Mud Day: collaboration at its best

A few weeks ago, Jalios participated in Mud Day, a 13km race with 22 obstacles, all harder than the others. Jalios has decided to compose a team for this race, because Mud Day is above all an event where mutual help and collaboration are required to go all the way when not everyone has the same sporting level.
This is the first time that Jalios has participated in an event of this kind, usually football tournaments, ping pong tournaments or individual races are organised. But given that more and more Jaliossians practice sport on their own time and that collaboration and mutual aid are the two great values of our organization, we have decided to embark on this obstacle course.

We interviewed four Jalios employees who participated, Mathieu, Bruno, Ludovic and Philippe and here are their feelings:

What experience do you get out of Mud Day?

"It was a great experience! The atmosphere was great and what an organization from start to finish! Used to running, I'm usually in my bubble, focused on my speed and endurance. Mud Day is different, you have a good dose of fun, in commando mode on a huge military camp." Mathieu Bigeard, Customer Success Manager

"I retain from Mud Day a triple experience: my ability to overcome doubts and physical fatigue to ensure my physical preparation, mutual aid with colleagues and other participants and the fact of having ensured in key moments to pass the most physical tests. #fierdemonmudday " Bruno Courtiau, Professional Services Manager

"It was an interesting experience of surpassing oneself, in addition with the help of colleagues. The mud is a pretext to spend a moment to push back its limits " Ludovic Smadja, R&D Engineer

"I had several fears, especially following the testimony of a friend: the waiting, the cold, the difficulty and the number of trials... But our group worked very well, those who were able to pass certain trials easily helping others, or giving advice to overcome them more easily. In the end, a good day a little spartan (cold water shower at the finish) with good moments of collective effort and frank fun..." Philippe Berard, Systems and Networks Administrator

Why was it interesting to participate with co-workers? And has it facilitated team cohesion, listening between colleagues and entrepreneurship?

"I think that any group activity, whatever its nature, promotes team cohesion, as long as the participants were willing to participate and there is at least one leader and at least one end in train within the team. This was the case during Mud Day, we waited for each other, we crossed obstacles together and I am convinced that this experience created a bond between the people who participated." Bruno Courtiau, Manager Professional Services

"It was very interesting because from the beginning it was a team effort! The day D the mutual aid was with the appointment: it is necessary to play collective to pass the obstacles: a palisade in more than being high, it is slippery when you are covered with mud! The strongest helped the less athletic among us to overcome obstacles, to get up in the mud. Up to the finish line we encouraged each other!" Mathieu Bigeard, Customer Success Manager

"Sharing this with colleagues in the office allows us to get to know him in a different environment, we discover them in a new light (rather brown color)." Ludovic Smadja, R&D Engineer

"Living this kind of moment outside of work allows us to get to know each other better and to strengthen ties, sometimes tenuous (not all services necessarily work together). Through this day, we have woven or strengthened the bonds that connect us and discovered qualities in others that we had not necessarily imagined." Philippe Berard, Systems and Networks Administrator

Have you ever had such peer support?

"On some of my projects, I had to call on some colleagues for help on an emergency basis. Jeremy, for example, present at Mud Day, spent a whole night with me on a project to ensure that our client received a crucial functionality in the early morning: it was an unforgettable experience, but it only concerned Jeremy and me. There we were 10..." Bruno Courtiau, Professional Services Manager

"Yes, collaboration and team spirit is all the time at Jalios! The Mud Day example is perfect because during the preparation phase, we were motivated and many of us trained together. Others took care of the management of our registrations, made personalized jerseys for the team." Mathieu Bigeard, Customer Success Manager.

"In fact, this physical/psychological mutual aid that we meet during Mud Day, we also have it within Jalios. During difficult times, we can count on our colleagues to support us in getting through. It's really nice not to feel alone when faced with a difficulty." Ludovic Smadja, R&D Engineer

What common values are there between Jalios and Mud Day?

"To succeed in an obstacle course like Mud Day or to develop collaborative practices with a solution like Jalios, you must necessarily appeal to common values such as trust, mutual aid, a sense of belonging to a team, and finally the pleasure of carrying out a concrete action together." Mathieu Bigeard, Customer Success Manager

"To succeed in Jalios as in Mud Day, you have to be prepared psychologically and physically. In both cases, it is not easy to achieve one's objectives and nothing can be achieved alone." Bruno Courtiau, Manager Professional Services

"As the phrase says: "alone, we go faster, together, we go further" I think this idea describes well the work and philosophy of Jalios, and Mud Day." Philippe Berard, Systems and Networks Administrator

Will you do it again next year and why would you advise your colleagues to try the experiment?

"Yes, I certainly will again! Always with the same collective goal of helping each other and having fun together. And with the personal goal of doing even better by winning the 4 bracelets to get the gold medal like Bruno! I must admit that the obstacle n°3 "Tarzan style" was really too strong for me 😉" Mathieu Bigeard, Customer Success Manager.

"It can only be a positive experience to tell your family, friends and colleagues afterwards... It would be my pleasure to do it again" Bruno Courtiau, Manager Professional Services

"It's a good time, really out of the ordinary, to spend with colleagues. It's quite different from other activities between colleagues but it's worth doing it once! Then we relativize a little more the small stain on the t-shirt. "Ludovic Smadja, R&D Engineer

A beautiful experience that our Jaliossians lived, and which will surely be reorganized next year. The team was united from beginning to end which allowed them to finish the course together and in a good mood.