Friday afternoon, September 1, the day that Villa Zwaluwhof was transformed into the Nekst IT domain! At this beautiful sustainable location in Dalfsen (Overijssel) we gathered with more than 30 colleagues to celebrate a wonderful – annual – Nekst Step Fun Weekend. And some FUN we had! From board games, good conversations, a game of football, lighting a fire in the fire pit, to enjoying the bubbles in the 10-person jacuzzi. And we continued until the early hours.
On Saturday morning a delicious extensive breakfast was waiting for us. Specially prepared by our own in-house chef Casper and Eliza. Ready to start this sunny day with the first active team building activity, organized by Marco and Sander from BaseLifestyle.
Line Up!
We were ‘neatly’ set up in our characteristic blue Nekst polos for a fantastic team building morning. What seemed like a simple “sports activity” turned out to be a profound experience, infused with insight and self-reflection. We were divided into groups and the competition between us became palpable and visible! We were given various assignments to carry out in a playful manner, where it was important to communicate clearly, collaborate, make compromises and achieve goals.
‘The Team Is Very Important. Even Though You Want To Win As An Individual, You Need The People Around You To Be Able To Score At All.’ – Marco Brienessen (Baselifestyle)
The most important learning moment of the day? Communication is truly the key to success, even if you think we all “speak the same language”. But that’s not all! Amid the different languages we spoke, our personalities/colors turned out to be just as diverse as our team itself. This made every assignment even more challenging and strengthened our bonds all the more.
The zombies are coming!
After the delicious lunch, the next activity was already on the menu; VR and Fear Experience from VR Boxx. We defeated dragons, zombies, became real knights and conquered fears. We worked together to defeat danger that came our way and got lost in a virtual world that completely swallowed us up for a moment.
Just in a different world, where everything around you is suddenly your new ‘virtual reality’. This was hilarious to watch as a spectator and as a participant you forgot everything around you. Colleagues with a fear of heights were also challenged to take ‘that neck step’ and thus overcome their fear of the unknown and deep. Fantastic experience and lots of laughs! Our core values of FUN and collaboration were again central to this activity.
Just wait a little longer; PIZZA!
We were continuously pampered throughout the weekend by Casper and Eliza from KookGraag. And how nice is it to make your own pizza and have it baked in the stone oven that was on our sunny terrace. Colleague Danny was the dough king and prepared the most delicious pizzas. Together with another salad buffet and a portion of sunshine, this dinner was once again finger licking good.
Pub quiz time!
With their bellies full and while enjoying a cool drink, colleagues took a seat on the covered terrace for the pub quiz of PubQuizBV. Quizmaster Ruud took us into the world of answering various questions under pressure. You competed against six other teams and we were divided into groups. There were questions about our own beautiful company, about music and films, IT and of course about games!
Of course, only one team could be the winner, but the result was still quite exciting with only 1 point difference between number 2 and number 3. Colleagues Dimitri, Matthijs and Mark V. walked away with the prizes and received a well-deserved applause. After the quiz, everyone stayed for a nice drink and a few colleagues got back into the warm jacuzzi. There was even a real Tortilla Slap Challenge that provided some hilarious images!
Time to go home!
The next morning; time to pack your bag again after a delicious sunny breakfast. Everyone had received our own mascot Champ the Test Monkey as a cushion (and also a collector’s item) for the home front, because they had to miss their own Champ that weekend. Everyone was so grateful and we all enjoyed the location, the food, the fun, the activities and each other #nekstlevel. That was ‘not a little but a lot’ fun!
