21st Century Work Life - Remote Working, Virtual Teams And Flexible Working

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Pilar talks to Laura Troyani, from TinyPulse, a company that helps to keep the conversation going within organisations to address employee engagement. "Peers are the #1 motivator for going the extra mile at work." 00:30 Pilar thanks @BernieJMitchell , @DJ_Motorteufel, @gdbeaulieu @tonyjreeves 06: 40  Laura shares the story behind TinyPulse. Asking and pulsing your team every week, to see how happy/frustrated your team is. 12:55 People analytics and data. 14:06 How TinyPulse works in practice. 17:30 Anonymity in employee feedback. How it helps the employee and the manager. 21:10 The different organisations using TinyPulse. 27:10 Laura's role as Director of Marketing. Using TinyPulse in other areas apart from engagement. 30:30 The #1 reason for people going the extra mile at work. www.tinypulse.com/2014-employee-engagement-organizational-culture-report If you're interested in engagement in teams, especially in virtual teams, check out the episode including a Virtual Coffee wit

00:30 Pilar is experimenting with a new set up with the microphone and being more spontaneous (Post-podcast: It worked very well!). 10:30 Lisette shares her learning shot experience. 13: 50 Feedback on Twitter. Is it useful? (Pilar and Lisette got a tweet that brought up lots of points and questions.) Pilar learned loads from it. How a group in FB dealt with conflict. Reflections on team identity, check out our previous episode. 24:50 Learning is not just about gathering information, need to get feedback regularly. Kolb's cycle. Learning through discussing and by being accountable to others. We introduce the Jurgen alert. (Listen for the special offer.) 33:15 How do we prioritise learning and share information? Individual vs Team learning. Creating a bank of knowledge and then doing something with that information. 39:20 Conquering fear.   "Learning is uncomfortable." 41.50 Is "learning" work? The role of personality in wanting to learn. Learning together helps to build our team - we share common points of

Pilar speaks to Adam Isle, who shares how he adapted to working from home after many years of working in an office. 00:30 Is it more difficult to make the transition from office-based to home-based work than to start off in a virtual team? (And Pilar talks a bit about Virtual, not Distant...) 07:00 Adam shares his role at the CIPD, working from home, liaising with clients and meeting at head office. "When you're staring at four walls, you don't get much feedback." 12:25 How you have to consciously make the effort to keep informal communication going and what Adam and his colleagues did to address this. You need to consciously make the effort to stay in touch. 19:95 Changing your process and managing your time. Freedom and structure. Visibility. 22:55 Face to face adds depth to client relationships. The difficulty of knowing when to be formal or informal if you've never met someone face to face. Cues we take from in person interactions. Making virtual introductions more personal, before meeting them in per

Visit www.virtualnotdistant.com In this episode, Pilar shares what she has observed a wonderful director she's working with at the moment as he directs an animation series. The team only comes together once every two months, for a couple of days. Pilar also shares why she's decided to stick with helping virtual teams through Virtual, not Distant. Get in touch through askingpilar@gmail.com

Tells us your team experience. www.virtualnotdistant.com/identity 00:30 Pilar introduces the topic of team identity, before we move onto how to address it in virtual teams. 16:00 Lisette and Pilar share their professional updates: tutoring, trademarks and "being copied". 24:13 What is team identity? 29:30 Team identification - when we identify ourselves with the team. Different identities. 32:00 What's in a name?  Team identity and motivation. 43:58 Symbols and metaphors; the stories we tell in the team. 49:20 How we view the outside world - being careful that teams working together or offices working as one team, don't fall into 'us' vs 'them'. We talk about this interview with Hugo Messer. Being deliberate about growing team identity and creating the one that will be helpful. 55:00 What do we do if our team is turning into a team we don't like? What happens when we don't feel part of our team? 01:00:00 Creating a team history by sharing stories. Team identity allows us to be vulnerable and trust others.

