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Future of work Hybrid work Remotely Possible

The Remotely Possible™ Podcast: Insights from host Adam Riggs on Connecting Hybrid Teams in Fulfilling Ways

In the eighth episode of the “Remotely Possible” podcast, we flipped the script, and I got to put our host, Adam Riggs, Founder and CEO of Frameable, in the hot seat!

In this episode, Adam shares his history working on distributed teams and how those experiences shaped how he’s building Frameable (and its products) to connect hybrid and distributed teams in more fulfilling ways. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation, including how to make the most of a company’s face-to-face interactions. 

Introducing Adam and His History With Distributed Work

Adam is no stranger to working with colleagues across the country and around the globe:

  • He started his career as a floor trader at the American Stock Exchange, where he regularly worked with a small group of people who weren’t located in the same building as him. 
  • He later worked at Shutterstock, which had a core office in New York and select employees scattered across the U.S. 
  • During his time at the State Department and U.S. Treasury, he regularly worked with colleagues he never met in person.

As he continues to grow Frameable, he aims to create products that enable deeper connections and meaningful collaboration on remote and distributed teams. 

“I started off [distributed work] in the 90s, where my remote collaboration was phone-powered, then email got added,” Adam said. “In this current incarnation, I’m focused on building a richer set of interaction types to power distributed work—everything from mapping software to adaptations of Microsoft Teams so people can have more transparency.”

Building Rich Connections With Hybrid Colleagues

Companies have tackled big challenges without being in the same room together for decades. To do so effectively, however, Adam believes that teams need to set time aside to learn about each other as individuals and how they prefer to work. This includes allowing fully remote teams to spend time together in person, too.

“It’s just a lot harder to do certain types of work if every interaction is scheduled and if you never get to learn about someone—their mannerisms, their preferences, their allergies, [and] about what they’re interested in,” Adam said. “It’s a very natural thing for humans to be able to fold that understanding of someone into the way they interact with them.”

I laughed when he mentioned the allergies, because, hello, that’s me! When I attended the Frameable offsite in Denver, my wheat and shellfish allergy meant I needed special accommodation at our team dinners. And to my delight, at one of the restaurants, the chef kept sending out bespoke plates so I didn’t feel left out. It inspired a number of conversations that wouldn’t have ever occurred online. But we’ll get to in-person relationship-building in a moment.

In many companies, there is a push for everyone to be on-camera all the time as a stand-in for being visible in the office. But forcing employees to always be on camera isn’t a smart way to build relationships. It’s exceptionally draining to be on camera all-day every day. When collaborating in distanced environments, the priority should be on the work asset—not on seeing everyone in the meeting. 

“I was one of the people who strongly preferred video to be on when I was having a remote interaction with someone. Now I have a better understanding of the special type of fatigue that sets in when you’re on video calls all day. It’s not as natural as being with people in person,” Adam reflected. “[For] certain kinds of conversations, someone might ask for cameras on, but, for the most part, we are sharing a screen or two and looking at an asset together (whether it’s a piece of copy or a piece of code or design exploration). It’s [more] important to be looking at that thing together than to be looking at each other.” 

The Frameable team meets in person at least once a year for a company offsite. Adam thinks it’s vital for people to interact outside of a work setting, like taking a cooking class, browsing used books and records, or going on a team hike. Again, the focus is on learning about what makes everyone unique. 

“It really helps deepen your understanding of them as a person,” he said. “We look at the time that we get to spend physically together as partially ‘hey, this is a treat, we get to actually look over each other’s shoulders’ so to speak… But there’s also an opportunity to fill that reservoir with a better understanding of your colleagues so that when your time is finished, you have something to draw on to do better work together.” 

Remote work has enabled companies to become truly inclusive and empower employees in ways that in-person work simply can’t. 

“You have to meet people where they are,” he said. “[When you engage remote talent] you’re not asking them quite as much. You’re not asking them to come in five days a week. You’re acknowledging there’s certain kinds of work that they can do very well from where they are in terms of their personal health, their schedule, [and] their commute.”

As Adam continues evolving Frameable to power the future of work and help companies innovate faster in Microsoft Teams, he focuses on creating solutions that fit naturally into people’s workflows. He encourages other entrepreneurs to focus on small, tangible improvements that build up to their bigger goals. 

