A strong company culture is a critical factor of long-term success for many businesses, helping to drive important metrics such as revenue growth, productivity and employee engagement. It is of growing importance for employees too; a survey by PwC found 67% of employees feel culture is more important than strategy or operations, while another found 62% are less likely to feel burned out at work as a result.
For Calvium, as a growing company with a remote working environment, fostering a strong company culture is fundamental. Communications tools keep us connected and enable us to work effectively day-to-day, but there is nothing like bringing the team together in person.
Innovation days are a core part of our cultural commitment. These days allow everyone to step away from daily project work and come together to share ideas, discoveries and experiments, and to explore new technologies in a relaxed setting. We have found that giving this space for discussion outside of daily duties and project responsibilities not only sparks innovation, but also strengthens team bonds and encourages peer learning.
Our most recent innovation day was around AI, which is expanding the scope of our projects and improving our processes. While providing new opportunities for creativity and growth, AI brings challenges and requires new skills, knowledge and understanding – from design and development to resource management and security.
So this was a perfect opportunity to explore it in more detail together, in a relaxed, experimental and safe space.
Creating a collaborative space
With AI impacting internal teams in different ways, it was essential to avoid siloed conversations and create space for shared thinking.
The day was designed to be fast-paced and collaborative. We kicked off with lightning talks from across the team; setting the scene before moving into informal discussions over lunch. The afternoon shifted into hands-on idea generation and practical application.
To enable full participation of the team, both for those in-person and remotely, we blended digital tools with physical collaboration, using screens, whiteboards and post-its to keep energy high and ideas flowing.
Themes emerging from discussions were quickly grouped and prioritised, before we closed with smaller breakout sessions. These gave everyone the chance to reflect, contribute and shape the next steps.
Over the next quarter, sub-groups are investigating each of the themes in detail, with practical applications for our clients and us as a business. In addition, focus topics are being discussed in further depth over a series of training sessions, and technical experiments are being conducted and findings shared.
Themes and takeaways
A fundamental part of the day was around how AI can support innovation and potential future applications, though there were clear concerns about its broader negative impacts and how we can mitigate those. As a B Corp, it is essential that we ensure our AI practices are ethical and sustainable; the day gave us an opportunity to reflect on that and share individual concerns, options and practical approaches.
We looked at updates on legal and ethical uses of AI, sustainable coding practices and mitigating resource consumption through efficient approaches. Practically speaking, the team shared experimental code – including ‘green’ coding practices – presented new tools, prototyped quick ideas and discussed personal experiments ranging from process automation to reflective learning. Different tools were used as sandboxes, sketchbooks and worktops to help instigate and develop ideas. While human expertise is irreplaceable, these days reinforce that even experts benefit from free space for exploratory and open discussions.
It was also important to examine how AI is impacting the team’s ways of working now and the near future. While increased speed and efficiency can accelerate delivery, they can also redistribute pressure across roles, raising important questions about capacity, expectations and sustainable pace. This prompted open and thoughtful discussion around how we collaborate, respect each other’s time and maintain balance as workflows evolve. Creating space for these honest conversations strengthens team trust, supports psychological safety and enables colleagues to professionally grow and flourish with change and new challenges.
Broader cultural impact
According to the UK’s ‘best places to work’, 89% of employees are willing to ‘go the extra mile’ when they feel valued by their organisation, and employees that feel connected to culture are four times more likely to feel engaged. We have witnessed a positive knock-on effect from our innovation days, with greater collaboration and team bonding boosting morale, productivity and engagement. In fact, in a recent employee engagement survey 100% of Calvium staff said they feel engaged, with additional comments noting they enjoy what they do and want to produce good results.
It also gives our team a sense of purpose and belonging. For a remote workforce, it can help to tackle feelings of isolation – something that we became acutely aware of during the pandemic. As one of our team said:
“Being a remote team, these in-person days are really valuable. It’s so refreshing to meet face-to-face, freely come up with ideas, laugh with colleagues, and just connect on a deeper level beyond our daily stand-ups. Sharing and discussing what we’ve been experimenting with is always inspiring.”
Of course, none of this is possible without buy-in from leadership. Our CEO, Jo Reid, is clear on the fact that these days are not only useful for the team but are a valuable strategic initiative.
Commenting on the most recent session, she said: “In-person technology sessions like this one have been fundamental to our company culture for a long time. While remote working offers fantastic flexibility, we’ve seen again and again how important it is to deliberately bring our team together. These days are about much more than just the new technology we explore; they’re a dedicated space for those unplanned, in-person moments that really strengthen our bonds and lead to trust. I’ve seen firsthand how that connection translates directly into smoother teamwork and smarter problem-solving when challenges arise. It ensures our people stay connected, inspired and deeply confident in what we can achieve together.”
This is a key driver of loyalty and retention too, with 50% of our staff being at the company for over five years. But we also know strong company culture helps to attract new talent. According to one report, culture is the biggest priority for job seekers (45%), ahead of both salary (31%) and interesting work (28%). For us, too, ‘cultural fit’ factors into hiring decisions alongside skills and experience.
Final thoughts
Our AI Innovation Day is just one of many such days we have held over the years, with the next planned for the Summer. Given how quickly things change, the theme of the day is decided upon nearer the time.
While playing a key strategic role for the business, innovation days are something we all look forward to. They are a great way to boost employee connection and morale whilst giving space for learning and development, collaboration and fun. Looking after our team ensures we maintain a high-performance culture; this positively impacts productivity and engagement and has a knock-on effect on client satisfaction and, ultimately, business results.
Work with a company that values continuous learning and development, high performance and employee wellbeing – contact us: Subscribe to the monthly Calvium newsletter to get more insight and inspiration like this in your inbox.