00:30 Pilar talks a bit about how mindset is changing in recruitment. (Script below.)She mentions a past blog post on social media and recruitment.How a young person's cv went viral. and an article about companies that are currently hiring remotely. 09:05 How Matt ended up working in Digital Recruitment 16:00 How social media can help you recruit talent.The importance of paying attention to social media and mobile in recruitment. 19:20 Why recruitment is no longer just the responsibility of HR 20:55 Understand where your audience are. 23:30 Is recruitment through social media working? You need to know your culture – Glass Door   “Dealing at the intersection between technology and people is really interesting.” 28: 25 How are people looking for work and how is work looking for people? The importance of an online presence. The power of our extended networks.   Has Hr practice changed now that we can access a global talent pool? 32:12 Where are we heading to? Matt talks about platforms where you can hire peop

00:30 Pilar has a new email address for you to send your comments and questions: askingpilar@gmail.comIf you enjoy this episode, check out the ones on Remote Work: Blessing or Curse? and the one on Productivity. 03:10 Lisette shares her new way of writing in online collaboration with her editor and her up coming workshop which she's delivering through a robot! Tele-presence, here she comes! 09:00 Why we’re talking today about When Does Your Day End. 14:10 We get nostalgic about the Crackberry days… The plus and minuses of mobile devices for work. 16:06 Are work and life different things? We talk about this HBR Survey about late-night email. https://hbr.org/2015/04/survey-how-does-late-night-emailing-affect-you? 21:10 The problem with hierarchy and emails. Is sending and replying to emails the main way of signaling that we are available to other people? The importance of making clear that you don’t require an immediate response when you’re in charge. The team agreement! 40:10 Can we take breaks during the day?

I’ve created this very short extra episode of the 21st Century Work Life podcast, just to let you know that registration is now open for the course Virtual not Distant and that I have a little discount for listeners of this show.     Virtual not Distant, which is an online course for managers and leaders of virtual teams, and indeed anyone who wants to improve how their virtual team works, will run on 21 September, until 22 November. The course is timebound because I want us to have quality online discussions and quality online events and also, because I firmly believe that you have a greater chance of completing and, more importantly, applying what you’ve learned if you’re timebound and in a small group. So, there are only 12 places available. Plus, if you want to obtain a certificate endorsed by the ILM, you will need to complete a small number of assessments, which have actually been designed for you to help you think about how to apply what you’ve discovered to your own team or your own situation. You w

Pilar speaks to Hugo Messer about leading remote teams and the importance of values in creating a culture that works across nations. Hugo is the CEO of Ekipa, the global market for software teams and owner and founder of Bridge Global. 00:30 Pilar talks about how she met Hugo through social media. She reflects on how these conversations evolve on the podcast and the importance of devoting our full attention to the person on the other end of the line/skype etc. No distractions (we need a quiet environment for recording) and the focus on connecting with the other person. Pilar mentions Hugo's article on LinkedIn The World's Best Tool for Remote Leadership. 11:20 Hugo shares how and why he set up Bridge in 2005, when outsourcing was not that common. 16:00 The model/framework that Bridge has developed to match teams and clients. The role of the "process manager" who looks solely after communication. "Virtual work forces you to create structure and use the right tools.” 22:50 Bridge's core values. 29:50 Moving

00:30 Pilar is thinking of creating an episode about the podcasts she listens to. For now, she recommends this episode from the Fizzle show. How to Deal With a Job You Loathe.04:45 Teambuilding as a process and how the VIRTUAL not Distant model supports teambuilding in virtual teams.  11:18 Pilar talks about the new course on leading virtual teams. (Skip this part if you're not interested.)18:05 How to get in touch with LIsette and Pilar. 18:30 Pilar and Lisette talk about the weather - can you believe it? 19:40 Lisette talks about her Work Together Anywhere Learning Camp in Stockholm with Knowit. 23:05 What do we mean by teambuilding? It's not just a one-off activity but an ongoing process. Is it easier to find time to spend time together online, in virtual teams than organising quality face to face time in colocated ones? 29:20 Making room for teambuilding - for intuition and things that happen organically in the co-located space. Knowing how to talk to each other when we have a problem. Sometimes it's sha

In today's podcast, Pilar talks to Matt Rogish, CEO of Reactive Opps, the consulting arm of RailsMachine. We talk about how he works with a distributed team and we chat about Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). 00:30 Pilar talks about the episode of Podcasters Roundtable on she took part in, on Co-hosting and the parallels with co-hosting a podcast and other collaboration ventures. 04:40 Should we still be paying people per hour, instead of per job done? The ongoing dilemma... How do we know whether people are working? Do more hours mean better work? She mentions her blog post Virtual Work is Already Broken 10:02 Contact links and Virtual not Distant the course for managers and leaders of virtual teams is now endorsed by the Institute of Leadership and Management in the UK Most companies are now distributed in practice. 11:55 Pilar talks to Matt Rogish, who explains what his company does:  "High touch outsource" - breaking down the barriers between the team and their clients. My job as CEO is mainly to s