“You can inspire people to change how they behave and how they work, but it’s not going to be an all-at-once ‘Eureka!’ moment. You really need to pay attention to their current work habits and their current preferences and try to weave the innovations into something that they already recognize,” he said. “Do more to recognize where people are, at this moment, already. And then try to go there in whatever way you can—whether it’s your team or your customers—because you’re gonna get better results and a better understanding of what your vision is. Your vision can be radical, but how you get there has to be one step at a time.”

For more of Adam’s insights into what technology will power the future of work, listen to the Remotely Possible Podcast, episode 8. Interested in sharing your distributed work experience with our listeners? Apply to be Adam’s guest for a future episode.

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Hybrid work remote work

Improving Incident Response Workflows for Your Remote Team

This article originally appeared on LinkedIn.

New research from PwC cites that 38% of tech leaders report an increase in their organization’s exposure to security threats. No team wants to fall victim to a cyber security attack or huge roadblocks, but in this day and age preparing for a variety of complex incidents that may befall your team is the best strategy for success. When something goes wrong, the outcome can either be the result of preparation or be filled with anxiety and errors. Ensuring your team knows exactly how to handle a data breach or mitigate a PR crisis is crucial to ensuring your team stays agile and capable of protecting your assets, clients, and more. This is where a tried and tested incident response plan is necessary for your success.

The Essence of Incident Response

Incident response (IR) is a structured methodology for handling security breaches and cyber threats so that organizations can quickly contain and mitigate the threat and its effects. “It is essential for businesses of all sizes and sectors to prepare for incident response.” You don’t want to inform clients that their data is still at risk or that the problem still needs to be resolved days after a breach.

For remote teams, the dynamics of incident response workflows take on additional layers of complexity. The unique demands of remote work require a new approach to IR, with communication, coordination, and security measures transcending physical boundaries. Remote teams must lean heavily on technology for real-time monitoring, automated alerts, and virtual collaboration tools to orchestrate their response efforts effectively. An example of this could be a remote team using encrypted communication channels to coordinate their response to a phishing attack that compromised several employee accounts, ensuring rapid isolation of affected systems and restoration of secure operations. While traditional tools can help get your team there, they often leave much to be desired when it comes to aiding efficiency and effective collaboration.

What to Consider When Forming an Incident Response Plan

Irrespective of industry, incident response plays a crucial role in many workflows. In healthcare, for example, a data breach might involve the unauthorized access of patient records, demanding swift action to secure data and notify affected individuals. In the financial sector, an incident could involve a sophisticated cyber-attack aimed at financial theft or data manipulation, requiring not just technical containment but also legal and regulatory responses. Meanwhile, in e-commerce, a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack could cripple online operations, necessitating rapid mitigation to restore service and protect against future attacks.

If your team faces even one of these situations mentioned above, you’ll want to consider how you will stay connected and agile while working to resolve the crisis. For remote teams, in particular, this presents a greater challenge. If you’re unable to physically join your team in a conference room to work on a problem, how can you stay informed, provide assistance, and have a comprehensive view of everything at once?

Crafting a Robust Incident Response Plan

A well-defined incident response plan is the linchpin of effective IR. You’ll want to consider how your team is currently set up, existing workflows that are already in place, and how your team works: remotely, hybrid, or a unique combination of the two. Most plans should include the following in some form or another:

  • Preparation: Establishing your IR team and equipping them with the tools and authority to act decisively. Developing processes and procedures for each team member that needs to be involved. Surveying your team is a great way to understand where they see areas for improvement or where they could use more support. This will likely look different for remote teams compared to teams that are on-site more often, thus making it even more important to do and conduct follow-up surveys regularly.
  • Identification: Outline processes for quickly detecting and assessing the scope of an incident.
  • Containment: Limiting the spread and impact of the incident to minimize damage, impact on affected individuals, and impact on your brand. For each of the following, a separate, detailed checklist of the steps that should always be taken should be created.
  • Eradication: Removing the threat or bug from the environment and taking steps to prevent the incident from occurring again.
  • Recovery: Restoring systems to normal operation and confirming the integrity of your product or organization is restored.
  • Lessons Learned & Documentation: Review the outcome incident to improve future IR processes. This is the time to reflect and update checklists, necessary documentation, and other items to make future incidents solvable with even greater speed.

