When I started at Spyder Trap a year ago, I was completely new to the world of digital and to the collaborative and exciting—non-corporate—atmosphere that came along with it. My experience here has made me realize how central company culture is to the way we work. It’s not just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have.
We have found that by balancing casual social interaction with business, we can facilitate strong teamwork, increase productivity, and bring about more innovative ideas. That’s why we regularly introduce some social excitement into the office, like with our recent Spirit Week.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Spirit Week? I used to have that in Middle School and we would wear pajamas to school and have pizza parties.” And you’re exactly right. It’s a week filled with some fun distractions in and out of the office so we can take a break from the day-to-day work and get to know each other on a more personal level—to hopefully fuel even more collaboration and creativity when we get back to work.
The planning committee wanted to be sure that certain components were a part of this week: a team outing, lots of great food (my favorite part, obviously), and social activities at different times throughout the week. And maybe most importantly, we also wanted to give back to our community by partnering with a local charity.
The week unfolded as follows:
Monday: We kicked off the week by channeling our inner 6-year olds with a cereal bar of Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, and Fruit Loops—you know, the good stuff.
Tuesday: Company-wide bowling competition! (I broke 100, nbd)
Wednesday: An in-office movie night in which we watched a film starring the sister of one of our very own Spyder Trappers. (‘Terror Birds’ – it may or may not win an Oscar)
Thursday: SAINT PATRICK’S DAY. People dressed in green as we sipped mimosas and dove into the Bloody Mary bar. In the afternoon we had our monthly Town Hall meeting, which is a good chance for everyone to get up to speed on company updates and enjoy some good food!
Friday: During our lunch we whipped out some board games and demolished some amazing food from Buca di Beppo. If you’ve ever played MadGab, you can imagine how much harder it is with a mouth full of pasta.
In the mix of all the fun and games, we partnered with Community Health Charities & March of Dimes to make fleece tie blankets, collect donations of personal care items and solicit contributions from our team. For me, this was the best part of Spirit Week. Philanthropic work has been a huge part of my life since I was younger. I was very excited to see a group of awesome people come together to help others and do their part to make a difference.
I know that the Spyder Trap leadership team works hard to make sure we have a great culture and enjoy coming into work every day. Their investment of resources in Spirit Week each year helps our team stay creative and motivated to continue the great work we do. If you’re interested in joining our award winning team, check out our open positions here: