The 2020 Olympics may have taken place in Tokyo this year, but back in June, CarBrain held its own Olympic games. After a year of working from home, we wanted an opportunity to come together and enjoy each other’s company while still showing off our competitive sides.
The games in question:
- Soccer
- Volleyball
- Jenga
- Connect Four
- Cornhole
- The Jug Endurance test
The challenge: Represent your team by winning the most points possible across the games.
Team spirit is important to us at CarBrain. In fact, it’s one of our core values (along with “honesty and transparency,” “modesty and humility,” “courage and ambition,” “respect and fairness,” “quality and reliability,” and “a can-do attitude!”). That’s why taking the opportunity to go outside and challenge each other in a team competition was a no-brainer!
Making It Happen
Before we could hit the field and compete against each other, we had to figure out how to organize them. Like the real Olympics, nothing happens without extensive planning and development to guarantee quality and reliability.
Sure, we don’t need to worry about constructing an Athletes’ Village, but we do need to ensure we have the necessary supplies — food, drinks, games, and sports equipment don’t show up out of nowhere!
Planning for the CarBrain Olympics was a team effort (requiring plenty of team spirit). A short list of the things we needed to accomplish include:
- Designing, ordering and distributing custom shirts for each CarBrainer
- Planning the menu with food, drinks and snacks included
- Creating a schedule for putting materials and games together
- Put out a sign-up sheet to get a roster of who was and wasn’t attending
- Booking the location with enough time to set up beforehand and clean up after…
And that’s just a taste of what was involved! No one person could handle all that. Luckily, it wasn’t up to one person — it was up to a team, and we all had the modesty and humility required to know that we would work better together rather than separately.
All CarBrain team leaders were involved in one way or another with planning the events and taking care of preparations leading up to the day. It took group meetings, one-on-one meetings and a few late nights, but sharing the load and a can-do attitude ensured we could accomplish more as a group.
The Day Of The Games
On the morning of the Olympics, CarBrainers were all reaching out to one another for last minute arrangements. Who’s picking up the ice? Who’s getting there first? Who’s setting up the games?
A culture of open communication, honesty and transparency ensured that every team member was on the same page, remembered what they were supposed to do and was able to do it.
Certain individuals were assigned particular roles — organizing, cooking the food, leading the games. Once we started setting up, however, everyone started pitching in for every task. Working together ensured that nothing was left to the wayside.
Once our competitors started arriving, the games began. From the volleyball field to the pavilion to the soccer court, team members spiked, kicked and balanced their way to victory across teams.
We had sign-up sheets ahead of the games, but some courageous and ambitious team members threw their hats into the ring at the last minute — in many cases, clinching unexpected victories.
Our games ranged from athletic (volleyball) to logical (Jenga), giving all employees a chance to show their skills. Games had competitors and individuals keeping score, but we knew we could rely on everyone’s respect and fairness to trust that the results were true.
Enjoying The Day!
Ultimately, the CarBrain Olympics was as much about enjoying each other’s company as it was enjoying some friendly competition. That’s why we also had good food — cooked on-site by a couple of volunteers — as well as plenty of snacks, drinks, and non-competitive activities as well.
At CarBrain, we know how to mix work and play — and we know how to put our company’s values to use no matter what we’re doing.
The values don’t just mean that days like our Olympics outing go well — it means that we have the attitude and skills required to support each other day in and day out as we work towards a common goal.
Who won the Olympics games? We all did. Every participant got an opportunity to show off and enjoy the outdoors for a few hours.
We want to provide the best customer service in the less-than-perfect car industry. We also want to be an inspiring, motivational and fun place to work. Join us on our journey to be the best business we can be!