Each step outlined above is crucial for ensuring the success of your processes and a strategic strengthening of your response and defenses over time. But what ultimately becomes most important during an incident is communication. For remote teams, practicing what this communication looks like is an even greater step in team preparedness to be sure that no important information falls through the cracks.

Best Practices for Remote Incident Response Teams

The effectiveness of a remote incident response team hinges on employing several best practices so that when an incident does happen, your team’s response is second nature.

  • Continuous Training: Regular drills and simulations keep the IR team sharp and ready. As the team improves or implements new tools it’s crucial that the entire team, practices using them in a reduced-stress environment for greater learning comprehension. For remote teams, practicing setting up virtual command centers and getting the correct applications running can better ensure no steps are missed and help the full team understand how long each step will take.
  • Define Communication Strategies: Clear protocols ensure that all stakeholders, from management to technical teams, are informed and aligned. For remote teams this is especially important since much of the communication will need to be done through a variety of channels and not necessarily live or on the phone. Will these be through specified channels that already exist or new ones for each incident? Be sure to communicate those expectations to your team.
  • Iterative Improvement: Post-incident reviews offer invaluable insights for refining the IR plan. Regularly reviewing post-incident documentation to understand where the team can improve or communicate better is key. Consider what workflows need to be adjusted to help your remote team execute plans and checklists faster.
  • Technological Leverage: Utilizing cutting-edge tools for detection, analysis, and recovery can significantly enhance response capabilities. These resources can help expedite the detection of potential threats, improve communication and collaboration among team members, and ensure timely delivery of updates to those affected. With the right technological leverage, organizations can stay ahead of the curve and respond swiftly and effectively to any situation.

Next Steps

In the quest to solidify your organization’s remote incident response processes, exploring Frameable’s innovative solutions for Microsoft Teams can be a game-changer in smoothing out any remaining bumps. Frameable specializes in streamlining collaboration and communication for remote teams, ensuring that your IR processes are not just effective but also seamlessly integrated with your daily operations. By integrating with Microsoft Teams it’s easier than ever to add new capabilities to your workflow. Whether you’re looking to enhance your team’s coordination in the face of digital threats or seeking to leverage technology for a more resilient defense, Frameable offers the potential to do more without forcing your team to learn new, complex tools.

Explore Frameable for Incident Response Teams here.

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Future of work productivity remote work Virtual Training

Mastering Engagement in Virtual Training: Key Strategies for Success

This post originally appeared on LinkedIn.

Organizations that want to retain top talent and stay ahead of the curve know that remote and hybrid work arrangements are critical to their success. This crucial realization also comes with a new need: providing new hires, current employees, and potentially many others with an effective and engaging path to getting trained on company policies and procedures, professional development resources, ongoing learning. Translating an engaging and successful in-person lecture or course into virtual content, live or otherwise, is not necessarily a straightforward path, especially if you want to ensure trainees leave having had a high-quality experience.

Understanding the Virtual Training Landscape

The world of virtual training is marked by plenty of ever-changing trends and challenges. But one core issue remains: how to captivate and maintain your audience’s attention in an environment rife with distractions and the temptation to do anything else besides pay attention to the content (like answering emails or scrolling on your phone). Below, we dive into a variety of strategies for virtual training for overcoming these hurdles, so you can transform passive learners into active and engaged participants.

What Makes a Virtual Training Engaging?

There is a difference between adding shocking facts into a training session and providing true value comes down to making your content as relevant to the learner as possible. Think back on your current virtual training set-up and content plan: How can you include new or surprising ways to share the information you need to get across? How can you connect your content to real-world applications that learners will encounter in the workplace and beyond?

When learners are presented with content in a way that makes it easy to absorb and relevant to them, they are more likely to stay focused, engaged, and retain the information you are sharing. This can come in any form of training: live instructor-led sessions, pre-recorded training videos, or interactive quizzes. The crucial element remains the same: make sure your trainees leave the session feeling like what they learned is crucial to their success and relevant to their job. Learners who leave sessions feeling energized and capable are a huge win for trainers and their organization’s bottom line. 

When you start with this approach, instead of repeating the same processes, you’re likely to discover room for improvement in both your content and how you deliver it.

