Location Inclusion means ensuring everyone is valued, regardless of where they live and work. It is about creating a foundation where everyone in your organization feels like they belong and is included in activities no matter where they are located. It means creating equal access to information & people, equal access to roles & responsibilities regardless of time zone or zip code. It means being aware of Distance Bias* and putting plans into place to mitigate it. Distance Bias is our brain’s natural tendency to put more importance on the people and things that are closer to us t ..read more

Go Async with Video Mail ? FINALLY – the ability to create async “Video Mail” in Microsoft Teams chat! For years as part of our hybrid skills workshops, we have been teaching teams how to incorporate Video Mail into their hybrid and remote team communication toolkit since it’s an especially great way to provide info without scheduling yet another meeting.   In many situations using Video Mail can be more effective than written communication because:  1️⃣ We can talk faster than we can type 2️⃣ We can add so much more context when communicating verbally via video and through screensh ..read more

Let’s make 2022 the year of Location Inclusion. What is location inclusion? To me, Location Inclusion means making sure everyone is valued, regardless of where they live and work. It is about creating a foundation where everyone in your organization feels like they belong and is included in activities no matter where they are located. It means creating equal access to information & people, equal access to roles & responsibilities regardless of time zone or zip code. It means being aware of Distance Bias* and putting plans into place to mitigate it. Distance Bias is our brain ..read more

Productivity will (and should) temporarily decline as offices reopen. As more and more offices are finally reopening and teams are transitioning to a hybrid work environment it is critical to support yourself and your teams with Ruthless Prioritization.   For those that have been working fully remote for the past 2 years, here are 5 areas that will add to the physical and mental load of the day during the transition to hybrid.   The 5 Cs for Why Ruthless Prioritization is Required: 1⃣Commutes – Commutes will be added back into the day, which will eat into tim ..read more

We often get asked the question about how to encourage team members to turn on their video camera when they don’t feel comfortable on camera. I completely understand that people are at all different places on what I call the Camera Comfort Curve. When I started working remote in 2010, while as a marketing and business leader for The Clorox Company, video conferencing was very new in the Clorox facilities and often I was the ONLY one on the screen in a room – sometimes I was even as big as a full wall in a room!  As a huge introvert that was VERY uncomfortable for me.  But I quickly ..read more

Are you sure you understood the assignment? Have you ever asked your direct report to do something and when they unveiled the work to you several weeks later it was not aligned with what you were expecting? Has your manager asked you to work on something and you thought you knew what was expected, only to find out too late that you were missing some context that was critical to your success? These types of disconnects can be even more pronounced when working in a hybrid or remote team. But, just because you are out of eyeshot and earshot of your manager or direct rep ..read more

The transition to “Rapid Remote” was hard. Hybrid is even harder. Many large enterprises are now entering a new period of transition. Many are stepping into a phase of experimentation as they try out new hybrid working models.  Our CEO, Sacha Connor, led a panel discussion with some of our Virtual Work Insiders clients to share how they, and the large enterprises they lead, have adapted to remote and hybrid work over the past year and what’s in store for the future. In this session, panelists who represent Raytheon Technologies, Guest Worldwide, and Sovos Brands share their thoughts and ..read more

Remote work is hard, and hybrid is even harder. As some organizations start opening their offices again, many people will undergo yet another transition – working in hybrid teams, with some team members back in the office and others still remote. No matter how much co-location you hope to have in the future, adopting a remote-first mindset will help you design for the portion of your workforce that will not be ‘in the room’, and ultimately ensure more productivity and employee engagement. Cultivating new skills and tools will be essential for leaders and employees to ensure this transiti ..read more

This article was written by Daniel Schmitz, a Consultant at ON THE MARK, and a long-time friend and remote work colleague of Sacha Connor, our CEO.  OTM’s experience and passion for collaborative business transformation that’s supported by pragmatism, systems thinking, and a belief in people are unparalleled. OTM has been in business for 35 years and is a leading organization design firm. Connect with Daniel   It’s a symptom. What you’re experiencing is the groaning of your operating model. It probably wasn’t optimized or designed for virtual work. What worked acceptably well i ..read more

The future is not remote. The future is hybrid. And hybrid is harder.  For most companies, I believe the future will be hybrid (NOT fully remote) – with some people working in offices, some fully remote, and some flexing between the two. Please don’t underestimate the growing pains that will come with this transition. Why is hybrid is harder?  Distance bias will rear its ugly head again. Working fully remotely had its own challenges, but at least it was an equal playing field. As new hybrid teams form it creates groups located with the majority and groups located in the minority. D ..read more