Caddis is known for its collaborative approach to work. (Just check out our company name: Caddis Collaborative!) Key to our collaborative spirit is knowing each other outside of work. Karin Hoskin, Caddis business manager, says, “When we can get to know each other and bond and spend time not working on a spreadsheet or a project, we’re able to build relationships.”

Caddis principal architect Kristen Uitto agrees: “It’s fun to do things outside the office together. We learn about each other – common interests connect us – and it’s fun to explore our beautiful state together. Best of all, we create memories via experiences that strengthen our relationships with each other.”

Karin is the organizing force behind team-building activities that take Caddis employees out of the office and onto the road in Colorado. An annual multiday camping trip to Wellington Lake, two hours from Boulder, is a highlight, and other outings – cross-country skiing at Caribou Ranch, attending the International Snow Sculpting Competition in Breckinridge, and snowshoeing at one team member’s family cabin – are all part of the mix.

While participation in the camping trip and other outings is not required, it is highly encouraged – and just about everyone attends all of the events.

The Annual Camping Trip

Up until now, the annual camping trip has been at Wellington Lake, but the company may go to other campsites in the future. The goal is to be outside in nature, far away from the office.

Caddis makes and pays for the camping reservation, supplies all of the beverages, and brings snacks, but staff are on their own for meals because kids and dietary restrictions complicate communal meals. Everyone travels to the campsite on their own, and the group sets up a compound with a dozen campers or tents.

“We’re just there on the lake together,” Karin says. “There’s hiking, biking, kayaking, tubing, swimming. People can go off and do whatever they’re feeling like with whomever at any time. But then we have this base camp right on the beach, and we have a campfire. We always come back to that.”

One year, the team got into riddles during the camping trip, riddles that both adults and kids could solve (like the green glass door riddle). Karin says, “We brought some packets of Magic Fire, a small packet of minerals and metals that you chuck into the fire and that changes the flame colors. We definitely go through a lot of s’mores. And we often buy everyone a little gift, such as a camping headlamp or a personalized metal tumbler cup.”

The camping trip also includes employees’ families. Karin says, “You understand what it’s like for Kristen to get out of the house in the morning for an 8:00 meeting because you have now met her big dog and her four super lively daughters.” Architectural associate Morgan Krasovich agrees. “It was really fun to hang out with Kristen’s kids and see her family having fun playing on the lake and relaxing in the hammock.” Morgan says that she thinks about Kristen’s family life all the time: “When I’m leaving work, I think ‘Kristen’s going home to four children right now!’”

Other Outings

One year, the team went up to Caribou Ranch, just outside of Nederland. Staff carpooled there, and everybody brought their skis or snowshoes. “If somebody didn’t have gear,” Karin explains, “we got them a setup. We met up at the trailhead, and it was just the most beautiful, blue-sky day. We tramped around in the woods, and it was great.”

After they finished at Caribou, the team went into Nederland to Kathmandu, where they had a delicious Indian lunch and hot chai before heading back into Boulder. The crew left the office at nine or ten that morning and was back by three. “People could still do kid pickup, and they could still get some work done,” Karin says. “But we had a great few hours together.”

Another year, employees went up to Breckenridge to attend the snow sculpting championships and to do some snowshoeing and skiing. Staff brought their own gear, and collectively they outfitted one team member who had recently moved to Colorado. “We were on a really easy trail,” Karin says, “and the new employee, who had never been on skis before, said ‘sure, I’ll try it.’ Everybody rallied around her, making sure she had the needed equipment, down to the right kind of gloves.”

Occasionally, the team goes on an outing to one employee’s family A-frame cabin, located on U.S. Forest Service land about 45 minutes from the Caddis office.

An upcoming field trip will take the Caddis team to Green Mountain Falls to experience Skyspace, an architecture/performance art installation designed by James Turrell. Staff members will hike up to the one-of-a-kind interactive exhibit, which gives visitors the opportunity to view the sky in an entirely new way. While the team is in the Colorado Springs area, they may also visit the United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum.

The Company That Plays Together Works Well Together

“There is a huge value in these activities,” says senior architect Stephen Eckert. “There’s the bonding experience of doing these things. There is the emphasis on work/life balance. There’s the opportunity for intergenerational connection with younger team members and older team members spending time together. These activities also help us keep in perspective why we’re doing our work – valuing relationships, making people’s lives better, creating community through architecture. As a team, we collaborate a lot in the office, so being able to take time to have more fun is a real benefit.”

At the end of the day, Stephen says, “The best part of Caddis is that we as a company have such a great community. Everybody is more like family than simply co-workers.”

Morgan agrees. Reflecting on her first camping trip with the team, she says, “I had a lot of fun. I feel very lucky with the people whom I get to work with because I actually like them all as people. Everyone here is really great to spend time with outside of work. We really didn’t talk about work much. Everyone is a human outside of work.”

There’s also an office lore that develops from the activities. “I see value in these kinds of events, and I try to say yes to them whenever I can,” Morgan explains. “It’s like when you miss something with your friends, and there are stories and memories and fun times from that.”

“It’s super fun getting to hang out with everyone outside of work,” Morgan concludes. “You get to know each other better, and those connections make it more fun in the office when you get back.”