Following previous meet-ups in Rome and Izmir, two of our teams recently got together in rural East Sussex for a week of face to face workshops, activities and team building exercises.
A week in the countryside, exploring the vast grounds of Eastwood Observatory and breathing in the fresh air, took us away from our desks and gave our data science and business development teams time to reflect on the many achievements and milestones we’ve met this year, catalysing discussions, excitement and new ideas for upcoming projects.
Celebrating our achievements and sharing ideas
Throughout the week, we held workshops, presentations and focus sessions to enable the two teams to collaborate, share knowledge and learn more about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes in other areas of the business.
Our Managing Director, Harry McCarney, shared his reflections on the recent achievements of both teams, celebrating the impact our data science solutions have for the globally critical industries we serve.
Other presentations came from Phil Pettit, our new Client Services Director, and Beth Walker, our Sales and Marketing Lead. Phil shared his experiences of tackling supply chain network complexity from his time at Cummins and Caterpillar, while Beth gave a detailed overview of our business development strategies and processes.
The focus sessions for data science, projects, strategy, sales and marketing enabled the teams to use the insights shared in the presentations and deep dive on how best to drive innovation alongside our other teams when back in the office.
Our data science team enjoyed learning more about the market landscape, its challenges and opportunities. Meanwhile, our business development team strengthened their knowledge of the hard work, expertise and innovation behind our data science capabilities. It was wonderful to see the two teams so engaged, inquisitive and eager to share their knowledge and ideas.
Bringing together two of our world class teams
Our remote working model and strong reputation within the global data science community enable us to hire from a diverse talent pool. This means that our data scientists are some of the best in the world, from a range of fields including logic, cancer research, genetics and academia.
Because our teams work remotely, we recognise the importance of regular in-person meet ups to enhance communications, energise our people and continue to push the boundaries of digital innovation.
Team building and enrichment
Collaboration and communication weren’t limited to meetings and workshops, however. Across the week, we collaborated with and competed against one another in several different board games and chess matches - some of which lasted several hours and saw tensions running high.
With Wimbledon 2024 taking place only the week before, we made use of Eastwood Observatory’s tennis courts. It is probably fair to say that there was no obvious Andy Murray or Venus Williams amongst us, but we were particularly pleased by a rally of 14 consecutive hits with no balls hit outside of the courts.
Across the week, we also had the opportunity to explore East Sussex. Our teams visited Herstmonceux Castle and its beautiful gardens, Pevensey Castle and Pevensey Bay, as well as The Observatory Science Centre - an interactive science exhibition with historical domes and telescopes for astronomical observation. It was a truly fascinating visit and sparked much discussion around science and innovation.
A company quiz divided the teams into small groups, and evoked a healthy amount of competitiveness. The scores were close, but Team 4 ‘Show Me the Melih’ took the victory and were crowned the winners. We then enjoyed a variety of fantastic tapas dishes, prepared by a visiting chef - a wonderful end to another highly productive knowledge share meetup.
Exciting things are yet to come
With some exciting new supply chain and logistics projects on the horizon, getting our data science and business development teams together has energised the teams and given us the opportunity to reconnect, reflect and refresh as we look to the months ahead.
