The first-ever OwnerRez Work In Person Week is in the books! ✏️

Almost a year after OwnerRez co-founders Chris Hynes and Paul Waldschmidt had the idea of bringing everyone together to work side by side in person, 45 members of the OwnerRez team traveled from around the world to a meeting space in Northern Virginia. This was not another retreat or tradeshow. It was a week dedicated to removing the barriers created by remote work and to working side by side in person.

The idea was inspired by the early days of OwnerRez, when you could tap someone on the shoulder to share an idea and solve issues quickly. The goal of WIP Week was to bring back those quick conversations, remove friction, and create healthy habits that the team could bring back to their home offices.

The week was built around three themes: Huddle, Hustle, and Heal.

Huddle

Huddle was about bringing back the quick conversations and personal connections that can get lost in remote work. Each day, team members were paired with someone new. They sat together, did their normal work, talked through what they were doing, asked questions, and learned more about how each team functioned.

Hustle

Hustle was about finding friction and finding real solutions. For the week, team members were split into groups of three and challenged to focus on friction in their own work, within their teams, and between teams, including repeated steps, old workarounds, and processes that had become more complicated over time.

Heal

Heal was about creating healthy rhythms. Working from home removes the commute, but it can also remove the healthy divide between work and home. Every day, team members were asked to take a 20-minute walk with their assigned partner to help the team connect and to take time away from the screen.

What comes next?

WIP Week proved something we cannot unsee. When people from different teams sit together and are given permission, space, and trust to solve things, great things happen fast. Now that everyone is back home, we want to keep those conversations going, continue working on the ideas that came out of the week, and make sure none of that energy evaporates.

The energy from WIP Week was not a one-time event. We had an incredible time working together in person and look forward to the next OwnerRez WIP Week!