Don't forget to visit www.virtualnotdistant.com 00:30 A very short intro from Pilar today as our virtual coffee is quite long... 02:20 What happens when not everyone speaks English? We talk a bit about his on Lisette's return from the Happy Melly Learning 3.0 camp. When language is a barrier to communication. 11:40 We talk about this article   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-21/slacking-off-can-office-chartrooms-makes-us-more-productive-time-wasters-? and about how the intranet reflects the culture of the company. 16:40 Introduction to the use of tools should form part of the onboarding process. 18:35 Who's role is it to look after the onboarding process? 19:25 Setting expectations, it starts with recruitment. We mention this other podcast on recruiting for virtual teams. 22:40 Create a team agreement: how are you going to communicate and share information? Does anyone need training on some of the communication tools.29:45 Jeremy Stanton "You've got to fail people as fast as possible." (Liset

Today's episode is dedicated to Cinter, a creative design and engineering company and consultancy, based in North London. We talk about why they've designed one of their latest products, XYZ, the importance of building a community around their products and business and how they work together.You can have a look at their products on the show notes: http://virtualnotdistant.com/cinter/ 00:30 Pilar introduces Cinter and this episode. (Script below.)07:20 Welcome to Cinter's offices. Clayton, Charlotte and Chris tell us about what they do, who they work with and a bit of their history.11:50 XYZ, one of their products, "an exciting construction experience taking the world of play to another level." Find out more on www.xyzbuilds.com/18:20 Chris talks about the packaging design for Julie's Gin.20:25 How Cinter uses 3D printing to help them "get to a design quicker".23:05 Cinter's connection to 3DHubs.26:30 Cinter's educational programme.31:30 How Chris, Charlotte and Clayton work together.

00:30 Pilar introduces the subject of engagement at work and brings up the difficult subject of dealing with mistakes at work.Pilar mentions this article which I don't think we touch on in the conversation: www.hrzone.com/engage/customers/interview-danielle-harmer-chief-people-officer-metro-bank 07:15 Lisette shares her updates, talking about the workshops she's delivering throughout the world!10:50 We start our "buzz word heavy episode", talking about Engagement. Lisette's most popular article to date has been Six Strategies to Increase Engagement and Retention  www.lisettesutherland.com/2013/02/six-strategies-to-increase-engagement-and-retention/ What do we mean by "engagement"? 13:50 The locus of engagement, what aspect of the organisation do we connect with?Locus of Engament: understanding what employees connect with at work. www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/research/locus-engagement-understanding-connect.aspx 15:20 What Lisette has learned from communities built around rock bands. Definition of community: a g

This episode is dedicated to Coworking, specifically, to the Impact Hub in King's Cross, London. I speak to Maria Trindade, Will Cardy and Letizia Custodero from Impact Hub and to Luca Turconi, from Accelerance. 00:30 Pilar's introduction. Reflections on her attempt at a Writing/Work Holiday. (Pilar mentions Episode 1, on Work Holidays.) Why coworking spaces can help with motivation. (Self-determination theory.) Deskmag's 3rd Global Co-working survey. www.deskmag.com/en/1st-results-of-the-3rd-global-coworking-survey-2012 08:30 Impact Hub.  www.impacthub.net and Impact Hub King's Cross. 13:57 A tour with Maria Trindade, General Manager of Impact Hub King's Cross. 19:25 The story and ethos of Impact Hub. 21:20 A chat about the membership with Will Cardy, Communications Manager. 23:45 Letizia Custodero, Operations Manager, talks about the different events organised and hosted by Impact Hub King's Cross. 29:30 Pilar talks to one of the members, Luca Turconi, founder of Accelerance. Luca describes his organisation

