Matthijs Welle’s Post

I work from home, but I always feel that I'm with my colleagues 😍 Working from home can be tough from time to time. To prevent any "working from home blues" we do these 4️⃣ things to stay connected and build a great remote friendly company culture 🙌🏻 1️⃣ we think hybrid: Most of my colleagues are from Hamburg, and they come to the office on a regular basis. Thursday is our office day and every team has an additional office day. We schedule all our internal meetings on these office days to use the energy in the meeting rooms. 2️⃣ we include our remote workers: I'm based in Spain and obviously can't come to the office days. That's why we also have our office weeks 🤗 4 times a year, the whole company comes together. We have 3 onsites in Hamburg and one offsite. The last one in Lüneburger Heide as you may recognize from this picture 🐑 We use these weeks to include work on our strategy and company culture. 3️⃣ we have virtual coffees This should be a no brainer. With virtual coffees you can easily stay connected with your colleagues. Every week we have a random coffee meeting and in our sales team we also have a biweekly coffee break ☕️ 4️⃣ we have fun in our meetings We start our meetings with an icebreaker. A funny/stupid question, helping us to start the meeting in a good mood. It is also a great way to connect with your colleagues 😀 What about you? Do you work hybrid or remote and can you add something? #newwork #remotework #joyofwork #companyculture

Coming together in the #office 32% more often. The dream of every CEO 👩💻👨🏾💻 But that's only achievable with employer-brand-destroying "return to office" mandates?! NOPE. We at Seatti analyzed half a million workplace booking data points (of course aggregated and anonymized) to see what impact our social cohesion and hybrid collaboration functionalities had on the number of personal meetups in #hybrid teams. The result: With Seatti, users came together in the office 32% more (from 1,9 to over 2,5 days per week)! ☝️ And most importantly, this happens because of people's intrinsic motivation to socialize and collaborate with colleagues in person. Not because someone is forcing them. It's simply all about making it as easy as possible for employees to share their work location plans with each other, see when colleagues are coming in and coordinate meetups together. By doing so, you create social cohesion and eliminate fears of commuting to the office when nobody is there or sitting far away favorite colleagues 😱 Big shout-out to Nastassia Heumann and Hamza Haddaoui for running this analysis! If anyone wants to get a more detailed report, just comment on this post :)

How’s your team handling work vibes in this hybrid world? 🌐 ❓ At Verbally, we've carved our own unique path for our work setting. 🍦 But are we onto the ultimate scoop or just one flavor in the vast world New Work dynamics? Without a fixed office, every Thursday, Berlin's coworking spaces become our gathering point. 🏙️ These aren’t your typical business rendezvous. It’s about deep conversations sprinkled with a bit of cone-versation. But here's the twist: when we're not bonding over gelato, we all work remotely and still our meetings need to be spot-on. Thanks to Verbally's virtual meeting assistant, we keep our online interactions crisp, concise, and yes, cool as ice cream. 🚀 Now, over to you: Are you full remote, occasional office aficionados, or perhaps a delectable mix of both? Share your flavor of work settings below. Let's dig in! 🍨💬 A heartfelt shoutout to the team in the picture: Ingo, Hassan, Luis, Adam, Julius. And a special mention to those missing from the pic due to well-deserved summer vacations Vincent, Nathan. #MeetingCulture #MeetingsMadeBetter

During the pandemic, we all experienced the transition from bustling office spaces to virtual Zoom meetings. The shift was abrupt, and it felt strange to trade our in-person interactions for screens and pixels. I still remember those virtual happy hours that somehow always left us yearning for the real thing. 🖥️🍻 Now, as remote work continues to be the norm, it's easy to take for granted the magic of in-person gatherings. 🤝 Recently, our Bisk marketing team took a break from our virtual desks and headed to the go-kart racing track. You might wonder, why is this important? 🏁 Well, in the world of remote work and endless virtual meetings, it's easy to forget that we're not just colleagues; we're real people, alive and eager to enjoy life. These onsite events are more than just a fun diversion; they're a reminder that our work is more significant than marketing strategies and reports. It's about building a community, forging friendships, and creating a vibrant culture that amplifies our collective efforts. 🚀 These in-person gatherings breathe life into our work and nurture the bonds that make our team stronger. They remind us that beyond the tasks and deadlines, there's a shared camaraderie that makes every challenge more manageable and every success more meaningful. 🙌 So, here's to cherishing those moments of togetherness and the vibrant culture that elevates our work. Let's keep the spirit of community alive, both in and out of the office! 🏎️🤗 #TeamBuilding #InPersonGatherings #CommunityMatters #WorkAndPlay

