Strengthening remote insurance teams through in‑person training.

4,000 employees, 17 locations and one identical experience: how a half-day “Personal Impact” workshop brought a remote workforce back together.

4,000+employees

9 monthsduration

17locations across California

146workshops delivered

Client overview

Workers’ compensation insurer

For more than 100 years, our client has made sure injured Californian workers get the treatment they need.

Two men in dark work clothes in a warehouse with shelves and pallets. One smiles walking, another works on a pallet jack.

What was keeping our client up at night?

The response to COVID sent people home to work, and most stayed home when restrictions lifted
Employees reported more life balance and happiness
But leadership, employees and even clients reported less teamwork and engagement
Zoom staff meetings were stale, and people were losing connection with each other and the company
They needed something meaningful to bring people together, and to be an excellent use of everyone’s time

The ask

“We are doing a ‘Face-to-Face’ program this year where we are bringing everyone back to the office for a day of connection. Can you help us design and deliver an exceptional program that…”

Brings people together in a meaningful way
No one will say could have been done remotely
Makes people glad they came into the office
Appeals to everyone, even senior leaders
Gives all 4,000 employees the same experience and the same message

The solution.

01
Pre-training

Bonfire worked with the client’s training department for five months to design an interactive half-day experience called “Personal Impact,” built around a card game where participants defined their personal impact on the job and on their team.
Team-building exercises got people on their feet and working together. Participants used their personal impact to show accountability, demonstrate trust and see why empathy and vulnerability matter to a team and its customers.
We piloted it with senior leaders, revamped it, piloted again and refined it until the customer and accountability messages aligned perfectly with the client’s values and North Star.
Every one of the 4,000 participants had to get an identical experience, so we brought in 10 Bonfire trainers chosen for the project and ran a two-day train-the-trainer with them.
02
Training

Between mid-August and October 2024, Bonfire facilitated more than 146 workshops in 17 locations throughout California.
Our logistics team worked hand in hand with the client to make sure materials arrived at the right location, labeled and ready for every workshop.
03
Post-training reinforcement

Bonfire designed a reinforcement infographic with key messages, distributed a week after each workshop.
We also built a 30-minute remote exercise managers could run over Zoom, taking the idea from Personal Impact to Team Impact.
04
Measuring success

The client wanted to know whether employees found the training meaningful and relevant, whether it connected people, and whether it was worth the trip in.
An Employee Training Feedback Loop validated the training’s success and created lasting connections that translate into better teamwork day to day.