video conferencing

Checklists have saved lives, helped teams succeed, and… sent people into space (more on that in a bit). But did you know that they can also make your distributed team self-reliant and more productive? (checklist template inside!) A checklist—simple list of steps/tasks arranged in sequential order—is one of the most powerful organization tools in our personal and professional lives. In this article, we explore the origins of checklists and the…

The recipe for a productive video conference is simple. Take a clear agenda, add willing participants, and set it to a quick, vigorous boil. But there’s one secret ingredient all distributed teams need but few use—a crisp meeting notes template to put things down in writing. Writer and business management expert Patrick Lencioni says that “the majority of meetings should be discussions that lead to decisions.“ And we can’t but…

How often do you touch base with your distributed team? If the answer is “whenever it’s necessary,” then you’re missing out on a number of interesting benefits of organic internal communication. Find out how you can leverage the power of dialogue to make your team more self-sufficient, tight-knit, and productive. Here are some questions we’re biting into in this article: 💡 Before you begin… This is another installment in our…

Before the pandemic started, remote work was kind of a taboo. Many businesses were skeptical and even the progressive ones kept the majority of their workforce in offices. Now that remote policies are popping up all over, it’s time to pick a side: remote-friendly or remote-first culture? While being a fully distributed team doesn’t give us bragging rights, it certainly does come with a handful of observations. That’s why in…

Let’s face it. Remote meetings aren’t exactly thrills and chills. Most of the time, they’re boring, aimless, and a huge time sink. But maybe it’s not the dish but seasoning and we just don’t know how to host a video conference effectively? Well, whether you like it or not, remote meetings are here to stay. Gartner’s recent study found that 82% of business leaders want to stay on the remote…

If you’re like most “fresh” remote workers, chances are the new reality without a commute gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling. But as it usually happens with lit things, there’re some caveats too. In this case, it’s WFH procrastination that spoils all the fun. Whether you’ve fallen in love with remote work or already miss your cubicle, one thing’s certain. Motivating yourself to get work done at home is…

Have you heard the news? Epic Games, the developer of a wildly successful multiplayer game Fortnite, has just announced a massive $1.78 billion funding round. Wondering what it has to do with collaboration software? Well, it turns out, multiplayer video games and collaboration software have much more in common than meets the eye. In fact, it was video games that popularized real-time communication and collaboration long before Google Wave’s debut…

Who would’ve thought the transition to remote work would carry over the nuisance of daily meetings? Well, thanks to VoIP and video conferencing tools, our love-hate relationship with daily (weekly, monthly…) scrums continue. Luckily, quick sync-up meetings are here to save the day. In a now-famous email to Tesla employees, Elon Musk shared his formula for effective meetings. According to Musk, they should be small, short, and scarce. Teams should…

Terry Crews doesn’t check his email before hitting the gym, but it’s a safe bet that everyone else does. Over the course of almost 50 years (!), email has become a staple in our professional lives. Now that the modern workplace pivots to remote, it’s about time we challenged the status quo: Does @mailto belong in remote workflows? 🤔 If you’re like most knowledge workers, chances are you have a…

Written communication is going through a renaissance of sorts. With the rise of remote work, the ability to express thoughts in a clear and organized manner is in high demand. But while asynchronous communication these days is mostly about chat, emails and texts, there’s another writing skill you should master — how to write a memo. Memos (memorandums for short) aren’t only a domain of high-profile CEOs. They’re a great,…

Remember the 1992 Glengarry Glen Ross scene where Alec Baldwin’s character schools the sales team on the principles of Always Be Closing (ABC)? That’s some A-level mentoring right there. Wouldn’t it be cool if fully distributed teams could get a *similar* learning experience through remote mentoring sessions? 🤝 What’s Remote Mentoring? 📘 Mentoring: employee training system under which a senior or more experienced individual (the mentor) is assigned to act…