Food for thought

Welcoming new members into the Juniper team is always an exciting time; getting to know each other and discovering our goals and interests. Alongside learning how we can come together and achieve great things at work, it is also an opportunity to find out about the things we enjoy in our own time.

As we have welcomed Calvin and Hannah into the Juniper family over the last few weeks, one thing, in particular, has jumped out at us – we are absolutely and unashamedly a bunch of foodies! The adage, you don’t have to love food to work here, but it helps springs to mind. “If you could only ever eat one cuisine...?” and “If you had to pick one meal...?” are common conversation starters in the Juniper office (they are harder than you think to answer, trust us!). Not to mention, the daily discussion over who has got what for lunch and the sharing of recipe tips and restaurant recommendations.

That’s one of the wonderful things about food, it brings people together. We regularly make the effort to arrange a team lunch, where we take it in turns to choose some yummy treats for us all to sit and share in a lovely, relaxed buffet. As well as enjoying some good food, it gives everyone the opportunity to spend some time together and bond as a team. This is particularly valuable when you have new additions to the group as we have in recent weeks, but it is a really rewarding thing to do at any time. If you haven’t sat down with your colleagues recently, give it a try.

Here are some of our favourite conversation starters (once you’ve exhausted the food related prompts, of course!):

• What are you most proud of – professionally and personally?
• What is your secret superpower?
• If you were to write a book, what would the reviews say?
• What has been the best thing that you have purchased this year?
• If you could work remotely from anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
• What is your favourite smell, and what does it remind you of?

We have learned many new things about each other over the last few weeks and look forward to learning many more.