We gave engineers one day a month for open research — most of it didn't 'ship' but the side effects were worth it

Research & DevelopmentInnovationTeam CultureR&D

Skeptical going in, since a day a month across 15 engineers is real cost. Most projects didn't become features, but two turned into internal tools that saved real time, and engagement/retention feedback improved noticeably. Treating it as R&D insurance now, not a shipping pipeline.