There is always something to be said for stepping back from your usual day-to-day work to focus on a new idea. We’re wrapping one of our quarterly Innovation Weeks here at Trulia, where we pause certain projects, meetings and deliverables to focus on experimentation and collaboration (and have a little fun). As I was in the middle of my own Innovation Week project, I found myself thinking about why I love this time: it has benefits beyond the obvious.
Meet New People, Make New Friends, Collaborate
Each Innovation Week kicks-off with a pitch party, an opportunity for Trulians to share a first look at their idea and recruit teammates. This is one of my favorite parts of Innovation Week because it really sets the stage for cross-team collaboration. During an average work week, our housing analysts and economists might not interact with a JavaScript engineer, but during Innovation Week, they might join forces on a project.
Fostering a collaborative working environment that moves fast and thinks big is something we take pride in, and Innovation Week helps enable that, making our office an even more vibrant workplace.
Ample Opportunity to Practice Presentation Skills
Innovation Week also provides an opportunity for each participating employee to practice skills they don’t always use, like writing code, acting as a product manager, or presenting to a large group. Selling an idea to recruit teammates and impress the judges is a huge part of Innovation Week. On top of first pitching their idea to gather teammates, the week closes with each team giving final presentations to both a panel of judges and the rest of the company. All presentations are limited to three minutes, which means presenters need to be thoughtful, concise and clear with their key messages and delivery. That can be a tough combination to master, and being given the challenge to try is a huge added benefit of Innovation Week, especially for those who don’t typically present in their day-to-day.
A Little Rejuvenation
Stepping back from a difficult task can sometimes be the best way to dream up a solution. Focusing on fresh ideas during Innovation Week often provides this extra benefit, with teams coming back energized to solve challenges from a new perspective. It’s also incredibly rewarding and motivating to conquer learning a new skill, or building a new product during Innovation Week.
Experimentation with New Technologies and Platforms
While not every idea that is built out during Innovation Week becomes a part of our product experience, many ideas help shape our roadmap and keep us focusing on new ideas, so we’re essentially constantly disrupting ourselves. Innovation Week is a time for us to dig into new approaches, languages, platforms and even teams. Having this freedom helps every Trulian with professional development and growth, and it creates a better experience for our consumers. Take our Rent Near Transit feature as an example. That feature is a great example of a new team coming together and using new technologies to create something meaningful for our consumers. Trying new tools and technologies, and even tapping into new resources and teammates, to make breakthroughs is what Innovation Week is all about.
These are just some of the benefits Innovation Week brings to Trulia. If you’re looking to join a culture that enables this type of professional development and growth, we’re hiring! Check out our open positions here.
