Team building and core values training might be a company effort you'd rather skip, but an Atlanta startup is aiming to create lasting experiences for employees through unique outdoor adventures---which they claim can be life changing.
From local startups like Dagger and Greenlight to mega clients such as Home Depot, Vestigo designs physical team building experiences to meet the needs and core values of the companies they serve, according to co-founder and CEO Marshall Mosher. He calls Vestigo experiences "an alternative to the default happy hour and Braves games events that are an excuse to get out of the office."
"(We) help companies build a more powerful and engaged culture through experiences," he said.
The first thing Vestigo looks for are ways to get teams out of their comfort zone to get to the core of vulnerability, the key to forming a bond, Mosher said. One vehicle of doing that successfully is outdoor activity, he said. Vestigo's adventures include hiking, boating, camping, rappelling, caving, yoga, paddling, climbing and even visits to waterfalls.
While some adventures can call for a little more physical exertion, Vestigo looks to meet the capabilities of team members and offers a range of challenges, Mosher said. Whether a team consists of an ultramarathon runner, someone who takes the elevator to work everyday or even someone with a physical disability, Vestigo has an adventure that will fit, he said.
"So the physical activity piece sometimes it's high and sometimes low, but it’s accessible to everyone," he said. "(It's about) mentally overcoming certain challenges...most things we do are mentally pretty challenging."
So far, clients seem pleased with the reactions from employees, Mosher said. At Home Depot, an employee, Spencer Wycoff, frequently ran Spartan Races carrying his sister, Carden Wycoff, with Muscular Dystrophy on his back to raise awareness for her condition. For the company's team building, Vestigo had the entire team take turns carrying Carden Wycoff while she cheered them on, making her the first person with Muscular Dystrophy to complete the entire Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail---a 79-mile journey in nine days. Mosher said its been the most unique and powerful experience he's witnessed since launched Vestigo.
Bennett Thrasher dropped their turnover rate in half following the company experience it had with Vestigo, Mosher said. Following each adventure, Vestigo offers a post experience survey to track how connected employees feel and if they better understand their company's values after living them.
One director didn't inform his team they would be rappelling, Mosher said, and one employee terrified of heights said she wouldn't participate. After encouragement from her team, she ended up going first and told Vestigo the experience completely changed her outlook on fear and her objectives for 2018.
"We make people come together," he said. "People feel a much stronger connection to their team---it effects people’s desire to stay with a company. Promotions and salaries are all big factors, but feeling like a part of the team is up there."
Whether a team consists of 50 people or 1,000, Mosher said Vestigo has an experience to offer.
"There’s different needs for each," he said. "For a larger company, they usually focus more on trying to reinvigorate around a common shared theme that drives them toward the new goal, whereas a smaller growing company, (tries to) make sure they don’t lose the culture with so many people coming (in). One is more retaining that culture and one is more of refocusing the structure and culture around what they want to be and what they want to focus on in the future."
As the startup continues to garner more clients, Mosher said he's toyed with the idea of implementing VR experiences for those with physical limitations or larger teams. Vestigo also offers a podcast, "Inside the Adventure" to go deeper into experiences with corporate execs to Guinness World Records holders.
"We’re working on a couple different things to really kind of help drive innovation, even though we’re kind of a tech company that gets you away from tech and outside," he said. "We innovate in the team building space."