For the last 3 years I’ve been working in a #hybrid team, and this is what I have learned so far 🤓   I strongly believe that everyone can contribute best to our purpose if they are in their preferred environment. At the same time, it is important for us to stay close and connect with each other. This is the current set up of the troodi digital product & marketing team: 📍 Vanessa lives in northern Germany, close to the Danish Border 📍 Anne just moved to Tübingen for her masters 📍 Timo is based in Cologne 📍 Jacqueline recently moved from Düsseldorf to Johannesburg 📍 Julian is building our digital learning platform from Hannover 📍 I am living in Cologne & Cape Town    Over the last years we developed our team rules for hybrid working: 🔹 The whole team spends a week coworking together 3x year. During this week, we set our OKRs, have team-development events and retros, and meet for a drink after work 🍷 🔹 Every Monday, we kick off the week with a company-wide update meeting and a planning meeting in the specific subteams 🎯 🔹 Every subteam has a 15 minutes daily stand up on Tuesday-Friday 🧍🏽 🔹 With everyone from my team I have regular 1:1s 🗨️ 🔹 In the teams we have irregular retros. The rule is basically, whenever someone feels it is time for a retro, we schedule one ⁉️ 🔹 Our beloved “Flachmann Freitag”, a monthly meeting with the whole troodi team where we talk about everything except of work 🤠   Besides the described events there are couple of “hacks” that we find helpful for our hybrid set up: 🗓 Keep calendars up to date, so everyone in the team knows: When are we in meetings, in focus work, available for a chat? ✉ We have a teams-channel, in which we post when we are planning to be in the office, so it’s easier to meet there 🗨 We invite everyone into our MS-teams environment, also our contractors and freelancers ☕ We nurture a digital coffee culture: short non-business-related video-calls to hear how the other person is doing   ⁉️ How do you deal with remote or hybrid team set ups? What are your best practices and work hacks? #hybridworking #workhacks #remotework

It was great to share my vision for the future of work with a group of bright and open-minded people last week at DisruptHR KW. The world has evolved, employees are becoming more dispersed, technology is becoming more efficient, and things are / will begin to change: 🎯 There will be fewer meetings, but more intentional ones 🎯 A decrease in office time, and a greater focus on time spent together, carefully curated 🎯 Focus on how we meet instead of where we meet Too many meetings are a distraction, and the best companies are moving towards async collaboration. Offices can be useful, but they aren't essential for bringing people together, since the most important thing is a well-planned, cultivated and intentional meeting. And this happens best in person. Meetings that are well-executed provide companies with so many benefits, among them: 👉 Performance - teams perform so much better after these events, and the effects usually last for at least four to five months 👉 Motivation - employees are much more motivated to work with their colleagues and execute on company’s goals 👉 Relationships and cultural differences - it's hard to build relationships in a remote world, but it's also hard to build them in an office. The perfect way to do this is through events 👉 Events are ideal for boosting creativity and innovation, especially at a team level. Innovation and creativity are fostered by new environments Thanks to everyone who organized this event and made it fabulous! 👏👏 👏 Ricky Luo Zdravko (Zee) Gunjevic Dunja Vujovic , MA, CPCC (she/her/hers) Anthony Lee And kudos to all the great speakers who made this event SO interesting and eye-opening: Susy M. Paul Kleinknecht Frank Newman Jenny Barkan, ACC Clare Kumar, HSP Neena Gupta Samantha Hurwitz Heather Steinson Kerry O'Brien Mike Pereira Interested in my deck? I'd be happy to share it with you, and I'm always open to discussing the future of work! #futureofwork #remotework #hybridwork

