The Key Role of Client Workshops, Meetings, and Informal Gatherings in Creen's Success
In the modern business world, something as simple as workshops, meetings, and informal gatherings with clients can make a big difference. These are just ways people come together to talk, share ideas, and build connections. By doing these things, businesses can work better together, make decisions that everyone agrees on, and create a friendly atmosphere where everyone’s ideas matter. It’s how companies succeed and grow in today’s fast-moving times.
In this blog, we will explore the dynamic world of client workshops, meetings, and informal gatherings delving into their transformative potential and their impact on contemporary business practices. As technology reshapes the business landscape, it is crucial not to underestimate the immense value these face-to-face interactions offer.
Client Workshops
In the bustling world of corporate affairs, workshops serve as vibrant hubs of creativity and innovation. These sessions, often involving team members gathering to exchange ideas and engage in interactive activities, provide a structured platform for exploring new concepts and refining existing ones.
In a corporate context, workshops are organized sessions where employees from different departments or backgrounds come together to learn, brainstorm, and collaboratively tackle specific challenges. These gatherings offer a dynamic environment for creative thinking and problem-solving.
Workshops are instrumental in fostering collaboration among team members. By providing a space for diverse viewpoints and expertise, they encourage the cross-pollination of ideas. Through interactive exercises, team members can collectively analyze problems from multiple angles, leading to innovative solutions that might not have emerged through individual efforts alone. Moreover, workshops promote open communication and active participation, allowing individuals to feel heard and valued, thereby boosting their confidence and engagement.
At Creen, workshops have played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s achievements. We often had workshops to kick off a new collaboration or jointly define the next steps for a new project. One notable instance was recent with a new client from the telecommunications industry from Regensburg. We had a two-day workshop to get to know each other, understand the requirements of our first project, and align on the working mode going forward.
Face-to-Face Review Meetings
Joint face-to-face review meetings with our client are structured gatherings where representatives from different departments or areas convene to discuss and evaluate ongoing projects. These meetings provide a platform for sharing progress updates, addressing concerns, and collectively assessing the project’s trajectory.
The significance of face-to-face interactions in review meetings cannot be overstated. These meetings facilitate direct and immediate communication, allowing team members to clarify doubts, exchange insights, and provide real-time feedback. This direct interaction transcends the limitations of emails or digital correspondence, fostering a deeper understanding and rapport among team members who might not interact frequently.
Joint review meetings play a pivotal role in preventing the divergence of perspectives and objectives that can lead to misunderstandings or misalignment. By bringing together diverse viewpoints and encouraging open dialogue, these meetings help in identifying potential discrepancies early on, ensuring that everyone remains on the same page and aligned toward the project’s overarching goals.
Creen has witnessed the transformative power of face-to-face review meetings in action. Our typical work is based on the method of agile software development. It includes sprints of two, three, or four weeks – depending on the project. Every sprint starts with a sprint planning meeting and ends with a sprint review. While having online meetings for sprint planning is perfectly fine, we prefer to do the sprint review occasionally face-to-face with our clients. This enables a better discussion of the achievements and allows the team to celebrate the success of the last sprint.
Co-Located Working
Amidst the complexities of modern work structures, co-located working emerges as a cornerstone for nurturing robust team dynamics and forging bonds that transcend the virtual realm.
Co-located working refers to teams operating from a shared physical space, promoting real-time interactions and collaborations. This arrangement brings with it a range of benefits, including spontaneous idea sharing, instant problem-solving, and the organic exchange of knowledge that can occur during coffee breaks or casual conversations.
Physical proximity is a powerful catalyst for team cohesion. Being in the same location allows team members to pick up on nonverbal cues, build rapport through personal interactions, and develop a deeper understanding of their colleagues’ strengths and working styles. These factors contribute to a sense of unity and camaraderie that is challenging to replicate in remote settings.
At Creen, co-located teams have harnessed the advantage of proximity to remarkable effect. We happen to have two offices in Serbia, one in Novi Sad and another in Belgrade. Both working spaces are used by our software developers, head of operations, and delivery managers. Our offices offer ergonomic workstations, spacious balconies with a fantastic view and modern kitchens always packed with coffee and other refreshments.
At the same time, we’re also regularly co-locating with our clients – either in one of our offices or their offices. For example, it may mean that some of our team members travel to Regensburg, Munich, Cologne, Nuremberg, or other cities where our clients are located. Without having planned workshops or specific meetings, the team spends a few days working jointly. The impact is remarkable in terms of improved collaboration and new ideas generated.
Informal Gatherings
In the realm of professional interactions, informal meetings emerge as the gentle yet potent forces that nurture relationships, foster camaraderie, and lay the foundation of unwavering trust.
Informal meetings, often characterized by casual discussions and a relaxed atmosphere, hold a special place in the professional world. These encounters offer a respite from the rigors of formal agendas, allowing team members to connect on a personal level, and ultimately enhancing collaboration and mutual understanding.
The essence of rapport and camaraderie is distilled in the casual conversations that occur during informal meetings. As individuals share stories, interests, and even laughter, bonds are forged that transcend the confines of official roles. These connections lead to a sense of unity, where team members not only understand each other’s professional capabilities but also genuinely care about their well-being.
At Creen, the weekly coffee chats or beers after working hours bring together employees from different departments to discuss non-work-related topics. These interactions have revealed hidden talents, sparked collaborative side projects, and created a shared sense of belonging that extends beyond individual teams.
In addition to meetings within Creen, we also like informal gatherings with our clients. For example, we enjoyed exploring Belgrade together with our clients who recently visited us, or attending the summer party of one of our Regensburg clients.
Our Recent Work With Clients – Examples
Natasa Karac, Delivery Manager at Creen
“Since I started at Creen, I have had the opportunity to participate in workshops at three different client sites in Hamburg, Cologne and Regensburg. There are many positive impressions of these 3 trips that I am happy to share.
Getting to know the client, which entails a tour of the companies, an insight into a normal day for the employees, and much more, is impressive. The insight into everyday processes in the respective departments is always something exciting and of course, serves to understand better the pain points of a company, which then helps us to find optimal solutions.
In addition to the discussions with employees, you get first-hand information you probably couldn’t get in an online workshop. The pandemic has shown us that a lot can be done online. But from my point of view, an on-site workshop gives you time for informal conversations over a cup of coffee with the client. The existing personal contact supports the development of a lively exchange and a sense of community. The experience factor arises from what is experienced together and the interactions in the on-site workshops and not online.
Even if you don’t have much time on business trips, after the workshops, you can still explore the city that you didn’t know before. So I was lucky enough to explore Hamburg, Regensburg, and Cologne in the first 2 months.“
Conclusion
To summarize, by sparking creativity in workshops, aligning teams through joint meetings, and nurturing trust via informal gatherings, Creen has harnessed the potential of face-to-face engagement. These interactions go beyond agendas; they build relationships that transcend the virtual realm and contribute to a vibrant company culture.
As technology advances, the enduring value of these interactions remains. They serve as the compass guiding Creen toward innovation and excellence. Through workshops, joint meetings, and informal gatherings, Creen’s journey continues, a testament to the profound impact of collaboration in the modern business world.
