How Flash Coffee’s Engineers Keep Each Other Motivated Without Ever Meeting IRL

Serving you the best brews at affordable prices, Flash Coffee is revolutionising the world of tech-enabled coffee.

Since 2019, they have been rapidly expanding their services and now have over 250 stores across Asia - including in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

But behind the success of each thriving tech startup is its solid team of engineers, working hard behind the scenes to support its rapid growth.  For Flash Coffee, it’s their team of 100 engineers working remotely all across Indonesia.

Breaking The Ice Among Introverted Engineers

If there’s one thing most (not all) engineers are known for, it’s their introverted nature. Since most of their job revolves around working behind the scenes, both existing and new employees don’t get the chance to meet in person and build a connection as a team.

Given that the Flash Coffee engineering team is 100% remote across several parts of Indonesia, Head of Engineering APAC Ali Irawan was looking for a way to connect his team and build a shared culture - where employees support and celebrate each other’s wins.

In order to make this happen in his group of engineers, Ali turned to PraisePal - the tech solution built for tech teams.

Recognising Engineers In a Way That Works For Them

When engineers work together solving complex problems behind the scenes, the ability to quickly give a grateful shoutout proves to be an impactful gesture.

On PraisePal, the engineers can instantly send recognition messages to each other - without disrupting their workflow, or being forced to join another ‘team building activity’ to stay engaged.

All messages are published on a recognition feed that’s visible to the entire team, to increase its impact and create a culture of celebrating small wins.

From thanking a teammate for fixing a bug, to acknowledging someone’s initiative on a project -  the constant habit of recognition leads to constantly more motivated employees.

When the engineers send each other a recognition message, they also allocate an amount of PraisePal points with it. Team members can turn those points they received into rewards of their choice - in the form of global gift cards or custom company rewards, specially curated by Ali himself.

With an accessible tech platform and rewards that matter, the Flash Coffee engineering team has found the solution to keep each other engaged and motivated - in a way that works for them.

Especially in remote settings, there’s always an awkward communication barrier preventing us from recognising others more. PraisePal removes that barrier and allows connection to come naturally for everyone.

Build a Company Culture Where All Employees Has a Voice

If there’s one thing we can learn from Ali on being an effective leader, it’s that you need to align your methods in a way that suits your employees’ communication styles.

The goal is to bring remote teams together and build a connection. But you can’t expect your introverted employees to always be receptive in social gatherings, virtual lunches, and forced interactions. Leaders are responsible for creating an environment that will allow their people to thrive.

When your employees can see that you understand them, they will feel more valued and motivated to bring their best to work.

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