How do you build “digital culture and rituals” in a traditional company? A review of the All Hands meeting experience at Decathlon Technology

We hear more and more about the tech culture of digital native companies. The concept is not new, but it is not obvious to traditional companies. However, its impact on digital talent acquisition, the employer brand, or the well-being of employees is crucial.

At Decathlon Technology, we’re redesigning the entire tech landscape at Decathlon, driving innovation and growth, and rapidly and frequently building new digital services for our customers’ needs.

To build a digital-first company, and in order for Decathlon to look, sound and feel like a #tech company, we first had to introduce rituals from the digital culture, starting with a monthly All Hands.

The biggest companies in the world based in Silicon Valley adopted it, including the likes of LinkedIn, Google and Facebook… same for tech startups. So, in 2021, we launched our first All Hands meeting to keep our +3,500 digital employees across the globe informed about this transformation and what our team is getting up to. Here are some of our learnings.

Firstly, what is an All Hands meeting?

You’ve heard of the phrase ‘all hands on deck’, right?

The All Hands meeting format brings together everyone in the company, from the CEO to the intern, across all teams. In other words, no one is working on their respective projects. This meeting is organized either once a week, once a month, or once a quarter, depending on the company.

What are the objectives for us here at Decathlon Technology? To be transparent and communicate news company-wide, from new employees to important projects and share information and strategies, as well as any wins (and fails!) with the whole company. This helps to avoid siloed teams and keeps everyone up-to-date.

The goal is to provide the whole team with a change of scenery and the opportunity to mingle with each other in a positive and friendly atmosphere.

Teams can join at a distance from video calls, or be physically present in the office, and are encouraged to interact with each other–particularly when employees from different offices don’t have many opportunities to do so!

Above all, the greatest opportunity of an All Hands meeting is to encourage and inspire the #teams. It provides a place to introduce new ideas, refocus on common goals and learn from each other, and also to provide a platform so everyone’s voice can be heard since everyone is allowed not just to attend, but to speak and discuss directly with our main leaders during the Q&A sessions.

All Hands at Decathlon Technology — some facts and figures

Across the past two years, Decathlon Technology has hosted 21 All-Hands Meetings. The meetings are either held 100% online or phygitally, in other words, held in-person in the Decathlon HQ in Lille and simultaneously streamed live online to our teams from 36 countries across the globe, whether in Hong Kong, Mexico City, or from the comfort of one’s sofa when working remotely.

The initial goal was to provide all #Decathlon employees–no matter the location or role–the answers to some key questions. Typically, we cover topics such as: Why is the Decathlon #Technology team here? What are the stakes? What are our targets? How is the team organized and what are the roles within it?

Our all-star Communications team organizes and hosts our monthly All Hands meetings, inviting members of the Senior Management as keynote speakers when they have something important to discuss.

Each meeting is roughly one hour in length. We keep the team up-to-date about anything that’s changed in the previous month, key achievements, or things that still need to be achieved. In other words, any information that the entire Decathlon Technology team would benefit from knowing.

Each All Hands is recorded and stored on Decathlon’s shared network in case someone missed it and to ensure that it is easily accessible for anyone that needs to refer back to the information.

Notably, we ensure to provide a clear program from the get-go, including what subjects are in store and introductions of the various keynote speakers from the relevant teams.

The design is interactive, fun and, notably, digital-first.

The intention for each keynote is to be lively–for our viewers to be excited to be following the conversation. Now, not everybody is born a public speaker… You have to coax it out of some people.

Moreover, it is easy to lose the audience during transitions as speakers come on and off stage, particularly the case for those following at distance.

To help add this confident energy to our meetings, we always have one single All Hands host who ensures the fluidity and rhythm of the meeting. The host is present and visible throughout the whole meeting, acting as a moderator, introducing the purpose of the All Hands, handing over to the speakers, asking questions, and being active during the Q&A session.

We also noticed that there were awkward transitions when keynote speakers handed over to one another, which made the audience quickly lose interest.

To alleviate this, we added an upbeat jingle and now display transition slides to introduce the next speaker and topic. In fact, all our sequences (intro, transition, outro) have inspiring, positive music to add to the ambiance.

The results? Energy, pep and connection with the audience… The format feels more like a virtual ‘round table’ with a panel of speakers present, instead of the usual succession of presentations. Not to mention more dynamic conversation, an informal atmosphere, and a ‘team meeting’ feel which is less top-down.

Interested in joining the Decathlon Technology team? Check out all of our career opportunities here.