How Kensho Collab Week strengthens our culture and accelerates S&P Global’s AI strategy
Collab Week brings Kenshins together in Cambridge for a week of in-person work and connection that a distributed team can't replicate remotely.
The Kensho team gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Last month, Kenshins came together at Kensho’s Cambridge, MA headquarters for Collab Week — a week of face-to-face connection and collaboration. While we have embraced a hybrid work culture across our offices, there’s high value in meeting in person to move important projects forward and help us all work better together.
Collab Week is a critical part of creating and celebrating our culture of collaboration and solving hard problems as a team. We prioritize this intentional, in-person time because we know it drives employee engagement, enables us to solve problems quickly, and helps us accelerate our work through collaborative whiteboarding and discussion.
We know the value of forging in-person connections to strengthen our culture of collaboration and innovation
At Kensho, we’re solving some of the most difficult problems in our industry, figuring out how to apply both traditional AI and emerging GenAI technology to the work that professionals in the business and financial industries do every day. We kicked off Collab Week with a welcome session that included a Q&A session with some members of Kensho senior leadership. A culture of psychological safety and open communication is so important to our ability to innovate. We addressed why we’re the right group to be working on these problems at the right time, how we stay agile and adaptable as we scale our reach and impact, how we collect and address feedback from our customers and end users, and more.
Team ML gathers after their in-person weekly team meeting
In addition to more traditional opportunities to work together in person, we also hosted team-building events that flexed different muscles including competitive canoe racing, cycling along Boston’s Charles River Esplanade, and volunteer opportunities to give back to our community. For Kenshins who graduated college or even high school during the pandemic, helping them navigate our hybrid work environment and removing barriers to quick, effective communication and collaboration with each other is key. When we come together in person, we break down communication silos, create space for networking and mentorship, and build better long-term relationships in the workplace.
Kensho teams during competitive canoe racing
Collab Weeks accelerate progress against the highest impact work we are doing
During Collab Week, we intentionally don’t set full, all-day agendas. We leave space for Kenshins to make the most of their time together by white-boarding and brainstorming, conducting retrospectives, gathering for meals and team-building events, and even just grabbing a coffee or going for a walk one-on-one.
This year, teams took advantage of time together in lots of different ways: One team held a retro to brainstorm ways to work together more effectively, our S&P Global counterparts jump-started education initiatives for Kensho Link and Kensho Extract, the leadership team held several reviews of key initiatives, and more. Conversations flow more naturally and dynamically in person in a way that just can’t be replicated virtually.
Kensho infrastructure team coffee break
Kensho infrastructure team coffee break
We work hard together and we should make the time to celebrate as a team, too
Collab Weeks are a chance to work differently and to celebrate our unique culture. As Peter Drucker said, culture eats strategy for breakfast. Our people are what make Kensho what it is and enable all the work we accomplish together. We’re a team of approximately 120 people, and our small size allows us to stay nimble and move quickly on the work that will make the biggest impact.
Interested in joining Kensho? We’re hiring! We’re on the lookout for talented and passionate individuals who are ready to make an impact. If you’re ready to take the next step in your career, check out our available positions today!
