3 days in Seville with Prolific’s People and Talent team

Prolific is a fully remote UK business, but we make sure to connect in person throughout the year. That’s why we give each department head an annual budget to spend on team meet-ups. It means our Prolificos can get together, collaborate, and have some fun!

Teams have the flexibility to meet up wherever they wish. This could be in or outside the UK, as long as the chosen location makes sense for the team and their budget.

This year the People & Talent team chose to meet up in Seville. Our two goals were to:

• Look back at Quarter 3 and set our objectives for what we want to achieve in Quarter 4.
• Build stronger relationships as our team has recently grown by three new individuals.

We had three full days together and we wanted to get the most out of them. So, we packed our agenda with workshops and training sessions, but also enjoyed meal times together plus a fun team-building activity each day.

Day one: Team meetings, tapas, and rooftop pools

We arrived in Seville, grabbed an Uber, and made our way to a co-working space in the city centre next to the Setas de Sevilla. After setting up our laptops and grabbing a cafe con leche, we had our first team meeting of the week together in person, dialling in our colleagues from Canada and London who couldn’t make the trip.

This was our standard weekly meeting where we chat through:

• Our peak of the weekend
• A team check-in on how each of us are feeling
• A run through our priorities for the week

This meeting sets the tone for the week ahead, and gives each other oversight of what we are each working on.

Then we went to a tapas restaurant for lunch, which would be the first of many! After a delicious meal, we set off to our Airbnb to check in, unpack, and get on with some work.

For the Talent Team, this meant sourcing candidates, as well as replying to and screening calls for our current open vacancies. Being together in person meant they could shadow each other's calls and learn new techniques from one another.

Meanwhile, the People Team collaborated with line managers and worked on a presentation for the upcoming managers ‘all-hands’ meeting.

Then we all logged off for the day, had a dip in the rooftop pool, caught up on some sunbathing, and ate more tapas!

Day two: Planning, priorities, and paella cooking classes

Our second day was all about looking back at Q3 and planning for Q4. We started with a recap of our company goals for 2023 and our goals within the People and Talent teams.  

Then we talked about what went well in Q3:

• We hired a massive 23 roles across the business during this quarter so far.
• We organised our first-ever Prolific Summer BBQ social event, which received loads of fantastic feedback.

We also took a deep dive into what could have gone better in Q3.

The rest of the meeting was spent on what we’re focusing on for Q4, based on our analysis of Q3, our goals for 2023, and company strategy.

With our meetings over, we had time to decompress and get ready for a 3-hour hands-on Spanish cooking class in Triana. We learned how to make traditional paella, gazpacho, seasonal tapa, and lemon sorbet. Each dish combined our efforts as a team which made them taste even better!

Full of delicious food, we walked through Triana to a bar beside Canal de Alfonso XIII where we chatted, bonded, and enjoyed the lively atmosphere.

Day three: Scooter tours, team projects, and traditional flamenco dancing

Our final day together began with a team-building activity. This was a 2-hour electric scooter tour of historical buildings, including the Archives of Indies and the Tower of Gold. It was amazing to see more of this beautiful city together and learn about the history of Spanish culture.

We arrived back at the Cathedral of Seville just in time for lunch and - you guessed it - more tapas! Then we headed back to our Airbnb so each team could split out and work on their individual team projects for the rest of the afternoon.

The People Team held the monthly manager’s ‘all-hands’ meeting and kicked off a discussion on the annual review questions for 2023. Meanwhile, the Talent Team worked on a review of our interview processes and discussed the questions that are linked to the principles and behaviours we embody.

Our final evening in Seville was spent watching a traditional flamenco show at Teatro Flamenco Saville. It was absolutely breathtaking and full of passion and intensity. We were all so moved by the show that each of us came back to the UK with around three fans each of different sizes, ready to practice our flamenco dance moves at home!

What was the impact of our meet-up?

In the following days, I asked the team for feedback on how they felt the meet-up had gone. Here are some of the highlights:

• “It was incredibly helpful and valuable to have in-person conversations. We could bounce questions and ideas off of one another and have really engaging conversations.”
• “Being new to the team, it was great to get more insight through in-person conversation into work in Q3, the issues that were faced, and how we hope to improve this in the next quarter.”
• "I got to know my team so much better outside of work, during the e-scooter tour, cooking class and all the tapas eating! Ended up building really good relationships and had such a laugh with this wonderful group of people!”

Now we’re back in the business with a clear set of OKRs for the next quarter. And we feel closer and more unified as a team to be able to meet these objectives.

There was one thing we didn’t manage to achieve though… deciding where to go next year!

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Prolific is growing fast. We’re looking to hire passionate, curious people who care about making the world better.

Come work with us - you could be part of one of our next meet-ups in a beautiful location like Seville! Head on over to our careers page and check out our open roles.