Building a Team

Active listening & improvement of the engineering department processes

First times

Valencia, May 20th, 21st and 22nd, 2024.

Major goal: hosting the first face-to-face meeting of the year of the engineering department.

On the one hand, the leading group consisting of Roger Rodrigo, Marc Rodriguez, Raúl Mateos, Cristian Sanclemente, David Slater, Lionel Alvarez and Óscar Recio

And on the other hand, the invited participants Xavi Minguito, Liudmyla Fursenko, Javier Crevillén, Jose Ortega and Ángel González.

Listening to understand

Listening is the key to understanding, and that is the first thing that happened.

Javier and Jose looked into their previous working experiences to get an insight of how they work in other sector companies.

They shared with all the engineering team how they felt on their onboarding process at interactiv4, what did they expected when they first landed in our team and how has it been until now, pointing out positive aspects and points for improvement. All the gathered information is very useful for us because it gives us the opportunity to analyze our own technical onboarding process, detecting which elements need to be optimized in order to have a process in line with our company philosophy.

Sessions also served to unpack the new programming standard to be applied in i4.

At the suggestion of Gonzalo Méndez, a key member of the i4 technical team, the group analyzed and assessed the extension of best practice rules and programming standards based on the book Clean Code, by Robert Uncle Bob C. Martin. it was agreed to add more than twenty new points in the guide and to share the changes with the whole technical team.

Last but not least, at Oscar Recio’s proposal, the team evaluated the new security protocols in our clients projects, with active participation by contributing views and open discussion with the aim of further improving the security level of the organization.

But, what nourishes the soul of a team? Afterworks.

Because in between talks, testimonials and time dedicated to projects, there was room to share a table, laughter and good company. 

What do they say 

Here are the testimonials of some of the team members who attended the gathering:

Xavi Minguito

I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend this event organized by the committee of the engineering team, it was a very enriching experience. From the moment I was offered to attend it, I was completely sure it was going to be an excellent opportunity for learning and personal growth.

The event was attended by the company gurus Cristian Sanclemente, Raul Mateos, Marc Rodriguez, Roger Rodrigo and of course, our pillar Oscar Recio, who shared their knowledge and experiences through different talks.

We also had the opportunity to listen to the experiences in their previous companies, and how it’s been at interactiv4 since their arrival, from Javier Crevillen and Jose Ortega, the latest major additions to the team, that, in my opinion, are going to bring a lot to this company.

Unfortunately I couldn’t attend the whole talk from Oscar Recio about how to increase the security on our client’s projects, but the part I could listen to was really interesting.

Being able to be part of these activities in person has allowed me to listen to the questions and answers of the rest of my colleagues, from which I have been able to learn. This face-to-face interaction has been inspiring and motivating. 

And, since not everything has been about work, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to share moments and talks in our free time.

Nowadays, due to teleworking, face-to-face interaction between people is lost, and I believe that this kind of event helps  a lot to strengthen relationships. 

I also shared my experience in previous jobs and it was very interesting to compare different approaches to working in the eCommerce world. In addition to the work, we were able to spend time together outside of work and have a few laughs. It’s nice to break the monotony of the usual routine and enjoy good company, I’m looking forward to doing it again!!

Jose Ortega

For me, the trip has been very enriching, I didn’t know the colleagues in person and it has helped me to connect much more and to gain more confidence both personally and professionally.

I definitely came away with the feeling of having a very good support from the engineering team in general, everyone is willing to share experiences and knowledge.

We had a very interesting talk on how to shape the onboarding process  to make it even more enjoyable than it already is, discussing possible tasks that can be incorporated during the learning process to gradually introduce the mechanics used by the company 

In the rest of the talk, we compared ways of operating in other companies and i4, concluding that interativ4’s methodologies and ways of doing things are very well implemented.

Overall, the meeting has been very positive and has served to strengthen our relationship (both me as a newcomer, as well as the other colleagues who already knew each other before)

Liudmyla Fursenko

It was my first experience but I’m excited about everything, you know it was really valuable to hear everything what explained some people about their experience, about some details and take in account for the future for growing up like a developer and also like a leader 🔝 

But in our meeting was not only about experience also we found out a bit more about each other, spent time, worked together, you know it was really interesting observing how working these all people 😅👀 THEY ARE WORKING LIKE ONE COMPLETELY HUGE MECHANISM 😍

It was really interesting and important listening about security info from Oscar Recio, or about work experience from Jose Ortega and Javier Crevillen said really I guess interesting and important things about team about some roles in team and how much it’s important 🙌🏻

And from my side I understand one more time that I’m appreciate being of part of this great team, that I have this chance to work here and growing up with all of you here ❤️