Sure, we’re only a team of 35 so it is relatively easy for us to speak up, contribute ideas and generally take matters into our own hands. Nevertheless, we’re always committed to taking everyone out of the business once a quarter so that we can work on the business, not in the business.

So, for this year’s Summer Camp we were taken to the depths of the picture perfect New Forest to take our learnings from the year and refresh our perspective on how to deliver the most wildly effective solutions our clients have ever seen.

From the start of our arrival we were met with some intimidating obstacles, which took the form of a mixture of mental and physical tasks; testing not only our patience, but also our creative thinking and ability to work together! We began by attempting (and successfully completing, might I add!) to traverse a team of 8 over a 12 foot wall and finished the day with a challenge involving tyres, watering cans and a ping pong ball (and no easy explanation)!

However, aside from these challenges, our main objective was to brainstorm ideas of how each of us can make a difference in the company and work together to provide better client experience. Despite having a Net Promoter Score in the 70’s (not that we’re boasting!) we are still striving to ensure that the whole organisation, from project delivery through to back office support, puts our client at the heart of everything we do.

In order to improve on our current ways of working, we decided to step into our clients shoes for the day and with a critical eye, go through the entire process of working with INVOLVE; from preparation & planning for client visits, to how to lead the most effective content briefing meetings and even how to address the situation when goal posts are changed. We walked away with a better appreciation than ever for the planning process from our client’s perspective and clear, actionable points to take back to the business.

Overall, we endured what could only be described as The Stormpocalypse, with A full day of rain and mud which may have saturated us from head to toe, but didn’t dampen our spirits or energy!

In the end, we cracked on with our BBQ and drinks, with our resident two-piece music maestros ‘Twokulele’, getting out their instruments to strum some favourite tunes as we ate, sang and laughed around the campfire. 24 hours in the countryside and a bucketful of brainstorm output later, the team returned to London, bedraggled but in brilliant spirits to look forward to an exciting and prosperous end to 2015 and a great start to 2016.