A Company That Doesn't Have an Office Built a Place Instead — For 140 People and Their Families

Black clock icon with clockwise arrow around it on a yellow brushstroke background.
Duration

7 days

Team Size

48 team + ~140 with families

Location

Penang & Batu Ferringhi, Malaysia

Industry

CRO / SaaS

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This was our third workshop that we’ve delivered together. At this point, it had the comfort - and the benefits - of a routine.

You know how it can go with new clients though. It’s professional, measured, and maybe even cautionary. Speaking to a third-time? That is different. It feels like walking into a conversation already in progress. Like calling an old friend.

The Context: A Company That Doesn't Work Like Most

Convert isn't just remote.

They're fully async, globally distributed across 24 countries, and built on a model of self-management and trust.

As COO Tiffany Fortune puts it:

"Transparency is key… you have to understand the mission, your role in it, and then manage your work accordingly." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

That model works. It gives people something most companies never do: Time back. Autonomy. A life that isn't built around an office.

But it also raises a harder question:

If work is no longer a place — what happens when you finally come together?

The Shift: They Didn't Meet - They Became a Place

For one week in Malaysia, Convert answered that question. They didn't just organise a retreat.

On the coastline of Penang — between morning heat, tropical rain, and long dinners by the water in Batu Ferringhi — the company took on a physical shape.

They became a place.

Not just colleagues flying in for a few days — but a full version of the company, in real life. Because they made a deliberate decision early: They didn't just invite employees.

They invited everyone behind the employees.

Partners. Children. Families.

Not as a perk — but as part of the system.

Why?

"The work we do doesn't just impact us — it impacts the people we love. So when we celebrate, we celebrate with them." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

This wasn't about making the retreat bigger. It was about making it honest.

Remote work promises freedom — more time with your kids, your partner, your actual life. So Convert built a retreat that didn't ask people to step away from that. They brought it with them.

That decision changes the entire design.

A 50-person retreat becomes 140 people across generations. Different needs. Different energy. Different expectations.

This isn't offsite planning anymore.

It's building a temporary ecosystem that actually works for real life.

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The Challenge: Complexity at Every Level

On paper, the numbers already stretch things: A temporary version of Convert — fully populated. Colleagues. Partners. Children. Different ages. Different needs. Different expectations.

24
Countries
140+
Attendees
Global
Visa Requirements
Wide
Age Range

Choosing Penang wasn't aesthetic — it was practical: accessible visas, cultural neutrality, and a setting that could absorb 140 people without friction.

But the real complexity sat underneath:

  • Who can legally travel where?
  • Which location works culturally for everyone?
  • How do you design something meaningful for employees without losing families?
  • How do you make it feel effortless — when it absolutely isn't?

As Tiffany put it:

"You can't go at this blindly… when you add families, 75 people becomes 150+ very quickly." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

The Experience: Effortless on the Surface, Engineered Beneath

For attendees, the experience felt simple.

Relaxed days. Open time. Space to breathe.

A "workation":

"One or two days of work — a lot of fun with your family."

But underneath that ease was intentional structure:

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The Itinerary

One Week. Three Priorities. Zero Compromise.

Deep work, full-group connection, and genuine downtime — designed to coexist, not compete.

📅Retreat at a Glance
  1. Days 1–2

    Arrival & Deep Work

    • Team arrivals from 24 countries
    • Full-day and half-day working sessions
    • Alignment, bottlenecks, and strategic priorities
    • Employees-only focus before families arrive
  2. Day 3

    Families Join & Shared Experiences

    • Partners and children arrive
    • Parallel kids' programme launches
    • Beach games and creative workshops
    • First full-group dinner together
  3. Day 4

    Open Afternoon & Organic Connection

    • Morning sessions with cross-team collaboration
    • Intentionally open afternoon — pool, beach, street food
    • Teams self-organise whiteboard sessions
    • Evening dinner by the water
  4. Day 5

    Volunteering Day — Cat Sanctuary

    • Visit to a local cat sanctuary on the edge of the island
    • Buses pulling in, kids running ahead
    • Something slightly chaotic and completely human
    • A shared moment that had nothing to do with work
  5. Day 6

    Creative Workshops & Bracelet-Making

    • Structured moments where employees, partners, and children mixed
    • Removing the divide between "work event" and "family time"
    • Poolside conversations that stretched longer than planned
    • Long evening dinner — shared plates, kids running between chairs
  6. Day 7

    Farewell & Clear Close

    • Farewell lunch bringing everyone together one last time
    • Final evening celebration
    • A defined emotional endpoint, not just a logistical one

The Challenge: Complexity at Every Level

On paper, the numbers already stretch things: A temporary version of Convert — fully populated. Colleagues. Partners. Children. Different ages. Different needs. Different expectations.

