.png)
A few weeks ago, we published our company values and guiding principles. Whilst in that earlier blog post we elaborated why we think it is important to make them explicit and how we went about mapping them out, we would like to dive deeper into each value in follow-up posts and explain what they mean to us.Today, let’s talk about Collaboration! It is one of our core values because all of our projects are delivered in a team effort. And what makes every project a success? Exactly, a team that is working hand in hand to achieve their goals: Together, we are able to multiply our impact.For us, great teamwork is only possible if we support each other, are reliable and strive for quality – these are also our guiding principles which make the value of Collaboration more tangible and help us to live up to it. Read on to learn more!
Teal organizations are often compared to organisms consisting of organs and cells (instead of being like factories out of bricks), as they are not static, but evolving, and every cell is contributing to well-being and development. As a consequence, if every cell is provided with what they need, the organism as a whole is thriving. But no cell can achieve that on its own! Translating the analogy back to our team, that means that mutual support and empowerment are key. At EMPAUA, we are happy to share our knowledge and offer advice, so we can contribute to our colleagues‘ growth. People can just approach other colleagues directly, but we also have several channels in our team chat where people can ask for help when they encounter problems in their projects – they just need to determine if the question is for a Developer, an Admin or a BA and post their question in the relevant channel. That way, also collaboration across our six locations is fostered, and our team gets better as a whole! New starters get assigned a mentor, who provides guidance during the first 6-12 months and acts as point of contact for their mentee if they have doubts about processes and best practices.Anyone who is particularly good at something is also invited to host a knowledge sharing session on their sweet spot topic the whole company is invited to, so others can benefit from it as well.If someone has a lot on their plate and others have capacity, it is natural to offer to take some of the workload off their shoulders. There is another slack channel for that. As the work in our projects does not always go as planned and projects get delayed or stretched out, sometimes some people are drowning in work, while others don’t have any project-related tasks. The former can ask for help there, and the latter can let others know they are available. Knowing you are not alone and that your team has your back makes a real difference!
With our promises and actions we trigger expectations, and we strive to live up to them. It is important that we can rely on our team members and that we don’t have the feeling that we have to follow up constantly so nothing falls through the crops. Just saying that you are going to help your team mate in need or taking over a task, but then not delivering on it will not bring any relief for the colleague in question – instead, their workload increases, as they have to chase after the parts they gave away. But if we can be certain that our colleagues will deliver their part on time, or otherwise inform all stakeholders about delays, everyone can concentrate on their own contribution to the end result. What’s more, being reliable also generates mutuality: If a team member always proved you can rely on them, you will most probably want to return the favor.
We care – and we want the best possible outcome in everything we do. Therefore, every single one of us has to have the quality in mind and make every effort required for keeping it high. That means showing dedication for the work we need to get done, and also putting in some extra effort or hours if necessary to push something over the finish line. This is true both for internal projects and our work with customers: During the time of a project, our customers become a part of our team, so for our collaboration the same principles apply.Curious about our other company values? Here you can already read more about Community and why it is important to us.If you want to know more about our company culture, please reach out via email!
