Why we took our entire company to Lapland
And came back stronger than ever
Culture has always been important to us at MessageBird and our unique company culture is something we’re very proud of. Preserving it was relatively easy when we were a handful of people in a garage. Our values were so close to who we were, there was no need to write them down. But as we’ve grown over the years, both myself and founder Robert knew we had to invest to maintain our culture.
To give you an idea of our most recent growth, by the end of December ’17, our team had grown from 45 to 100 people in less than a year. On top of that Robert and I had been fully dedicated to completing our first funding round, something that we are super proud of but took a lot of our attention.
Our values and culture are the foundation of our success and growth. As I looked around at all the new employees at the end of last year, it struck me that our culture could be at risk. Before we went full steam ahead and continued to grow at that pace, we needed to take the time to not only focus on the bigger picture, but capture what it really means to work at MessageBird.
Instead of just giving everybody a pitch and sending them on their merry way, we decided to take the entire company to Lapland for a week of thrills, adventure, and challenges. Our goal was not only to blur the lines between people that had been with us for years and new employees, but to solidify the culture that we’re all so proud of. Culture is not something you can dictate, it only has longevity if every single person who joins the company has the ability to make their mark and make us better as a collective.
This is how we made sure Lapland was our ultimate company off-site that helped our entire team to refocus and really get shit done.
Culture building 2.0
It’s extremely important to us that we keep a welcoming and warm work environment, and knowing who your colleagues are is the first step. So what better way to kick off the off-site than by hosting a friendly competition in the snow. Our Finnish friends made my former speed-skater-heart race by setting up our very own Winter Olympics.
The games combined both physical and mental challenges. They included a hilarious snowshoe race, creative snow-sculpting, and enjoying a relaxing moment with a nice hot coffee and fresh cinnamon bun in a heated tipi. The Finns took the competition as seriously as we did and it really reinforced the fact that we had a team of true winners :)
Bringing teams back in focus
Our core values are; Get Shit Done, Do What You Love, Work Hard Play Hard and Raise the Bar. It’s important to us that these mean much more than words on paper and really reflect how we operate within MessageBird.
If everyone does what they love and are empowered to find their own path in the company, then you have all the ingredients to build a great company with an amazing culture. Anyone who’s tried this will tell you it’s easier said than done. I’m a strong believer in the importance of aligning our company goals with each team, especially in a young technology scale-up with so many different people from different cultures. We have to prioritize and take the time to make sure we’re all on the same page. The big question remains: where do you start? How do you equip your teams with the clarity, vision and mindset to actually get shit done?
I reflected on my own approach to ensure I love what I do, am able to really put my head down and get shit done. I’m a results-driven person, but I also realize that focussing on the end result alone will bring me nowhere. When you only focus on the big picture it makes it harder to make actual progress and deal with failure. I love the process, the daily struggle, the small victories and the frustration. I love to make adjustments to my plans and challenge myself over and over again. The only way I’m able to get shit done is to make my picture a bit smaller, defining what success would look like and start tackling each thing that’ll get me there.
This was the approach that we built our Lapland workshops on. The team workshops were kicked off by an All Hands meeting, where Robert and I set the stage for each team to have the information they needed to rock their workshop. The presentation discussed our mission, vision and values, our company goals for 2018, and we defined what success would look like for our company.
After the All Hands, each team Lead led a workshop for their team to define SMART goals that supported our overall company strategy. I was blown away by the creativity with which everybody threw themselves at the assignment. Every team came up with various ways to contribute to the direction we laid out, both for their teams, as well as on a personal level. It was so cool to see that people who had only been with us for 6 days rocked their team presentation, adding immense value already.
Allow time for fun and relaxation
The right balance between effort and fun is crucial, and needless to say we wouldn’t be MessageBird if we were all about work and forgot to play, especially in a place where there’s so much cool stuff to do.
Like discovering the landscape on the husky trail
And speeding through frozen forests on snow scooters
And enjoying amazing drinks and dinners with all our birds
Invest in talent that fits your culture
Building a great company starts with hiring the right people. One of the best things of the trip was seeing our entire team pull together, even the ones who had just joined. The amazing support and drive we saw in Finland reinforced our belief that hiring people that fit our culture is crucial to building the company we want to be.
With each hire, MessageBird becomes a company that can continue to undergo sustainable growth — a tech company where ambitious, talented people love to work and build towards our combined future. We came back as a unified group of hyper-energized people with a razor sharp focus to build an amazing company (with a serious crush on husky puppies). Looking back on how we ended Q1 as a team, Lapland was just what we needed to navigate the daily grind and stay on top of our game.
Still don’t believe me? Check out our video and see for yourself ;)
We’re hiring! Check out our jobs page and see if we have an opening in one of our global birds nests just for you.
