TechTalks at blue.works
Every last Friday of the month, we organize TechTalks at blue.works: For one hour, we deal with technical, but also “soft” topics, which we present to each other. Everything we do as a company is ultimately aimed at moving us and our customers forward and creating greater added value. And by sharing our experience as a team, we are working towards this goal. True to the motto: Sharing is caring!
Structured exchange of knowledge
The format
The Team TechTalks take place in a relaxed atmosphere – this is laid down in our agile@blue.works Manifesto. The focus is not on the topic itself, but rather on the fun of taking part. The TechTalks take place on a monthly basis. We encourage each other to present topics so that everyone grows from the presentation itself, but also gives the others insights into topics they are currently working on. In this way, we become more professional, increase our quality by questioning and keep each other up to date. It also just feels good when we see each other within blue.works, have a beer together and enjoy each other’s company.
During open discussions, we cover a wide range of technical concepts, solutions and experiences from SAP events. In some cases, we examine technical topics in great detail. And sometimes we talk about how we could organize our “tasks” better. There are usually between 1 and 3 speakers per hour. After each meeting, the team agrees on the next topics. Sometimes the presentations are prepared in the form of slides, sometimes they are simply presented orally, without any particular form. Everyone can decide that for themselves.
An internal TechTalk is not a new invention from us. It gives us the opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas. Although we constantly practice transparency in what we do, it is almost impossible for everyone to be informed about the other experts’ other topics. At the blue.works TechTalk, we try to bring ALM experts, sales, marketing and management closer together. It is an opportunity to share knowledge within the team and to pursue an open mindset: And across all hierarchical levels – even though we have a very flat hierarchy anyway.
The challenge in holding the TechTalks is – as always – the availability of our time. However, with the right prioritization and the fact that each of us values TechTalk so much, even as an international company we manage to bring people from Switzerland, Germany and Estonia together for TechTalk.
The work culture
Professional development and lifelong learning
All the experts in our team have knowledge and this knowledge becomes much more valuable when we share it. We want to grow as a company. That’s why one of the aims of our TechTalks is for everyone in the team to grow and develop. The Talk enables us to promote the exchange of knowledge on specific topics and to keep up to date with the latest developments. Of course, SAP updates are a frequently chosen topic.
The TechTalks add variety to our daily routine and promote “lifelong” learning. The learning curve to master SAP is steep, which means it takes a lot of effort and patience for new team members to learn SAP at the beginning of their career – if that’s even possible 😉.
Improvement of soft skills
Presenting during the TechTalks promotes soft skills, as it provides a stage for presenting within our trusting environment, getting to the heart of topics in a short space of time and also having to answer the odd critical question. When we step out of our comfort zone to learn new things, this is a tremendous value that is difficult to achieve under other conditions.
Last but not least, TechTalks also improve our language skills, as all presentations are held in English. As you can see, it’s not just the listeners who learn something, but also the person presenting a topic: A win-win situation!
As SAP experts, we tend to speak in specific IT terms that are difficult for people outside our daily environment to understand. In the TechTalks, we try to use a more natural, common language that everyone can understand. We highly value soft skills at blue.works, invest in their development and also promote them in every new employee. The entire initiative is in line with a cornerstone of our working culture – the transparent and agile working method: agile@blue.works!
The future is just around the corner and we will continue to organize the internal TechTalks at blue.works. Our values drive us to create a platform where people trust each other, take responsibility, are courageous and curious, and stay up to date with SAP’s innovations.
Of course, we wouldn’t be blue.works if we didn’t already have new ideas on how we could improve our TechTalk: One of them is, for example, to let selected guests take part in our talk. What do you think?
