Culture at MMID

When I set my sights on MMID as a company to do my internship at, I had a general idea of what it would be like to work there. I had done my research, both online and from students previously associated with the company. However, the first time I got to interact with a future colleague was at the TU Delft IDE Business Fair. It was Scott Hoekstra, my to-be mentor, whom I sat down with to discuss my ambitions and experience, what MMID stands for and does, and the possibilities of a collaboration. My research about the company was given more structure after that meeting.

It was a positive half hour where I felt that both sides were in tune with each other. At the end, quite surprising for me, Scott had already decided that it would be nice to have me on board! Now that I look back, the company’s culture reflects that first conversation that I had with him - honest, to-the-point, efficient.

Soon after signing the contract, I got to visit MMID on a Friday evening for a student tour. I was pleasantly surprised again by how aware all the employees were about an intern who would be joining months later and how excited they were to welcome me. It was then that I met the team for the first time and connected with over ping pong and drinks.

The culture at MMID is what appeals to me the most about the company. Being a closely-knit product development agency, every colleague knows everyone else. The benefit of this can be directly seen in the work output. The designers are specialists in functionality, look & feel, producibility, and electronics, so it is essential to work together with each other for most projects. The collaboration within the team is smoothened by the fact that everyone is extremely familiar with the colleagues and their expertise areas. Moreover, the larger team is divided into smaller clusters that facilitate MMID to work seamlessly across countries and in different time zones.

When there is a challenging task, instead of spending hours figuring out a solution, going to an expert on that area is encouraged. This helps to save time and increase efficiency while also promoting the sharing of knowledge. An environment that facilitates open communication and lets teams work adaptively supports high-quality work that follows as a result.

Furthermore, I also noticed that MMID emphasizes the importance of flicking off the work-switch and taking the time to relax after office hours. The way the mind refreshes while you pursue a hobby, read a book, ride a bike, or even while you go out for coffee is highly effective and lets you operate at your best for a long time without burning out. Consultancies are often associated with stressful jobs but I could see the opposite being true at the office. In my opinion, such culture accelerates product development and serves as the ideal environment for innovation to happen. I’m glad to see that MMID believes that flourishing people are ultimately the basis of a flourishing company.

This is an excerpt from my internship report written in September 2019. I highly value such a work environment and am happy to say that I will be a part of the MMID team as a functionality designer starting in August 2020.