We are proud of our slogan here at CodeScience, “equal parts, precision and play”, but how do go about striking that balance in our organization? Not just in the kind of projects we work on, or the methods in which we approach them, but how does this idea pan itself out when it comes to the internal experience of our team? How does this idea work within our cultural philosophy? What we’ve learned is that investing in our team’s time together has an immense impact on overall morale and really provides for a stronger foundation for us to accomplish the larger goals of the company. Being a professional services company, we know good and well that our assets are really elevator assets (elevator assets are the people in your organization that go up and down the metaphorical work elevator every day)- our people . We’ve prioritized that need to invest by planning annual all-hands meetings where the entire team spends three days learning and developing stronger working relationships with one another. I use the word “invest” intentionally. An event of this nature will cost planning time from your team and your leaders, and requires that you budget well in advance. With all that in mind, we’ve certainly learned the value of our all-hands time outweighs the many costs that go into it. This year’s our all-hands event was held in Chattanooga, Tennnessee, just a few weeks ago in May (shameless plug: Chattanooga is a hidden gem in the south and I highly recommend a visit if you have not been).
Applying Precision: Content Matters – When the partners decided it was a good idea to fly our entire team to one location, it’s important to share information that, in essence, is worth the trip. This year, it was an achievement of sharing both executive-level goals and strategic initiatives and knowledge sharing with one another. The prep leading up to this content included not just one retreat for parts of the leadership team, but two, and about a dozen other meetings on what to share and how to share it.
Tip: It’s best to be deliberate in what you share and be as transparent as you can be with the how and the why; share the right information at the right time.
Applying Play: Team Experience Matters- In our world, the constant reminder of time zone differences and telecommuting challenges is unavoidable. The minute you remove those factors, the rate of genuine interaction accelerates without question. How do you capitalize on bringing out more of this element out when you have to balance accomplishing the importance of content? We found that adding a mentally challenging team-building activity or moments for good, old-fashioned fun really helped bring out team cohesion and still provided for some exceptional fun. Tip: For every 5.5 hours of content, plan for 1.5 hours for an activity to focus back on the team and working together. Example of our daily event structure:
- Day 1 – Morning Working Hours Together/Afternoon Welcome Party
- Day 2 -Morning Strategic Initiatives and Company Wide Information Share/Evening Awards Dinner
- Day 3 – Morning Tools and Training/Afternoon Hackathon
We work even better as a team when we allow for the in-person time together. I find more justifications for this idea each year. Maybe that’s why it’s very important to know that finding time to “play” together is as important as the precise work we do.
