Maud Vorstenbosch
What(’s) the faculty? Heads & Freshheads in development.
Colleagues & culture
Processes
May 11, 2023
At Freshheads, we work in teams of well-coordinated specialists. Such a team often consists of one designer, one front-end developer, and one or two back-end developers. This way, we have all disciplines at the table right away and can quickly make progress with the client. However, this multidisciplinary team composition does mean that your peers are usually not your direct colleagues. To ensure that developers, designers, data analysts, and strategists continue to learn from each other, we have created the professional groups.
What are task groups?
You could see a task group at Freshheads as a second team with its own mission and ambition. While you, as a Head, work on projects with clients using your multidisciplinary team, the task groups are there to elevate your specialization and field to a higher level. By brainstorming and experimenting with (new) techniques and tools together. The scope of a task group is therefore broader than a specific client project. There is a task group for each discipline, from frontend development to design. But we also have special task groups for strategy and business analytics.
Why are there task groups?
Thomas, Head of People, provides two reasons for setting up the task groups: “First of all, it is important for Heads that there is and remains room to inspire each other. Additionally, we want to stay relevant as Freshheads and keep developing our expertise within the fields.” The task groups are, in a sense, an answer to working in multidisciplinary teams. Even though you don't collaborate daily with your peers on a client project, you can still help and advance each other. Something you can benefit from in your daily work. And a nice bonus: you have more contact with colleagues outside your own team.
What about time for the task group?
The task groups decide themselves when to spend time on developing their field. “We make time for this because we truly see the task groups as teams,” says Thomas. “That's why a team coach is also available to potentially assist with collaboration." How often a task group meets and how 'tasks' or 'projects' are divided is the responsibility of the task group itself. Everyone can choose which themes they work on and do so at their own pace.
There is plenty of room to learn and grow. This can also include attending a conference or course with your task group.
Thom Meiresonne, team coach at Freshheads
Reaping the benefits together
Task groups offer Heads the opportunity to expand their expertise. Sometimes certain requests are picked up by a task group, either from Freshheads or from clients. Think, for example, about the future of our field with developments like ChatGPT or other AI, the impact of our work, or the standardization of our methods. This ensures that together we have the knowledge and skills to develop the best solutions with our clients.
Curious about 'your' task group?
This article is an introduction to a series of articles about our task groups. In the coming weeks, a different task group will be highlighted each time. From the backend development, frontend development, and digital product design task group to those of business design and business analytics. Stay tuned!