The Outfield team are no strangers to remote working; it’s actually a real strength of ours and something we will always both celebrate and champion! We’ve been able to hire the best people for the position regardless of where they are in the world – and thanks to the great technology stack we use, working together is pretty much seamless. Nevertheless, there is something magical about getting together as a team every now and then. 

In November we held our first whole (almost) team meetup; something we plan to do twice annually and for our inaugural one, we really set the standard with style! Whilst the walk to work that day felt somewhat like the first day at school, complete with nervous anticipation, it was gone in an instant as familiar faces loomed into view. Sadly though, we couldn’t quite escape the curse of Covid19, and our South African based team mate Dylan wasn’t able to attend. Though, thanks to the wonders of modern technology (and maybe inspired by Mythic Quest) he was still able to attend meetings – as a floating head gently carried around the offices on a MacBook. 

With just five days to play with, we wanted to cram as much in as possible; whilst ensuring there was a balance of strategy, knowledge sharing and team building and celebrating…I think we rose to the occasion in style!

Some of the shared highlights included:

  • A visit to one of our key partner orchards, hanging out with one of East Anglia’s top fruit growers and seeing the value of the technology we work so hard to build, offers first hand to our users. 
  • A team trip to Duxford Air Museum near Cambridge where Oli was able to regale us with tales of his time working in the aerospace industry, we may have yawned in jest by hour 3 but it was truly fascinating and a must see when visiting the area. 
  • If there was ever a ‘deep end’ for teamwork then we nailed it: being locked in a room trying to defuse a missile was intense and luckily, thanks to stellar teamwork and problem solving, we made it out in just 40 minutes – not quite the escape rooms record but we were pretty happy with the 20 minutes to spare before the end of the world! 

There were so many other highlights throughout the week it’s almost impossible to list them all – though to name a few more, my personal favourites were definitely:

  • The ability to have in person strategy meetings
  • Carpool karaoke (Tina Turner FTW)
  • Ice skating (attempts) and fairground ride challenges
  • Cliche as it may be, just getting to know each other over dinner while supporting the wonderful range of restaurants on offer here in Cambridge. 

Friday came around all too quickly and by the end of the week we were saying goodbye to friends, not just colleagues. As a last day treat Emil made us all apple pie and crumble (made with apples from our orchard visit)… and thus began the Outfield Bake Off Challenge! 

We’re super excited for what’s to come in 2022, the excitement and energy in the room was electric and we are brimming with ideas! We might all be back in our various locations now, but we’re that bit closer. Bring on 2022! 

Oh, and we’re hiring! 

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