Today's episode is made up solely of a Virtual Coffee with Lisette. Lisette Sutherland and I have a long conversation covering the main problems of working in teams across nations. Have you got anything to add? (If you're interested in leading global teams, you can also listen to this previous episode with Mariano Tufró, on leading global teams.) 01:29 Lisette gives us a very quick update of what she's up to. 02:22 Pilar gives us a longer update, talking about the UCExpo she visited in Olympia, London. (Unified Communications and Collaboration Event) Marianne Calder, CISCO. "Value, People, Process." We've maximised individual productivity and now we're onto maximising team productivity. We talk about an article in the Wall Street Journal "This Startup's Bold Experiment Failed and They're a Better Company for It". 14:40 The dangers of hyper-connectivity. Lisette talks about The Circle a scary book... "'Collaboration' does not mean using a collaboration tool." 18:50 Kahootz, a company providing online workspa

For more on 21st Century Work Life and working in virtual teams, visit www.virtualnotdistant.com00:30 Pilar talks about her own experience running a theatre company and how she ended up helping virtual teams. (You can check out Theatrefolk's podcast where todays guest, Lindsay Price interviews Pilar. http://www.theatrefolk.com/podcast/devising-physical-theatre/)08:45 Lindsay Price, Partner at Theatrefolk, talks about how and why the company was set up and how they built a global business. www.theatrefolk.com14:40 How Theatrefolk works and how they provide support to drama teachers, especially those isolated. 17:00 The importance of not remaining anonymous in an online business. How Theatrefolk communicates with its community. 20:00 The Theatrefolk podcast. http://www.theatrefolk.com/podcast/ 22:25 The Drama Teacher Academy. www.dramateacheracademy.com 28:50 Lindsay shares those projects that didn't work out. The importance of failing and making time to rest. 32:18 The future of Theatrefolk and Lindsay's own w

This episode includes Virtual Coffee with Lisette. 00:30 Pilar's introduction. She recommends Pocket, UCExpo15. (For the script visit, www.virtualnotdistant.com/results.) 07:01 A story about the different reasons why people might be underperforming. 10:45 Lisette shares how her focusing time working on her book is going and the power of reaching out. The "being-busy syndrome" and when it's way too much. 16:00 Pilar mentions the UC Expo 2015 and the London Management 3.0 Meetup Group. 17:00 The importance of tracking progress and results. Why do we collect metrics, why do we need to track? 20:50 Defining how success looks like. The importance of multiple perspectives. Pilar mentions Yael Zofi's A Manager's Guide to Virtual Teams23:20 Organisation's objectives and personal objectives. 26:36 Who's role is it to stay on top of these tracking systems? Motivation. 31:22 Visualising data. 37:20 Progress, problems and plans. 40:55 Start with the basics and make sure your metrics evolve. The team should be involved in

00:30 Pilar talks a bit about how online communities have helped her build relationships and how many businesses are now relying on communities to sell their products. 07:30 Sally describes what Tripbod is and how the company evolved. 12:25 The role of trust and building the Tripbod community. The Responsible Tourism Networking group. 21:00 How Tripbod has changed as a result of becoming part of TripAdvisor and how Sally's role has changed. Here is the article Sally wrote for Tnooz about her experience of selling Tripbod to Tripadvisor. www.tnooz.com/article/startup-biggest-travel-brands-planet/ 24:05 Two new products: find out more about Neighborhoods and TripAdvisor Travel Guides - check out this Madrid travel guide: www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel_Guide-g187514-Madrid.html 29:18 How is the travel industry changing. 32:55 How Sally's own way of working has evolved. 35:00 Becoming a Tripbod.

Please visit www.virtualnotdistant.com/blessing00:30 Pilar's short intro. 04:55 Lisette's off-piste adventures and her next speaking event. 11:20 We begin our conversation. How organisations are becoming more networked, less hierarchical. 13:30 The curse of "being always on". How technology is helping people taking charge of their own development. (Check out the episode on Yammer, 42:03). The origins of Working Out Loud. 17:40 Pilar mentions the book The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking (affiliate link.) 18:55 Prioritising. 19:45 Work-life balance, work-life fusion and choosing the location where you want to live, not where you want to work. Feeling "boxed in". The down-side of non-location specific, the freelance aspect. Pilar mentions a "housing crisis in London" - it's actually in the UK. Here's an article about it Article in The Guardian. 27:30 The curses. Is communication more difficult or easier when we're working with others remotely? What to do when you get stuck. Liset