Strategies for Virtual Training Success

The virtual environment requires a new approach to teaching methods. Virtual learning can be uncomfortable or hinder community building without clear instructions due to a lack of established social norms. While some students may feel exceptionally comfortable in a virtual learning environment, not everyone will.

This offers you, the instructor, the opportunity to be exceptionally prescriptive when assigning group projects or having students disperse into virtual breakout rooms during a call. By taking away some of the worry and anxiety that can come from uncertainty, you can better equip your students with the information they need to focus on the task at hand and find the value in what is currently on the docket.

Furthermore, when it comes time to break out into sessions or develop new modules, you will also want to rethink how you disseminate different lessons. Repeating the same slide show and lecture format can become exceptionally arduous in a virtual classroom. While sometimes it is unavoidable, there are other approaches to consider when developing lesson plans that drive better student engagement and participation.

Consider how your team can implement a variety of the following:

  • Personalized learning paths: for small class sizes or one-on-one training, consider spending time getting to know the individual goals of your student or students
  • Gamification of certain modules: Explore Kahoot, Quizlet, and many others that can make learning more fun and aid in content retention.
  • Dynamic, visual content: Instead of classic slideshow presentations explore options such as Prezi for redefining how you develop lectures.
  • Video-based lessons
  • Peer-review assignments

Building Community Through Virtual Training

Community building is essential for sustaining long-term engagement and for creating a sense of belonging. Regular check-ins, group projects, and social forums can help in crafting an inclusive and supportive community. Utilizing approved internal channels or other connection platforms helps to make the learning experience more comprehensive and integrated into participants’ daily lives.

Measuring the Success and ROI of Virtual Training

Measuring the success of virtual training can come in a variety of forms. This can include closing larger sales, reducing turnover, increasing in-house promotions over external new hires, or seeing improvements in your employee satisfaction surveys.

If one of your goals with training is to develop a loyal customer base, great training can help you get there faster. Buyers especially take notice when they have a great experience with your brand. A pleasant experience with a skilled and knowledgeable representative and great support content leads to more closed deals and a higher average sale according to data from Seismic. 

Both employees who represent your company to customers and those with internal roles report higher job satisfaction and likelihood of staying with a job due to consistent and supportive training, according to IBM. For those with a goal of increasing overall employee satisfaction, offering professional development courses, trainings, and opportunities for career advancement are a crucial piece of the puzzle. 

At the end of the day, engaged employees are more likely to benefit your bottom line, and those with the resources to succeed are going to provide more value to both the company and their team. 

Next Steps

The journey from traditional to virtual training environments is complex but rewarding. By implementing the strategies outlined, trainers and HR leaders can foster more engaging, productive, and effective learning experiences. Building connections in virtual settings is not just about technology; it’s about creating an immersive, interactive, and inclusive learning culture that adds value and resonates with participants.

Explore how Frameable can help your team level up virtual training in Microsoft Teams or sign up for a demo today.

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AI Future of work

9 Future of Work Conferences to Attend in 2024

The past year has been hugely transformative both for the future of work itself and the technology and trends surrounding it. Attending conferences on the future of work can be a valuable investment to meet talented leaders, identify innovative solutions, and in some cases, even showcase your own! There are so many incredible conferences happening in 2024, we’ve identified 9 of the top conferences you won’t want to miss this year.

IDC Future of Work & AI Summit 

March 11-13, 2024 in St Albans, United Kingdom

International Data Corporation (IDC) is a global provider of analysis and insights, helping professionals take a data-driven approach to selecting technologies and formulating business plans. The conference aims to provide attendees with industry insights, recommendations, and valuable experiences from speakers, complete with networking opportunities. The main topics set for this year include creating a secure and sustainable flexible workplace, designing a Human-First Work model, and leveraging Purposeful Automation. Keynotes and workshops will cover enabling a human-first future of work, maximizing human potential with inclusive and sustainable workplace design, reimagining the future of work with hybrid models, assessing the IT skills gap, and the magic of low-code tools.

Gartner Digital Workplace Summit

18-19 March 2024 in Grapevine, Texas

10-11 June 2024 in London, U.K.

