Unity. It’s inconceivable to debate this staff with out recognizing the bond that ties us collectively. This phrase holds immense significance, and it stands as one among YITH’s most outstanding strengths: the genuine connection that prospers amongst us.   

If anybody wants assist in any context, they’ll all the time discover steadfast assist from the staff; if somebody has a motive to rejoice, there’ll all the time be a cake and a heat hug ready to mark the event. It’s a relationship constructed on respect, admiration, and a real sense of affection that’s onerous to place into phrases.   

A key issue behind this unity stems from our ‘Staff Constructing’ occasions. Since 2018, and after six gatherings, individuals who by chance crossed paths—formed by the alternatives they made previously—have managed to create one thing actually particular and distinctive.  

Iván Sosa

5 years in the past, we had been in Catania, and this 12 months we returned with new members within the staff. You realise that nothing has modified, and it nonetheless holds the essence of being a close-knit staff.

Earlier than we proceed and get carried away with emotion, we should pause for a second. Simply so you realize, a ‘Staff Constructing’ exercise is designed for firm members with the purpose of bringing them collectively, bettering interpersonal relationships, fostering a way of teamwork, and making them conscious that the collective is stronger than the sum of its components. As a result of, as entrepreneur Ray Kroc famously said, “none of us is nearly as good as all of us.”    

It’s a journey not solely to a distant nook of the world but additionally an emotional odyssey. A wealthy tapestry of emotions that started to weave collectively throughout our earliest encounters, rising stronger with every passing day. It embodies a group of values—empathy, friendship, camaraderie, unwavering assist, and loyalty—handed down from skilled members to the remainder of the staff, creating a powerful connection. As the author Lailah Akita superbly expressed, “It’s fantastic to do what you like, however it turns into much more extraordinary while you share it with a great staff.”    

Alessio Torrisi

Staff Constructing is the spotlight of the 12 months, every week the place you get to share your days with colleagues you used to solely communicate to and see by way of a display. This expertise has performed a significant function in nurturing the staff spirit at YITH.

Sara Presenti

Staff Constructing is probably the most cherished custom we domesticate at YITH. This time, we’ve shared numerous moments of laughter, however much more considerably, we’ve opened our hearts to share our fears, focus on our desires for the longer term, apologise for our missteps, and remind one another simply how a lot we care.

These phrases are written within the emotional haze following Sicily 2024, the most recent Staff Constructing occasion for YITH. This time, the ash of Mount Etna paved our manner by way of the traditional streets of Acireale, main us to an exquisite workplace that turned the backdrop for dearly held moments, bursts of laughter, heat embraces, and a real spirit of teamwork. They had been days brimming with emotion—stuffed with pleasure, shared efforts, explorations of latest cities, fantastic meals, and the full of life buzz of a bustling workplace.  

Antonio La Rocca

A Staff Constructing is way more than what meets the attention; it’s greater than a gaggle of individuals sporting the identical shirt, doing actions collectively. It’s a chance to attach on a deeper degree, to share life past the every day grind. It’s an opportunity to create lasting recollections that can gasoline the months of labor forward. That is the true magic of teamwork: you come collectively as colleagues, and you permit as pals.

For those who’ve by no means skilled it, you may query the worth of investing sources in a staff retreat. However it’s extra useful than you’d think about. Quite a few research (and our personal expertise) present that it enhances productiveness, encourages the open trade of considerations, facilitates smoother venture coordination, and most significantly, brings us nearer as a staff. It’s not nearly working in the identical house—it’s about sharing significant moments collectively. In truth, a look on the quotes on this article will make that abundantly clear.  

Tania González

Staff Constructing is a date marked on the calendar, a countdown that guarantees among the most unforgettable moments you’ll treasure. It’s about sharing time and experiences with colleagues who’ve grown into pals. It’s the best second to come back collectively, each in work and in laughter, to bridge the hole of all these interactions we’ve had by way of a display over the 12 months, and to deepen a connection that has thrived regardless of the space.

Staff Constructing Sicily 2024 was actually particular. It was a long-awaited reunion. It was face-to-face conferences which are normally confined to video calls. It was a grand mural on the wall, stuffed with photos from previous years, each capturing smiles that lit up our faces. It was nights of excellent meals and countless laughter. It was the enjoyment of sharing moments collectively. It was household. It welcomed the beginning of two new members to our rising neighborhood (congratulations to Francesco Leanza and his household). Although some had been bodily absent, they had been nonetheless current in spirit. There have been moments of rain and storm, but additionally sunshine and happiness. For a lot of, it was their first time, whereas for others, it was one other valued expertise so as to add to the gathering. It left our hearts overflowing with pleasure.   

Sara Michieli

For me, the Staff Constructing was a chance to lastly meet in individual the colleagues I had been working with for years however had by no means seen nose to nose, and to expertise completely different traditions, languages, and cultures that, regardless of their variations, share many frequent threads. It was a method to construct bonds with my colleagues and get to know them on a extra private degree.

Ausilia Arrigo

In Sicily 2024, we shared fantastic moments collectively, spending a whole week strengthening {our relationships}, each throughout work and after. I’ll always remember these moments with every of them, as a result of ultimately, that’s what issues most—every one among us <3

We spend 12 months a 12 months working aside, except Staff Constructing. So, think about what it means to lastly obtain a hug from the individual you speak to every day however by no means see, to share these jokes that had been as soon as typed in chats however can now be instructed in individual, and to take pleasure in these long-promised beers that had been all the time saved for “sometime” and are actually, eventually, a actuality. These households we’ve typically spoken of are actually in a position to meet in individual. Nephews and coronary heart uncles embracing for the primary time. It’s that buddy you don’t see all year long however collect with simply as soon as each 12 months. As a result of whereas the Aperol Spritz soothed our throats and the pizza and pistachios stuffed our bellies, being collectively nourished our souls. As you may see, it encompasses a lot extra than simply working aspect by aspect.  

Many individuals are greatly surprised after we describe YITH as a gaggle of pals or household, however that’s exactly what we’re: a group of people who met by probability, formed by the alternatives we’ve made alongside our journeys, and who’ve shared numerous values and significant moments which have cultivated a profound affection for each other.   

Alexis Salazar

I’ll always remember the recollections we’ve created throughout this Staff Constructing, and I’m very grateful to all my colleagues for making us really feel proper at residence.

Athena Kiourka

On a private degree, this team-building expertise has been actually enlightening. I had the prospect to share each the highs and lows, the challenges and the thrill. However, above all, I got here to understand the immense privilege of calling a few of my colleagues my pals.

Hopefully, we will meet once more quickly, as these are moments we’ll undoubtedly cherish without end. Hopefully, we’ll collect with the identical smiles we’ve all the time shared. Hopefully, we’ll be even happier this time round.   

This staff serves because the best instance of how “power resides in unity.”  

With love.