From Slack handles to real faces: first-timers at the Screenly annual summit

Four of us walked into this year’s summit in Kerala, India, about to meet most of our Screenly teammates for the first time. Until then, we had only known each other through Slack threads and video calls.

We come from different corners of the world. Carolyne leads Sales from the US, Ioann leads Product from several timezones east of her, and Sam, who works in Compliance, is based in the Philippines, like me. I asked them the same three questions I was asking myself about the week, and our answers had more in common than we expected.

Before Kerala, we knew each other as Slack handles

Prior to the trip, I had only met one teammate in person, once. Everyone else I knew through Slack and calls, and since I didn’t know what to make of them yet, I played it safe: polite and a little formal in everything I wrote. I honestly wasn’t sure how quickly we’d all click.

Sam had a similar worry, expecting it might take some time to get in sync since we all come from different backgrounds. Instead, “it turned out we’re going through the same things and share the same values, just molded differently by our own cultures.”

Ioann expected the summit to feel a lot like our usual workdays, just in the same room instead of on Google Meet. What surprised him was how different even the work felt in person: “The same kind of discussions we’d have on a call felt more alive, more natural and more open when we were actually sitting together.”

Carolyne went in with a plan. She didn’t set expectations for the team so much as for herself: to stay open, learn about everyone’s backgrounds and interests, and “find ways to engage that were fun.”

What we remember most from the week

For me, it was how the games brought everyone together. Yoga and archery were complete firsts for me, and I hadn’t touched a billiards cue or a volleyball since college, but that didn’t matter. Billiards turned into eight people taking turns so no one sat out, and whether you were a natural or a beginner, you were part of the game. Volleyball brought out our competitive side, but win or lose, we all had fun. By the end of the week, we were talking like old friends.

Outside of work, Ioann found the week much more personal than he expected. Over dinners, by the pool and in conversations with no agenda, he noticed how much more of people you see than on a call. What stuck with him: “We weren’t only chosen for our professional skills. We actually share a similar culture and way of looking at things.”

Sam’s favorite part was mealtimes: “You never knew who would be sitting beside you, and you’d get to know whoever that random person turned out to be.” The buttered naan was a bonus.

And true to her plan, Carolyne found ways to make things fun, like the evening she got us all sharing a song we love that would be cringy to anyone else. As she put it, “Who knew, we’d actually like some of the musical tastes we have.”

Back on Slack, but not quite the same

The real test came after we flew home. For me, conversations are casual now. It’s easier to just reach out, ask for help or share an idea, because I know the person on the other end.

Ioann sees it most in work discussions: “There’s less formality and more freedom to speak up, disagree, or throw out an idea without overthinking it.”

For Sam, the stronger connection and bond we built is exactly what a team needs to bring its efforts together.

Carolyne sees it in the work itself. With everyone pulling toward the same goals, getting more customers and delivering a stellar product, “the work dynamic is more cohesive.” She was also happy to have the team there in person when we presented Screenly to a potential client during the week.

So, was it worth the long trip to Kerala?

Looking at our answers side by side, a few things came up again and again. We come from different places and backgrounds, but we share more than we expected, from our values to our sense of humor. And the biggest change wasn’t the work itself, but how we talk to each other about it: more openly, and without overthinking it. As Carolyne put it, “I would do this trip all over again.”

We’re still spread across time zones, but it no longer feels like we’re strangers in them.