27-28 August 2024 in Tokyo, Japan

The Gartner Digital Workplace Summit focuses on two digital workplace trends: distributing work and enhancing the digital employee experience. The conference provides an ideal mix of insights and research-based talks to allow participants to better understand these topics and find strategies to improve their outcomes and is ideal for digital workplace leaders, architects, IT leadership, application leaders, I&O leaders, and other technical professionals.

Attendees have the option to choose from five different tracks:

  1. Lead by Collaborating
  2. Harness Advanced Technology
  3. Modernize Infrastructure and Operation
  4. Create Engaging Digital Employee Experiences
  5. Prepare for the Future of Work

If you are an IT executive or digital workplace leader, this conference is for you! With three locations and multiple tracks to choose from, this summit will allow attendees to join peers to build their network, learn, and meet experts in the digital workplace.

WSJ Future of Everything

May 21-23, 2024 in NYC

Each year, the newsroom at the Wall Street Journal identifies who and what is changing the future to compile their Future of Everything conference. While the conference isn’t solely focused on the future of work, given the influx of news on the topic, there are dedicated sections for both technology and work. 

This year, hear from featured speakers like Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, Chuck Robbins CEO of Cisco Systems, or Kathryn McLay President and CEO of Walmart International along with so many others across industries.

With a broader focus than other conferences listed, attendees will be able to receive a birds-eye view of, quite literally, the future of everything. 

Future of Work USA

June 3-4, 2024 in New York, NY

The Future of Work USA event was launched in 2019 to focus on the latest trends and strategies surrounding senior executives. With a smaller focus on tech, the Future of Work conference is perfect for those within the HR, communication, or employee experience realm of business. The Future of Work conference series takes place around the globe offering a unique opportunity to gain insights into the latest trends, strategies, and technologies shaping the future of work. It’s an ideal platform for networking with other industry leaders, sharing knowledge, and discovering innovative solutions to drive organizational success.

This year’s agenda includes topics like RTO, implementing generative AI across multiple channels, improving employee engagement and experience, and how to create content to engage and retain your employees and audience. 

If you’re considering even a few things mentioned above in the coming year, this is a great time to hear from leaders of some of the world’s best and biggest companies.

Gallup Future of Work Summit

June 3-5, 2024 in Omaha, NE

The Gallup at Work Summit offers a range of opportunities for learning and development, open to individuals across various industries seeking personal or professional growth. It provides accreditation opportunities (HRCI, SHRM, ICF credits) and does not require attendees to be Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches or to have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment. 

While the agenda and speaker list for this year have yet to be released, the Gallup Summit does offer promotions for organizations sending multiple attendees. Both virtual and in-person attendance options are available for the 2024 summit so attending can fit into any budget.

SHRM Annual 2024 

June 23-26, 2024 in Chicago, IL

SHRM is a leading voice in the HR professional community and continues to shape how employers and employees work together. At the SHRM annual HR conference this year, attendees will learn from and engage with HR pioneers and tech innovators who are transforming the world of work. Topics include workplace innovation, future-ready HR, disruptive technologies, ethical AI, and more.

This conference will provide learnings, networking opportunities, and outcome-focused practices and solutions for professionals looking to expand their HR tech knowledge and stay ahead of the curve. 

WorkX

June 24 – 26, 2024 in Dallas, TX

Formally known as Future Offices, the WorkX Conference brings together all things related to work experience. The 2024 conference will explore workplace flexibility trends, explore the human-centric approaches to the future of work, and discuss how AI will be incorporated into our future goals. With workshops, panels, networking, and more, this conference is sure to be at the top of many lists this year!

If you are looking for a multi-track conference opportunity with options to attend on each coast, this could be a great choice for you!

Transform 2024

July 10-11, 2024 in San Francisco, CA

AI is the talk of the town across every industry this year and Transform is where you can hear from focuses on practical AI implementation in enterprises. Previous speakers include top executives from companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta, and this year is sure to be just as exciting. 

The event promises networking opportunities, insights into generative AI’s impact on business operations, innovation, and competition, and will explore the ethical, governance, security, and reliability challenges. The Transform 2024 conference is perfect for director-level and above executives eager to participate in the generative AI movement and all it has to offer for the future of work. 

