2. The purpose is conferences which are fewer in quantity and stronger in objective.
Sure, we’d like fewer conferences. However the ones we do have should be efficient. Considerate preparation, clear possession, and assist from AI instruments make conferences extra purposeful and depart extra time for deep, targeted work.
The quantity and high quality of conferences at Dropbox are in a wholesome place in contrast with exterior benchmarks. Dropbox staff take into account about 70% of conferences efficient, versus 28% amongst information employees total, and spend much less time in conferences than friends at different corporations.
Nonetheless, significant challenges stay. Practically a 3rd of our conferences are much less efficient than they might be, with our high challenges being lack of an outlined objective, possession, or an organized agenda. When these fundamentals are lacking, staff report that discussions can drift, really feel repetitive, or finish with out clear subsequent steps. Staff additionally shared that assembly finest practices matter much more in giant, cross-functional settings, the place friction is extra seen.
Whereas it’s encouraging that the majority conferences at Dropbox are thought-about efficient, those that aren’t add as much as hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in misplaced productiveness every quarter. That’s why we’re making use of the identical operational rigor to our conferences as we do to each different main funding.
What we realized:
Our effort to cut back conferences labored. In 2025, we ran a Assembly Discount pilot with developer groups that included practices like No Assembly Wednesdays, fewer recurring one-on-ones, and an async-first strategy to alignment. The outcomes have been clear:
- 27% discount in weekly assembly hours (1.8 hours)
- 20% fewer conferences per week
- 28% enhance in coding time
- 80% of members discovered the pilot efficient, and 90% really useful scaling the steerage
We want a standard method to speak about a gathering’s objective. By way of a design dash targeted on reimagining conferences, we recognized a core hole: Groups typically don’t have an simply understood method to describe the “why” behind a gathering. Consequently, folks typically be part of conferences out of obligation quite than objective, and stay conferences stay the default. Giving conferences clear classes—like “determination jams,” “sync updates,” “connection circles,” or “AI briefings”—helps groups perceive the purpose of a gathering earlier than it begins.
AI-generated assembly summaries save significant time. By way of our Zoom AI Companion pilot, we discovered that customers saved a median of 37 minutes of labor per assembly through the use of AI-generated summaries and motion objects. Many discovered the instrument straightforward to make use of and particularly useful for asynchronous collaboration, highlighting the rising position AI performs within the Digital First expertise.
How we’re shifting ahead:
Collectively, these insights have helped form our company-wide Assembly Effectiveness initiative—an evidence-based framework that defines finest practices by assembly sort, stage, and participant position. We’re rolling out enhancements in phases, giving groups instruments like calendar and agenda reminders, Reclaim.ai scheduling enhancements, plus ongoing assist to verify these habits stick.
Our purpose is to cut back the variety of conferences that don’t ship a powerful return on funding, enhance those that do, and shield vital time for targeted work.
3. Once we plan gatherings with objective, groups don’t simply really feel extra linked. They get extra finished.
Intentional in-person conferences result in extra lasting outcomes.
At Dropbox, offsites proceed to be among the finest methods to construct teamwork and strengthen our sense of belonging. Suggestions additionally persistently exhibits that group and cross-functional gatherings construct belief and pace up supply. Current suggestions reminds us that even what’s working nicely advantages from continued consideration and iteration.
What we realized:
Staff need offsites with a transparent objective, shared targets, and designs that replicate their group’s wants. The most effective gatherings have well-defined targets, contain everybody within the expertise, and are intently linked to what a group wants at that second. Staff favor much less time spent on passive shows and extra time collaborating in smaller teams. Additionally they need offsites that construct connections and a group tradition that lasts lengthy after the occasion itself.
The influence of a well-designed offsite is critical. When our technical groups come collectively in particular person for shorter bursts, sometimes targeted on particular targets or options, we’ve seen measurable enhancements in each how groups work and what they ship once they return to a digital setting.
For instance, throughout anchor weeks (a gathering sort that permits bigger working teams to execute on particular targets, pressing deliverables, and overlapping tasks—like bug bashes earlier than a product launch) and different offsites in 2025, we noticed:
- Practically all staff reported stronger relationships (94%), actual progress on tasks (83%), better belief (71%), and clearer communication (70%).
- Engineers completed 10% extra work total, accomplished duties sooner, and resolved 3 times as many code points as regular.
- Groups additionally completed main tasks six weeks early, and in one other group, system points dropped by greater than 70%.
How we’re shifting ahead:
As we listened to staff and mirrored on what made latest gatherings so impactful, we noticed that intent persistently mattered greater than format. The gatherings that delivered the strongest outcomes have been grounded in clear targets formed round instant wants. This studying pushed us to rethink how we strategy gatherings altogether, shifting past predefined classes like offsites or retreats, and towards a extra versatile, purpose-led framework that helps groups take advantage of their time collectively.
Enter the brand new Offsite Formulation: a versatile framework designed to assist groups persistently plan purposeful gatherings. It follows a base construction, together with 30% programming, 30% group constructing, 20% coworking, and 20% unstructured free time. This combine emerged from worker suggestions displaying that each sort of offsite wanted extra stability than our conventional, modality-based designs allowed. On the identical time, the construction stays versatile; any of those parts may be dialed up or down primarily based on the specified end result. This ensures each offsite helps each enterprise and relationship-building targets, and in addition components in distinctive group dynamics.
We’ll additionally infuse particular connection moments into the brand new framework. These are light-weight, significant actions that may simply match into any offsite agenda, like group video games, a singular group dinner toast, or storytelling prompts that assist make offsites extra private. These moments lengthen past offsites, giving groups straightforward methods to attach earlier than, throughout, and after gatherings, serving to relationships final nicely past the occasion.
Lastly, staff requested for extra assist in choosing the proper content material and actions for his or her offsites. In response, we’re now increasing the position of our Offsite Planning Crew past logistics to assist groups create organized, goal-focused experiences that result in clear outcomes. For groups that favor a self-serve possibility, we’re launching an AI-powered Offsite Design GPT. Guided by prompts and powered by playbooks and sources, this interactive instrument extends the attain of our Offsite Planning Crew, making considerate offsite planning extra accessible than ever.
