Convenience, Ease & Fluidity: How Cypress Capital Management furthered team connection with a Yervana Corporate Adventure

Overview

Yervana’s Corporate Adventures made the process of booking a corporate team outdoor Adventure streamlined, simple, and fluid for Cypress Capital Management. This enabled the Cypress team to enjoy a private chartered sailing experience in Squamish. That led to deeper team connection, improved workplace morale, and enhanced company culture.

Challenges and Objectives

Since its inception in 1998 in Vancouver, BC, Cypress Capital Management has grown to a staff of 30 people. Their staff is comprised of 10 portfolio managers or investment professionals, and 20 various support staff. They work to cultivate a culture that is open, transparent, and eliminates a sense of hierarchy. Their goal is to develop a culture where everyone feels they are working on the same playing field, through various initiatives and activities. 

A large part of their team currently works from home, and as such, they recognized the importance of bringing people together in person. In addition, they wanted to treat their team to a special day to show appreciation for hard work in recent years. 

When looking to book their first out-of-office outdoor Adventure, the Cypress team acknowledged that the booking process needed to be easy, and convenient. The activity also needed to be both compelling, and accessible for their team.

The Cypress team wanted to ensure that their administrative assistant would be able to book a corporate team outdoor adventure without any friction, or difficulty. They expected clear, timely communication. In addition, they expected fluidity and flexibility throughout the booking process. 

Their team of 30 is composed of people of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities. They needed to ensure that the activity chosen would not only accommodate their team, but enable them to have an enjoyable experience. They specified the desire for an activity which was unique – something that their staff members wouldn’t likely do on their own. With the above in mind, they contacted Yervana. 

Yervana Corporate Adventures Process

The process began with a discovery meeting between Yervana and Cypress’ administrative assistant. During the meeting, Yervana learned about Cypress Capital Management’s team size, activity preference, dates, times, and budget. They discussed Cypress’ overall intentions and goals for organizing a team activity. 

From there, Yervana created and presented bespoke Adventure packages. These were tailored to team size, time of year, and information collected in the initial conversation. The Cypress team then selected the outdoor Adventure best suited to their team and interests. In this case, they selected a private chartered sailing adventure with trusted local guide David (Dave) Crewson, in Canada’s southernmost fjord. 

Yervana then worked to facilitate the additional extras that provide teams with a premium and convenient experience. In this case, Yervana organized transportation to and from the activity, supplied a catered dinner. They also provided Yervana-printed drink koozies as take away gifts for the team.  

Upon the selection of activity, one centralized booking agreement and invoice was sent. This eliminated the need for the Cypress team to navigate the coordination between multiple operators and vendors. Yervana also supplied a finalized activity outline and packing list for Cypress to share with all attendees. 

To ease any stress for the team, Yervana provided 24 hours of support on the day of the event, with a designated representative and point of contact. This allowed the entire Cypress team to relax and enjoy the day. Yervana also facilitated the collection of waivers, sizing, and any necessary pre-Adventure details, which were sent in one single form to the local guide. 

Setting Sail for Success: The Adventure

On a summer afternoon, Cypress Capital Management set sail on a private chartered sailing Adventure with verified Yervana Local guide Dave. They explored panoramic mountain vistas, picturesque shorelines, glaciers, and waterfalls, with knowledgeable insights from their guide. Cypress Portfolio Manager, Brad Bay, says that Dave was, “high quality, super informative on what was going on, what’s going on around you. He shared how to do the activity if you want to get involved in sailing – he was really solid on that.” 

The Cypress team had a great time and proved they know how to kick back and enjoy the Adventure, rain or shine. They were thrilled to have the time to connect on a personal level and through shared experience. They were also impressed that not only the sailing Adventure was organized, but the ride and catering were coordinated for them as well. 

Results

Upon completion of the event, Yervana organized a debriefing session with Cypress Capital Management to discuss the results of the corporate team outdoor Adventure.

Brad was impressed, saying, “Once you get out of a work setting, you can just open up about funny stories and be more yourself. I think that goes a long way with building a good culture within the firm. You can develop better relationships and that adds to productivity and goes a long, long way for morale and a well functioning firm.”

The Cypress Capital Management team appreciated getting “treated” by their employer, and getting “spoiled” by the experience. The sailing experience facilitated a deeper connection between colleagues, where they got the chance to be more themselves. As Brad says, these experiences go a long way for team morale, and this experience was, “really great for the team. Because most of us still work from home, it’s nice to get more people out. It was a lot of the younger people that just wanted to get together and do something different. It’s nice to do an experience you’re not going to do [on your own]. It’s expensive out there and for the company to pick up a tab and go get on a sailboat and have transportation and food, that’s really special for a lot of people. [It was] so great for the team.” 

In addition, Yervana ensured that the booking process was smooth from start to finish, providing coordination, scheduling, bespoke options, and clear communication. This alleviated pressure from Cypress Capital Management’s administrative assistant. 

Brad said, “If it’s going to be something that’s too long or too complicated, any friction that is created is just a headache for people to plan and get things going. You just want it to be super easy. Something like this where it’s like, ‘Hey, we needed transportation, we need dinner, and a cool experience.'”

Yervana seemed to just knock it out of the park and get things going for us as easily as possible. That’s really what makes these things possible.”

Conclusion

Through clear communication, organization and coordination, Yervana Corporate Adventures enabled Cypress Capital Management to improve team culture, morale, and connection, in a convenient, easy, and fluid manner. 

According to Brad, “It’s definitely a success and we’re going to continue to do it. The easier we can make it for [our administrative assistant] the better we’ll be and the more keen she’ll be to put her hand up and keep organizing.”