Front-loaded Focus (Employees Only)

The retreat opened with dedicated working sessions — full-day and half-day blocks designed to tackle alignment, bottlenecks, and strategic priorities.

Giving the team uninterrupted space to think clearly before shifting into shared time with families

Parallel Family Programming (Daily)

A fully coordinated kids' programme ran alongside core sessions — from daytime activities to evening events.

Allowing parents to engage fully without splitting attention or stepping out

Shared Experiences at Scale

From beach games to creative workshops like bracelet-making, the programme created structured moments where employees, partners, and children mixed naturally.

Removing the usual divide between "work event" and "family time"

Built-in Space for Spontaneity

Entire afternoons were intentionally left open — not as gaps, but as design choices.

Enabling organic conversations, team-led sessions, and real rest

A Shift Outward: Volunteering Day

A visit to a local cat sanctuary on the edge of the island — buses pulling in, kids running ahead, something slightly chaotic and completely human.

A shared moment that had nothing to do with work — and everything to do with being there together

Rhythm and Consistency

Mornings that flexed — breakfast, slow starts, kids drifting between tables, the heat already building.

Open afternoons — beach, street food runs, poolside conversations that stretched longer than planned.

Evenings that brought everyone back together — long tables, shared plates, kids running between chairs.

Nothing in the week was accidental. Even the free time was doing a job.

"The work we do doesn't just impact us — it impacts the people we love. So when we celebrate, we celebrate with them." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

The Turning Point: From Connection to Clarity

This is where most retreats fall short: They create energy — but not direction.

Convert approached it differently. Working sessions weren't surface-level. They focused on:

  • Where teams fit in the customer journey
  • Where bottlenecks existed
  • What needed to change — immediately

And crucially: They didn't wait until after.

"We start our project teams on-site."

Ideas turned into:

  • Owners
  • Teams
  • 30–60–90 day actions

Before anyone even flew home.

"We don't create 10–15 projects. We focus on what's actually blocking us — and move." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

OnsiteHub's Role: Not a Vendor — Part of the System

This only works with the right kind of partner. Not a supplier. Not an external planner. Someone embedded.

"It wouldn't work if we were looking for a vendor." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

From the start, the role went far beyond logistics:

  • Navigating global visa constraints
  • Selecting a location that actually works for everyone
  • Designing for multiple audience types simultaneously
  • Coordinating across vendors, transport, hotel, and programme flow

But the real value showed up in how it felt to the client:

"I don't have to wonder if everyone made it back… Nobody's asking me questions… I'm actually on vacation." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

That's the bar. Not "it ran smoothly." Leadership could switch off completely.

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The Breakthrough: Inclusion at a Global Level

One of the most meaningful outcomes wasn't planned. It was enabled. Previous retreats had attendance gaps due to visa challenges. This time:

"This group that couldn't attend before — made it. And I truly believe it was because of OnsiteHub." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

Earlier planning. Better location strategy. Clearer documentation processes. Result:

A more complete, more representative version of the company in one place.

"I don't have to wonder if everyone made it back… Nobody's asking me questions… I'm actually on vacation." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

What Changed After

After a week like that, work feels different.

You know who you're talking to. You know how they think. You've eaten dinner with their family.

Decisions get quicker — not because of better processes, but because there's no distance left to hide behind.

The work didn't just pick up speed.

It got easier.

"The energy and alignment — all of it is increased." Tiffany Fortune, Chief Operating Officer

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Final Word

For companies considering something similar, Tiffany's advice is simple:

"Start small. But get people out of the four walls."

Because once it works — it doesn't stay small for long.

Planning Your Own Team Gathering?

Whether it's a team of 20 or 140 with families — we'll help you design something that actually works. No templates. No compromises.

Let’s plan it together.