Work hard, play harder! Learn more about Ravelin’s social scene

It’s been a rollercoaster year for most, with a huge shift in attitudes to work and office culture. It’s more important than ever for companies to allow staff flexibility and autonomy over work, but also make room for meeting friends, team bonding and having fun. Pre-pandemic, social activities were a big part of life at Ravelin, and we’ve worked hard to maintain our strong culture and make sure we have exciting events to look forward to.

To find out more about how it works at Ravelin, we spoke to Jake, our new People and Culture Assistant, and Raphael, Head of Design. Jake is brand new to Ravelin joining in 2021, while Raphael has been with Ravelin from the early days.

What’s the social scene like at Ravelin?

Raphael: “There’s loads of encouragement for everyone to get involved in social events. We have a dedicated internal micro-socials page with a per person budget for events. Anyone can create a new event and suggest cool things to do, the whole team can up-vote whatever they want to take part in and arrange a time that works.

"People have the freedom to suggest whatever it is they want to do outside of work, or even during work hours. During the lockdown months we had recipe cookalongs, wine tasting, escape rooms, bread making, terrarium making - the list goes on!”

Jake: “There’s a huge variety! Now that things are more open, we are able to do real world events as well as remote and virtual. Our COO Nick suggested we all go to Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships this year, so we did! We sat on the famous Henman Hill, drank Pimm’s and watched the tennis. It was such a fun day, even the weather was fantastic.

How has the pandemic changed social activity plans?

Raphael: “We’re lucky we’ve always had a social budget to do things regularly outside of work. During the pandemic, we took this to another level by increasing the budget, making it easy for anyone to suggest remote activities through the intranet, and making it seamless for people to be able to fund these too.

“We wanted a system that would encourage everyone to get involved and share ideas with minimal admin involved. Moving our socials to video calls and having unusual, fun activities really helps new team members get to know people from other teams.”

Jake: “Now we can meet in real life, we’re using the same system for in-person events too. It’s great because literally anyone can suggest an activity, from C-level to new starters!”

Which has been your favourite social activity with Ravelin?

Jake: “My favourite was the bowling event. It was a great opportunity to meet so many new faces after only seeing them on Zoom. I also got to see other people’s competitive streaks outside of the office!”

Raphael: “For me, it was the Dishoom DIY breakfast, it was delicious! And it was so funny watching everyone cooking together on Zoom. I also really enjoyed the virtual horror escape room, I would definitely do that again. Again, everyone really enjoyed getting involved and competing against each other!”

Do senior people also get involved?

Raphael: “Yes, team managers and senior people have suggested loads of ideas. Naturally they are competitive too, so it’s quite fun to see that side of them. It really came out during the virtual horror escape room!”

Jake: “It’s great that our leadership gets so involved, as it means that new starters and juniors can easily spend time with senior people having fun. In the past this was always possible through meeting in the kitchen at the office or after work socials, so it’s important we don’t lose those opportunities as we grow and have more remote or flexible ways of working.”

What’s the best thing about working at Ravelin?

Raphael: “The best thing about working at Ravelin is the culture and support system. It’s about the people, just as much as it’s about the work. If you treat people like adults, giving them the option to work how they need to, then they are going to feel respected.

“Ravelin’s has had a consistent people-focused culture since the company started, and with everything we’ve done during the pandemic, we’ve helped maintain what’s special about working here.”

Jake: “I second that — the culture is clearly engrained from the top down. It’s in our DNA.”

If you’re looking for a new role, check out our careers page for details on our open positions and how to apply!