We work in marketing. It’s an exciting and rewarding industry, most of the time, but we’re often called upon to solve a problem for our clients. How can we increase our group business? How can we make the most of our marketing budget? How can we get more people to join our email database? How do we get the top spot in a Google search?

Because we’re so intent on developing solutions for our dear clients, we rarely look at ourselves as an organization, as an agency, and ask ourselves, what are our challenges? What problems do we need to solve for ourselves?

“In an agency environment where we always focus on the client, it’s easy to forget about the company’s greatest asset—its employees,” said Kelly Houston, President.

And when you’ve been around for 30 years, you find yourself with a diverse team—in longevity, age, experience, ideas, and knowledge. Then add to that mix our remote workers, whom we rarely see beyond an email or video call. So, how do you create a cohesive, productive (and fun) culture with such a diverse and geographically dispersed crew?

Two words: Team-building events.

In other words, you make everyone hike two miles straight up a mountain on a sunny 80-degree afternoon. But don’t worry, we’ll have cheese and crackers with some wine (because we’re classy) waiting for you at the top.

With that said, on Wednesday, September 28, “Elevate SJ” kicked off with a group hike to Snowflake Lodge at Diamond Peak Ski Resort, where we took in panoramic views of Lake Tahoe, munched on appetizers and sipped on a few adult libations, while our resident canine companions canvassed the area.

“Nacho found a deer’s leg, or something. And then got sick,” said Jesse Plate, Digital Services Manager and pet owner.

Aside from that obvious excitement, the SJ team participated in a fun and uplifting activity at 7,440 feet, where we had an opportunity to build each other up by sharing positive traits of each of our teammates.

“It was a nice reinforcement to read positive, uplifting comments from your coworkers,” said Darolyn Skelton, Business Development/Account Executive http://enligneviagr... Others, like Lynn Finnigan, Copywriter, commented that the group activity made them feel appreciated.

After hearing from others, we each shared a few words of what makes us proud as individuals.  Several agreed that getting to work for a marketing agency in Tahoe was very near the top of their list.

“I felt positive and energized,” said Skelton, who also helped organize the event. “I feel it was a success and it seemed like everyone had a good time.”

It is clear that the event and activities generated positive, and constructive takeaways while creating an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other on a more personal, honest level through socializing outside of the office.

“Getting out of the work environment and seeing everyone as a real person improves trust and helps communication,” said Houston. “That’s worth more than most anything in my book.”

–Brianna Sheck, Studio Manager, SJ Marketing

An MS in Integrated Marketing Communications and a BS in Technical Communication with a minor in Journalism were the beginning of Brianna’s career in digital and traditional marketing nearly 15 years ago. Today, she enjoys “wearing many hats,” combining strategic support with creative concepting, from project management to media planning to graphic design.