Creating an environment where the office is a pull is easier said than done. But some companies are succeeding brilliantly. Here are just a few successful strategies senior leaders shared in yesterday’s Insights Roundtable: 💡 Hiring a dedicated event project manager to create, coordinate, administer and promote in-person company events 💡 Promoting activities and events on the company’s social media to spark interest 💡 Encouraging Employee Resource Groups to design and run in-person activities for members 💡 Designing twice-a-year offsites that mix business (the kind that can’t easily be done remotely) and pleasure (pickleball, anyone?) 💡 Inviting new employees to spend more time on site early on with thoughtfully-curated activities, learning programs and connections 💡 Reconfiguring office space to allow for a mix of independent and group work 💡 And much more... Have ideas that you’d like to share? Please drop them in the comments or join the last of my two Insights Roundtables tomorrow, December 13, from 9 – 10:30 AM EST by clicking on the Eventbrite link in the comment below. (It’s almost at capacity!) #hybridteams #hybridwork #remoteteams #remotework #rto #returntooffice #officecelebration

There is a lot of discussion and debate on whether or not workers should return to the office, work remotely or continue a hybrid approach that offers a little bit of both. I’m of the opinion that it depends on the situation, the company, the job and the individual. For me, I prefer to work remotely but I also enjoy meeting in person for one-on-one lunches, small groups or large gatherings, to have time to network and talk about all kinds of things beyond the agenda topics. Building relationships is essential to business and it’s hard to make new friends in a strictly virtual setting. Do you remember the days of conferences, trade shows and sales meetings? I recently attended Cosmoprof North America and it was so much fun to spend several days walking the convention halls, seeing the displays, trying product samples, and meeting with lots of exhibitors to learn about their products, customers, industry trends, etc. I came away with dozens of new contacts. There’s no way to exactly replicate that experience virtually. However, sometimes a virtual experience is enough to give you the education or information you’re seeking. I love taking webinars and online courses to keep learning, growing and expanding my knowledge. And I can do this more efficiently by attending virtual classes. It saves me time, hassle and money. I’m working remotely from Paris this month. Being here, nine hours ahead of my California colleagues means attending Teams/Zoom meetings at 7:00 pm (10:00 am PT) and even logging in to my 3-hour weekly grant writing class at 3:30 am! It’s certainly not the same as being together in an office or classroom, but I’ve intentionally maintained my #remotework lifestyle and I’m grateful for the flexibility. It gives me the freedom to do and see things that stimulate my creativity and refresh my mind which results in better work for my clients and less stress and anxiety for me. Win, win! I’d love to hear your thoughts on how remote or hybrid work models are working for you, or not. I don’t believe there is one model that fits all scenarios. Do you agree?

🏢 **Back to the Office Vibes! 🌟** There's something special about being back in the office today! As I usually work remotely, it feels like a mini-reunion with my colleagues, and the vibrant energy of our workspace. 💼✨ Don't get me wrong, remote work has its perks, but there's a unique buzz in the office that fosters collaboration! Here's why today feels like a breath of fresh air: 1️⃣ **Face-to-Face Connections:** There's nothing like those impromptu chats by the coffee machine or the quick brainstorming sessions in the meeting room. Being in the office sparks spontaneous connections that fuel creativity. 2️⃣ **Team Synergy:** While virtual meetings are efficient, there's a different dynamic when the team is physically together. The synergy is palpable, and it's a reminder of the power of in-person collaboration. 3️⃣ **Change of Scenery:** As much as I love my home office setup, a change of scenery can do wonders. The office provides a professional backdrop that helps me shift into a focused, work-oriented mindset. Grateful that I have the perfect balance! 💻🌐 #BackToOffice #TeamSpirit #WorkplaceJoy