Her job title says it all: Martina is a busy person. She forms part of the demi-god administration team that keeps the agency running smoothly.
She spends her working hours handling paperwork on her 3 (yes, three) monitors, only popping up for air for sustenance around tea time to unveil her latest baking invention.
So she keeps us in check, and she bakes. As you can imagine, we love her dearly 🙂
Last Friday, it was Tina’s turn to bring something to the boardroom table. Looking for a much-needed break from numbers and figures, she decided it was time to unwind and get to know each other a little better, starting from our early years and leading straight up to the random stories one would tell around a campfire.

Part 1: Oh Baby

Everyone received an envelope with their name on it, which included the pieces to two puzzles: One is a baby photo of an unidentified colleague, the other is a hint to help you figure out who they are. For some, it was obvious (Debbie’s hint was a dancing couple and Roderick’s was a broadsword – no-brainer!)

The others took a little figuring out, but the stories behind each of the photos got the team-bonding going steady. The beer helped too.
Can you guess who’s who? Quite a few of us couldn’t make it that afternoon, so that’ll make things a little harder if you’re expecting a few familiar faces 😉

Part 2: Lucky Dip

Just when we thought things were getting intimate (I mean, three of the photos were bath-time treasures after all) Tina took it to the next level.
1 bowl, full of more folded strips of paper than you could count. Everyone grabs a handful of strips and has a few minutes to read through the questions he or she has picked up. Some were super personal, others has us laughing out loud.
We heard about fears and phobias (note to self: never plan a Switch event at a theme park). The guys shared fond memories of cartoon crushes (remember Fujiko?) We heard about mean taunts from teen years, life in other countries, someone’s history as a child model, first kisses and the superpower that Keith would go for if he had the choice.

There were sweet moments, sad moments and literal LOLs, all within the last hour of the week.
Nice one, Tina – that was definitely a team-bonding session.

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Enter our latest blog series

Every week, we’ll have a quick round-up of what went on the week before – starting with last Friday and Andrea’s game of Drawception.

The concept is pretty simple, especially if you ever played Chinese Whispers as a kid. Everyone’s given one long sheet of plain paper, a pencil, and a task: you must think of any sentence or phrase and write it at the top of the paper.

At this point everyone’s brain will, of course, blank

Once you’re functioning again and everyone’s written their sentence, you then pass on your sheet to the person on your left. This person reads your phrase and must attempt to draw an interpretation of the phrase. The key work here being “attempt” – please keep in mind that, while we do have a team of hugely talented designers at Switch, the vast majority of us can’t draw a stick man to save our lives.

When you’re done drawing, you fold back the sentence at the top of the paper to hide it from view before passing the sheet over to the person on your left. This person must then interpret the drawing to write out a sentence underneath, before folding the drawing back and out of sight.

This keeps going until everyone gets their sheet back – although most of the time, you wouldn’t recognise it from the end result…

Nice one, Andrea. Ending the week with hysterical laughter is always a good idea.
Until next Friday, folks.

The post Last Friday Night: Drawception appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

Not your average stop at the pub

Anyone following our Facebook page will know that we’re no stranger to social events at the office. Our weekly brainstorming sessions, crazy karaoke nights, and renowned food days keep people smiling and keep the vibe light and airy week in, week out. We fell into a routine of organising the same type of events that everyone enjoys – some involved family, some did not. It worked, and things were smooth.
Then one day, just a few short months ago, Ed mentioned that he would be attending a conference in Amsterdam in May. Someone chimed in with ‘take me with you!’ and the next thing I knew, most of the office had booked their flights to a long weekend in the land of the long-legged.

One hour. Literally. Within one hour, almost every member of the team was booked for the first ever Switch trip. It was quick because it was simple – we already love spending time together outside of work, so why the hell not?

Dam you’re beautiful

Fast forward a couple of months – we’ve just chucked our backpacks into our 2 apartments before heading out into the gorgeous, gorgeous city that’s pulling us in. We walk around with our eyes looking up. We lie perfectly still in warm, sunny parks. We shiver in the cold as we walk home through dead streets (we missed the last tram, you see). And we devour every shop window, every museum, every wide open space and every narrow, crooked street the city had to offer.

And we eat good food. Because obviously.
Oh yes, Amsterdam is beautiful. We’re in awe – even those who’ve been there before. But what surprised me the most was not the views, not the locals, not the food. What surprised me the most was the group of people I was with.

Know thy colleague

Maybe it was because we were so far away from the office. Maybe it was the cathartic nature of the holiday following a couple of crazy months of work. Maybe it was the fact that we were literally living together for 4 days straight. Whatever it was, I got to know a whole new side to everyone – their comfort zones, their pet peeves, their limits and whether they snore or not (spoiler alert: everyone does.)

Forget falling back into the arms of a colleague who’s been instructed to catch you – this is real team building. This is throwing a bunch of real individuals into a new situation and watching them figure it out as they learn more and more about each other. New bonds were formed, new discoveries were made and, more importantly, a whole new reservoir of memories, laughs, and inspiration has been filled to the brim and carried into our day-to-day work at the office.
There were bound to be clashes and arguments at times – we’re a family of sorts after all. But now that we’re back at the office and well into day 3 of normality, the dust has settled and I’ve made my mind up.
The idea worked. We did it. We didn’t build a team of colleagues – we built a team of humans.

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