Straight Kickin' It by Chelsea Rivier
Shift Digital is a company full of motivated individuals, from technology developers to program managers, data analysts to field trainers, seasoned executives to call center agents… and we all share the same drive – to be the best at what we do every day. To keep the creativity flowing, sometimes a change of scenery is a must. On this not-so-typical workday, employees walk in wearing colored t-shirts, sweatbands, and for some, cleats. That’s right, in typical Shift fashion, we do things a little different – we play kickball.
The Annual Shift Digital Kickball Tournament is one of the highest anticipated events for our Birmingham offices. Unfortunately, we were unable to have the event last year due to the pandemic, but we’re excited to continue the tournament this year by GOING ALL OUT. We had food provided by Wing Snob, Hot Dog-N-It, and Detroit Mini Donut, a DJ, official umpires, a trophy, and medals for the winning team (along with ultimate bragging rights for the rest of the year, of course), and several awesome raffle prizes.
What originally started as a friendly way to meet and mingle with co-workers across different teams, has progressed into one big family-friendly good time. It was a perfect day for Shift employees to escape the work-from-home routine to show support, hold babies, and pet dogs.
Congratulations to our raffle prize winners and to the Blue team for winning this year’s tournament! Check out their trophy which will be displayed on the Culture shelves at the Poppleton office. In the meantime, the rest of you better be training for next year’s comeback.
Check out what some of our employees had to say about this year’s tournament below!
Eric – Digital Consultant
Q: How was your first Shift Digital in-person event?
A: I thought it was a great event! The weather was great for everyone involved; I thought the food trucks were a great pit stop in between games. The event ran very smoothly as well, shout out to the ER team. Also, the games were very fun especially for our team who finished in 2nd place 😊. It was a fun outing for our team and to meet others at Shift, and I’m excited for more events similar to this one.
Vikki – Billing Analyst
Q: What did it feel like to be on the winning team?
A: Winning brought me just as much joy as Cheesy Gordita Crunches from Taco Bell, limitless happiness.
Brian – Program Specialist
Q: What was the Blue Team’s strategy?
A: It was just about making sure to put key people in important fielding positions such as pitcher, 1st base, 3rd base, and outfield. As for kicking, we did not see a weak link in our lineup, we would stack the top of the order to hopefully bunch a few runs together right from the start of the game. Most importantly though, it was just about having fun, for a lot of people it was the first-time seeing co-workers in over a year and a half, we just wanted to go out and have a great time. The trophy and championship title were just the cherry on top!
Chelsea – Program Specialist
Q: What was on the menu for you while at the event?
A: This year’s menu was great, but ultimately, I had to go for the classic hot dog and chips! It was great to ‘ketchup’ with everyone, and cheer on the teams playing in the tournament!
Lukas – Digital Analyst II
Q: What was your favorite part about the kickball tournament?
A: My favorite part about the kickball tournament was meeting and getting to know new people. As someone who started a month before COVID happened, I didn’t have the opportunity to meet many people beyond the teams I closely worked with. Being able to enjoy an afternoon of drinks, food, and kickball allowed me to connect with people on a more personal, outside of work, level. Overall, it was an extremely fun day and I’m grateful Shift puts on events like this (it also didn’t hurt that my team won the tournament, and I won a raffle prize)!
Cody – Digital Consultant
Q: Overall, how would you rate the event?
A: Even though I couldn’t play, I would give it a 10/10. The atmosphere, the food, the drinks, and of course the camaraderie was all top-notch. It was extremely well organized and a great opportunity to finally meet the people you work with daily as well as those from other teams within Shift. For anyone who couldn’t make it this time – I would highly recommend coming to the next Shift Digital outing!