It was Hack Day at etrainu! Over a two-day period, the etrainu team got together to creatively connect and collaborate on problem statements: each team had a different problem to solve and had to think outside the box to create a winning solution to their problem.
We then presented our solution to the rest of the company and showcased how it would help etrainu scale. And we all learned something new, especially me.
Watch the video below to check out some of the highlights from the day.
But before I get into what I learned, what exactly is a Hack Day? It’s basically a one or two-day event where teams get together to work on anything they want and just unleash an avalanche of ideas.
It’s a fun way to take a break from the daily grind and get people to go out of their comfort zone and connect with their teammates beyond their usual working groups.
Here at etrainu, we found our Hack Day allowed our creative juices to flow freely.
So without further ado, here’s what I learned at Hack Day 2023.
At our Hack Day, we formed cross-functional teams. A cross-functional team is essentially a group of people with a different array of skills, knowledge, and expertise who come together and work towards a common goal.
Each person from each department was sorted into six different teams. So we had a mix of developers, writers, graphic designers, customer success managers, and marketers, each tasked with solving a different problem.
It was a novel experience, mainly because I’m so used to working closely with the same six people— you become so familiar with one another.
You also don’t get to work with other teams as often, so it was exciting and good to get to know the team better—especially some of our remote team members. And I genuinely learned a lot from my team, which made the experience all the more worthwhile.
As a bonus, each team had to complete an Escape Room as a team bonding activity—which really put our teamwork to the test! But I’m happy to report that we all worked exceptionally well together, and most of us escaped in time (my team was only 30 seconds over our time limit, but who’s counting?)
I personally found myself in a group rife with developers (three to be exact), and it was definitely eye-opening.
As an instructional designer, my background lies in writing and creating our course content, with the occasional piece of marketing. And our problem was development-heavy as it focused on the user journey in the LMS.
Much like our customers, I tend to interact with our LMS as the final product. So, it was fascinating to see what goes on behind the scenes and approach the problem from various angles.
It was also compelling to gain insight into what our customers would be looking for, which meant we really had to approach the problem with a 360° view.
And while I didn’t get to code anything, dipping my toes into the development waters left me with a newfound appreciation for the development team.
I think for a lot of people—and most of the etrainu team would agree with me on this—public speaking is a daunting prospect. But it was time to kick out the old and embrace something new.
We were told that we had to participate in the presentations, so a lot of the team had to shake their nerves and be brave. I was among them, and while it was—and will remain—the scariest thing I could have ever imagined, I think it went well.
I dabbled my hand at video editing and creating visual user journeys to demonstrate what our solution would look like. While the final output was choppy, grainy, and off-centre, it made for good entertainment and got me expanding my skillset.
The other members of my team also tried their hand at acting and gave those Hollywood stars a run for their money!
The thing about working with other people is that it pushes you to get inside their heads and figure out how they approach problems. It also means you have the opportunity to approach potential problems in a new light.
As I mentioned earlier, my team’s problem was quite development-heavy. This meant I had to look at it through the lens of a developer and think about how I could solve our customers’ pain points.
I also had to look at it from the viewpoint of our customer success team and, of course, my own (the content development team). We had to understand each other to then come up with a shared vision and create a solution that met all of our goals.
Blue-sky thinking. The sky’s the limit. Let your imagination run wild. Those were the words our CEO, Paul Hoon, gave to us at the start of our journey.
So we crafted and concocted our concepts without limits, stretching our ideas beyond software/time/resource constraints and any judgements or consequences.
I’m a creative, so this challenge spoke to my soul. Oftentimes at work, we get caught up in the technicalities of our work: Can this be done? Does it meet all the requirements? You need to change this, or you need to change that.
But Hack Day allowed us to be as innovative as possible and try new things without the fear of repercussions. You could see how the creativity of the event flowed into the presentations.
And while we flew high, we never flew too close to the sun. Each team’s solution was fresh, exciting, and definitely achievable.
For me, connection was at the heart of everything.
The team came together and genuinely connected with each other. We ate together and we drank together. We agonised over our problems, brainstormed a million possibilities, and jumped for joy when solutions were found.
All in all, I can safely say that the etrainu Hack Day was a success, and I can’t wait for the next one!
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