The authenticity and honesty we provide our clients has to start from the grassroots level. Our belief has always been that being direct and open with each other is the best way to communicate. That said, we know that our commitment to transparency and goal of an easy sense of intimacy between our team only works if we've first laid a foundation of respect and trust.
This is why it's important we get to know each other in as organic a way as possible. We promise we'll never single you out in a group to make you come up with two truths and a lie or a fun fact about yourself; the best icebreaker game is a good conversation.
While much of our process is asynchronous, we feel that it's important to have easy ways to just hangout with one another. This is why we've created channels in Slack for both work and non-work related purposes. Feel free to join any that interest you and create your own if you'd like!
This is a non-comprehensive list intended to provide context for the most generally used Slack channels.
#announcements-companywide
Work-based discussion and announcements for the full team
#instagram-circa-2012
For pictures of food, just like the golden age of Instagram.
#int_brand
Brand updates and announcements from the design team
#movie-club
Right now, this channel is for film recommendations and discussion. We're working on incorporating this into one of our social events - stay tuned!
#music
Listening to something cool? Drop it here. And be sure to check out and add to our collaborative Spotify playlist!
#random-coffees
Want to get to know team members but not sure where to start? Every Monday, a bot randomly pairs people in this channel together to schedule a coffee that week. This is a great way to meet new team members and catch up with those you may not interact with on a day-to-day basis.
#the-water-cooler
This is our social channel. Use this space to chat about whatever!
#thisisinteresting
Ideas, articles, and thought starters around design, strategy, and emerging tech
Trivia/Game Night
We have a standing bi-weekly "happy hour" every two weeks. Sometimes we all just hang out and chat, but occasionally we'll do activities like Jackbox Games and Trivia. We're always looking for other fun games to try, so please let us know if you have any suggestions!
Retreats
For our last retreat, we rented a villa in Mexico and spent the days eating good food and relaxing when we weren't swimming with stingrays or arguing about the future of the brand. Due to Covid-19, we don't have plans for another retreat just yet, but we can't wait to start planning one as soon as it's safe to do so.
Movie Club
Join the #movie-club Slack channel and stay tuned!
Don't stop reading - we're trying to figure out a better name.
From internal branding and content roll outs to inviting speakers in to moderate discussions on topics the team will find relevant and fun, we're very excited to be implementing this initiative within the next 1-2 months. Stay tuned! 😉