SpiceFactory annual workation is something that our entire team looks forward to. But...it's just one part of a bigger puzzle. It’s a product of our culture and the unique environment we’ve built.
The Culture
At SpiceFactory, we strive to build software products that add taste to the software world while at the same helping people solve complex business problems through groundbreaking digital solutions. Just as our name implies, we like to spice things up!
Without our core beliefs - the ones our team already lives and works by - and the collaborative culture we've carefully built, this wouldn't be at all possible. We believe in transparency, constant improvement, and building products with love.
As engineers, UX/UI designers, and digital strategists we strive to collectively make real and measurable impact for our clients.
We believe that everything we do is a team sport, so we support, encourage, and inspire everyone in our team to do their best work and grow together.
The Why Behind the Workation
But to nourish the team spirit, strengthen the bonds between people, and recharge our creative juices, we realized that we sometimes need to leave our comfort zones behind - literally!
And that’s where the idea for a SPFR workation came from. This is an exciting part of our culture that moves the entire team (plus significant others & spicy kids) to a foreign country to live and work under the same roof for a week.
This year, our 3rd annual workation took us to sunny Tuscany for seven days of focused teamwork and lots of shared experiences. To some people, having to eat, sleep, and work together with their colleagues for a week may sound dreadful. It’s quite the opposite for the SPFR folks - we actually enjoy spending time together! It may be challenging at times, but it's always fun.
And there’s also this...
You don't really know someone until you live with them, travel with them or do business with them.
Check, check and ✔︎ !
This saying is so true. When a group of people goes through the above experiences together, they start feeling more like a real team than colleagues who need to suffer through work days together.
Getting the Work Done
Let’s be clear, while on workation it’s not “business as usual,” but it’s not a vacation either. You’re working with a team in a completely new environment and you need to have clear goals to stay in focus.
What ended up working great for our engineering team is setting a goal to finish off a chunky project while on workation. The productivity of the team was high and they were able to solve big things -- the cycle included long hours of productive grind with occasional dips in a pool. It goes without saying that they learned exactly what makes each of them tick, but they managed to stay cool.
It’s nice to know you enjoy working with people even when it’s 1am and there are no masks on.
Fun & Games
After the work is done for the day, the SPFR team enjoyed some typical vacation activities together. But...we also like to step out of the box. Hiking, sightseeing, wine tasting, these were all awesome group activities but we needed to challenge the team with something a bit out of their comfort zones. So we organized an improv night!
“The improv, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but when it does, it's like open-field running.” Robin Williams{: .small}
Improv proved to be a great (and hilarious) team building exercise because it took a bit of courage (some of us have stage fright) and allowed everyone to get out of their head a little bit and take risks. Acting in an improv scene with a colleague in front of the rest of the team was certainly a memorable experience for all, and we found out we have some pretty talented people on board!
In conclusion, if you want to check the pulse of your team, get focused to finish off a specific project, escape the daily routines, and have fun while at it - we recommend you take a company workation! And if you’re a talented engineer looking for your next challenge, you should come on board and join us next year for a legendary SPFR workation.