The MATCH Framework: Turning Team Events Into Revenue Drivers

• Name: Meagan Soszynski
• Role: Chief People Officer
• Company: CPOHQ - A platform offering strategic HR leadership for growing companies‍
• Experience: 10-15 years overseeing HR for growth-stage companies, with extensive experience planning team gatherings in both pre and post-pandemic work environments

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When your teams are spread out, the bottom line can look better. At first, at least. 

People think that remote, hybrid, or even distributed teams cost less and work more. But what they don’t realize is that productivity is slipping through the cracks. And it doesn’t have to be that way.

If you’re a leader who wants to make sure work is effective, efficient, and productive, CPOHQ Chief People Officer Meagan Soszynski has developed a strategic framework where you solve issues through in-person events and enhance business performance as a result. 

Here’s her approach.

The Real Economics of Distributed Work

When you’re cutting back on real estate costs, the CFO is bound to get excited. But that’s not all you’re cutting back on. 

When teams head out of the office, or come in less, or even just get a little overwhelmed, companies might not realize the hit that productivity takes. Meagan noticed one situation where onboarding time increased by three months after a workforce went fully remote. Collaboration processes can take a hit, too. 

“All of a sudden people have hard stops on their calendars,” Meagan says. It’s not the same as sitting in a room face-to-face, chatting until the problem’s solved. When you’re asynchronous, suddenly a conversation can turn into a two-day back-and-forth. 

Don’t get nervous — this doesn’t mean that you need to bring your entire team back into the office, or invest in more real estate either. It just means that getting the team together for a few thoughtful in-person events should be part of your annual plan. 

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Using the MATCH Framework 

So how do you shift the vibe from "social team gathering" to "productive team gathering"? Meagan’s MATCH framework helps you design events that result in real, measurable outcomes — making sure that when you pull people away from their daily work, it's truly worth it.

M - Measure Your Team's Current Productivity

Before planning any gathering, establish your baseline. Track how your team performs day-to-day and see where productivity gaps exist. Pay special attention to cross-team collaboration challenges, onboarding bottlenecks, and problem-solving delays across departments and locations. This data’s basically your North Star for figuring out what a productive gathering should get done.

A - Align Gatherings with Strategic Business Impact

Not every team needs to meet the same amount — prioritize based on their overall impact on the business. Revenue-generating teams like sales and product development should meet more frequently (with larger budgets); support functions should meet less often (but still meaningfully). A tiered approach makes sure your investment matches each team's contribution to growth.

T - Time Events to Business Milestones

Strategic gatherings should happen when your business needs them most, not when the timing’s convenient. Does your company have seasonal peaks? Major product launches? Quarterly pushes? Schedule events to build momentum beforehand so teams are prepared and aligned on what needs to happen. 

C - Craft Purposeful Gathering Experiences

You can structure focused work sessions with laptop-free deep thinking time, but make sure to build in breaks for people to handle urgent work. Your agendas should move initiatives forward but also allow for the relationship-building that makes remote collaboration more effective.

H - Hold Teams Accountable for Outcomes

Gathering outputs can have real business results when you make sure there’s post-event accountability. Teams should be required to present their collaborative work and action plans to stakeholders — that will put pressure on them to generate real solutions during the event, and follow through afterward.
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From Social Events to Strategic Business Tools

Post-pandemic, workplaces are different. Team gatherings are different, too.

They used to be just about getting together, hanging out, and having a happy hour — and that’s still part of it! — but now companies are realizing that they can be great for heads-down, focused problem-solving. 

You can tell when you look at a company calendar that’s on a productivity-first approach: They don’t go with the usual event-booking flow. They’re carving out time based on what the whole year’s strategy looks like, not convenience or season or even deals.

Because here's the reality: even if the hotel costs more, a well-timed gathering delivers killer ROI.

When you pull one of your best people away from their daily work, you need to make sure they’re spending that time away on important work that makes a real difference. In-person collaboration is so valuable that you can’t waste it — some simple face-to-face, planned-out conversations can make your business thrive.

Dive into Meagan’s steps for a successful team gathering.

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