Meaningful. Fruitful. Fun. That's how Rebecca McKeever, MarketBeat’s Vice President of Product, described her sabbatical trip to Colombia in early June. After celebrating her 10-year anniversary at MarketBeat last fall, McKeever was eligible for her second company-sponsored sabbatical. “When my husband and I first met, we were working in national parks. Then we got married and moved to Bogotá, Colombia. When we moved back to Sioux Falls, we weren’t sure if we’d stay long. We’ve ended up settling here because we love it, and I love my job, but we still have that wanderlust that caused us to move so many times back then.
Because MarketBeat offers good PTO and a generous sabbatical program, I can do my best work here in Sioux Falls without getting too restless— my job has a built-in mechanism to make sure that every few years I really get out there and see the world.”
Rebecca and her family exploring Colombia
“I wouldn’t recommend moving internationally with a five-week-old baby, but if you ever do, be sure to bring that baby back to see her birthplace once she’s old enough to really appreciate it,” said McKeever. “Since we had lived there before, it was instantly familiar to me and brought back lots of memories. But since it was all new for our daughter and it was her first big international trip, we got to experience the wonder of it through her eyes. And she was so open to learning and trying new things and using her Spanish that it was pure joy.”
Rebecca's daughter enjoying the country
Every five years, MarketBeat employees become eligible for the company’s sabbatical program, which provides an opportunity to innovate, gain knowledge, pursue passions, or take an “adventure of a lifetime” vacation. The benefit includes an additional two weeks of paid time off and a $5,000 stipend to help fund the experience.
As a member of MarketBeat’s management team, McKeever can view the program's benefits from both employee and leadership perspectives.
“I think a sabbatical keeps work from feeling like a run-on sentence. Small trips are like punctuation. A two-week trip is a paragraph break. You are forced to wrap things up, and then you come back with a fresh perspective. From an employer's perspective, sabbaticals can reduce employee burnout and even help to make sure the business doesn't grind to a halt if any one person isn't there.”
"Finca", or country home, where Rebecca and family stayed
“We worked as teachers at a school in Bogotá around 2010. Our daughter was born there just five weeks before we moved back to the States. We had hoped to visit five years ago when I first qualified for a sabbatical, but during covid times, travel to Colombia was a little uncertain, so we put it off. So this trip was a long time coming.
Since we left Bogotá as burnt-out teachers and exhausted new parents, and then went so long without visiting again, and then invited extended family to join us on this trip… there was a lot of pressure on this trip.
Would anyone at the school remember us? Would our teenage daughter like Colombia and still think it’s cool that she was born there? Would my Spanish language skills work well enough to translate for my parents? Would all my logistical planning pay off? And every answer was positive.”
Rebecca with her past students from Bogotá
“We spent the first three days of our trip visiting the school where we had taught and exploring the neighborhoods where we used to live. I had been a little anxious about visiting the school, but all my worries were unfounded—our days there were full of warm hugs and good conversations. We were happy to see how the school had grown and matured since we had been there, while still retaining the big family feel we remembered. Several of our students are now teaching at the same school—it was so rewarding to see them all grown up and still involved in the same community!”
Exploring a river in Quindío
“In the Bogotá area, we visited museums, historical sites, a cathedral in a salt mine, a lake that inspired the legend of El Dorado, and lots of great restaurants. After several days in Bogotá, we took a short flight to the region where they grow coffee. We spent the week in a beautiful country home surrounded by fruit trees, flowers, and tropical birds. We explored a botanical garden, conquered an amusement park, rafted down a gentle river, visited a national park full of towering wax palms, rode horses, toured a coffee plantation, and got to most places by riding in the back of a jeep with the wind in our faces.”
Touring a coffee farm
“Going back to Colombia was healing in a way. We were very stressed new parents when we left, so that’s often what we remembered about Bogotá. Now I have a bunch of new, fresh, joyful memories of our family being together there. I was able to fully disconnect from work. I didn't bring my laptop so that I wouldn't have a choice! This was possible because I have an awesome team full of very smart and capable people. I knew they could figure anything out, even if it was something I normally work on, so I didn't worry.”
Horseback riding through the mountains
This generous benefit gives MarketBeat employees the opportunity to pursue experiences they may have otherwise never taken. Whether it's traveling the world, learning something new or chasing a personal passion, MarketBeat encourages employees to invest in themselves; a commitment that helps make the company's culture truly unique.
