Our annual Spring Break was again this spring, and we got to go with the whole team. The trips have always been themed, and this year was no exception. Last year, our company was still called Sitely, so we decided to take the theme of designing the way Liini Agency operates, while moving the office to a work environment that is motivating.
In previous years we have travelled to Croatia and France, so southern Europe seemed like a good option again this year. The destination was the stunning island of Mallorca, where palm trees sway on the beach and Spanish tapas fill the dinner table.
On the north side of Majorca, in Alcudia, we found a wonderful villa that fit the whole team well and had good facilities for workshops, swimming, jogging, etc.
In previous years, Spring Breaks have included long days and tight schedules, but this time the focus was on everyone building an individual role to fit the new brand's portfolio and narrative. Of course, traditional client work in the form of meetings under palm trees was also relaxing.
We held a few workshops, where the aim was to bring fresh approaches to our brand by bringing design thinking into our work. The workshops gave us new ideas on how to work in our own role and on client solutions.
Design thinking, such as using the empathy phase of design thinking in our work, became an important part of our work, as well as designing and building Lean UX prototypes.
The best thing about working abroad was clearly the lack of rush and the shared time between the whole team, which cannot be built up in the same way in Finland when working remotely.
During the trip there were many great experiences that will stay with you forever, such as jogging together on the beach, climbing mountains, going on a bike ride, and watching El Clásico with the locals in a local bar.
An important experience that stood out for the team was the collective cooking in our villa, which everyone was able to participate in. Everyone had different roles in the kitchen, from making tapas to building good drinks.
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On the last day of the trip, an extreme activity was arranged where we jumped off a cliff into the sea and rappelled down a mountainside. The activity was chosen because of Liini's mission to design and deliver world-class customer experiences, and there are always many of the same elements in our experience services.
From a service design perspective, our guide knew how to build a package that was just right for us, taking into account everyone's needs and skill level. It was a pleasure to see that we use this same ideology in many aspects of building customer experience at Liin.
Our guide's skill in leading and guiding us throughout our little adventure contributed greatly to building a sensual experience. The guide knew how to build the service, make the most of the conditions and identify the group dynamics well enough to create a personal experience for everyone. A big thank you to our guide, from whom we will take inspiration for future "experience design" services.
The journey back home was supposed to be a quick and easy one with direct flights. When we arrived at the airport, we were told that there was a snowstorm at the end of Finland and our flights had been canceled. The estimate for our return was given as three days later.
However, we were able to negotiate with the airline, through a few bounces, return flights if the team was split in two. This was done and some of us were able to go straight home and the other half stayed to enjoy Mallorca for one more night.
We decided to implement the new operating models, tools and processes we came up with in the workshops in Finland immediately and pilot them as quickly as possible. One of the ideas was to develop internal processes and bring "experience design" into them.
Since the Sitely days, the Liini team has had a TGIF meeting once a month to share knowledge, discuss results and customer cases and, of course, visit afterwards. This was seen as a place for development and we voted to develop this tradition. Our new concept Mini Design Sprint took shape in one evening and has already been implemented.
The Mini Design Sprint is a monthly day-long sprint where each team selects their clients and prospects, using "Experience Design" to come up with completely new and innovative ways to help our clients and potential new ones. The end result is a better customer and employee experience. More on this in future posts.
Overall, the trip was a great success and everyone in the team enjoyed working abroad.
Next year's trip will be planned already later this year and will include everyone's OKR's and Liini's goals to work towards.
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