CodeSourcery makes every employee feel like a full member of the team. They help each other out and mentor new team members. The team also gathers for an annual retreat every January. This is a time to do intense project planning as well as a time to relax and get to know each other a little better. Nathan says, “To start off the new year with that kind of meetup is a very good start to the year.”
During the rest of the year the team is very focused on IRC, email, and telephones. They don’t often meet face-to-face and never use video conferencing. Nathan told me a common joke in the company: “We don’t know if we’ve hired a 14-year-old girl who is just pretending [to be an adult] until January.” Most CodeSourcery employees are hired without an in-person interview.