gathered an amazing team of RVers from offices around the world to be our virtual hosts, helping us keep everyone’s spirits high and attention focused. With a little grit and a lot of creative thinking, we transformed our typical in-person event into a virtual success (pun intended).
Food Network doesn’t have anything on us
You can’t have a three-day event without food (because people get hungry). Since we couldn’t provide lunch for everyone, we provided delicious cook-along tutorials–led by our world-renowned RV culinary masters–via the magical, mystical, and very mysterious MYSTERY MEETUPS!
Our Mystery Meetup recipe tutorials included trendy coffee brews, sweet potato and avocado omelets, jalapeno popper cornbread muffins, smoky guacamole, turkey tacos, vegan hummus wraps, celery root bowls, Macau pork sandwiches, veggie lover’s pizza, and (for the really kitchen-savvy) a bowl of cereal.
Hold on, I’ll be right back. All of a sudden I’m REALLY hungry.
Crocs are the new Yeezy
One of the main pillars of Reboot was connection, so we used each day of the event to show our support for the communities we love. On Day 1, we wore our favorite color–classic RV red. On Day 2, we wore every color of the rainbow to celebrate Pride Month and our LGBTQ+ community. On Day 3, we wore black to stand in solidarity with We ARE–our diversity-focused employee resource group–and the Black community. Each day, we also provided matching Zoom backgrounds to visually amplify our unity within our virtual setting. Our event host, Taylor Goddard, stunned in his bright teal Crocs on Pride day.
Speaking of Pride, we were thrilled to welcome trans popstar Kim Petras to our Reboot festivities! Kim joined The Points Guy, Brian Kelly, for a Pride-focused Q&A session and helped us wrap up Reboot with a stellar live virtual performance. Thanks, Kim!
We ARE getting better every day
In the wake of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, we saw the weight of centuries of social injustice bearing down on the shoulders of our teammates, and we knew we needed to create space for healing and learning. To do this, we dedicated the third and final day of Reboot to topics of Diversity & Inclusion.
Led by We ARE, a panel of external speakers — featuring Asha Belk, John Henry, & Michelle Kim — shared their experiences of racism with us, and taught us invaluable lessons on how we can move forward to create a better reality. We also got to hear from our Chief Diversity Officer and D&I leadership team on how we as a company are going to be the change we wish to see in the world.
We can get through anything together
We rely on our communities to help us cope during difficult times, but our remote settings have made it difficult to provide that support for one another. This is why Reboot was so important. It proved that the physical distance between us does not diminish the strength of our connections and the resilience of our communities.
We can’t wait until it’s safe to gather and celebrate our culture with our teammates again. Until then, reminisce with us on some of our favorite past events–like Culture FEST!