Forbes Future Of Work Summit

September 12, 2024 in NYC

The Forbes Future of Work Summit hosted both in-person and virtually, centers around how to manage an increasingly distributed workforce, offering solutions for a more sustainable, profitable, and inclusive way of working.

Recently, Forbes has begun to highlight executives, organizations, and thought leaders shaping the office of tomorrow in an annual Forbes Future of Work 50 list. Expect some of these top contributors to be involved in this year’s summit.

While the agenda and speakers have not yet been announced for the 2024 summit, interested attendees can take a look at the 2023 agenda, speakers, and sponsors to get a better idea of the conference offerings and key findings.

The Future of Software in the Modern Workplace

Preparing for the future of work should be a part of every leader’s playbook. While attending conferences is just one of the ways to stay ahead of the competition, preparing your team with best-in-class resources and technology is just as crucial for wider team success. If you’re ready to take the leap and elevate your experience with Microsoft Teams, it’s time to explore Frameable.

Explore how Frameable is shaping the Future of Work for Microsoft users

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AI Future of work

Analyzing NVIDIA’s Q4 Earnings Report for the Future of Work

If you’ve kept up with the news over the past few days, you’re likely to have come across news of Nvidia’s record-breaking Q4 revenue report touting a 265% increase from a year ago.

Nvidia is quickly becoming a household name as the AI boom continues, specializing in making chips that power various platforms like Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and games and cars.

Generative AI is also quickly becoming the hottest topic surrounding the future of the world and the future of work. According to Nvidia CEO Jason Hwang, the demand for GenAI tools is rapidly increasing across different industries and even entire nations. Marking a tipping point in the AI market, contrary to previous reports that suggested we had already reached its peak. 

How GenAI is Already Shaping the Future of Work

As we’ve already seen over the past few years, AI has come a long way from what seemed like a pipe dream to quickly become one of the most useful tools for speeding up the repetitive tasks that take up a lot of time for knowledge workers.

According to research from LinkedIn published toward the end of 2023, more than 74% of US-based executives believe that Generative AI will help their employees. Overall, senior executives up to the C-suite are “mostly optimistic that the technology will provide productivity and revenue-enhancing benefits, even if it’s unclear how”, with 51% stating they are excited about using AI and 47% believing it will improve productivity. 

Human Implications of AI on the Future of Work

Most interestingly, many of the conversations around AI in the workplace started from a place of fear regarding potential job loss. But what has been most promising is that regardless of the changes in how smaller tasks get accomplished, more than 92% of leaders still believe that soft skills are more important than ever, according to the same LinkedIn Future of Work Report. 

Furthermore, McKinsey’s 2023 report on Generative AI and the Future of Work supports the long-held belief that technological innovation will spur economic and employment growth across sectors and the global economy. By 2030, up to 30% of all current work hours could be automated, according to their research. While this initially may cause some to harken back to the conversation surrounding job stability, the greater trend appears to be that more tedious or time-consuming tasks can be automated while those doing the work are freed up to work on more complicated or strategic tasks. 

The key to generative AI is there in its name: generative. It can consume huge swaths of information and create new pieces of content, but when it comes to original ideas, it is still us humans who hold the keys to true creativity and innovation. 

How You Can Jumpstart Your AI Journey

Most knowledge workers will tell you that there isn’t enough uninterrupted focus time in their work day. Microsoft’s latest Work Trends report backs this up further revealing that 68% of workers feel this way, burdened by how much time they spend in meetings, email, and on other forms of communicating. The potential to use AI to lessen this burden is one of the most exciting outcomes for many knowledge workers: “Employees are more eager for AI to lift the weight of work than they are afraid of job loss to AI”, according to the same Microsoft report.

There are a variety of tools already available to help lessen these burdens. AI meeting note-takers like Fireflies can make it easier for employees to decline invitations to big meetings in favor of focusing on other work if they do not need to be active participants. Reading the AI-generated summary during a designated time to catch up on communications means employees can have more control of their workday and dedicate more of their workday to deep focus. 

In a similar vein, Microsoft users can now employ Copilot to help them across the Microsoft Office suite with similar tasks that lessen the mental burden on the employees themselves. In Outlook this could mean having Copilot create a first draft of a lengthy email or summarize long threads. What’s exciting is never having to start from zero if you don’t want to!

For roles that require creativity, such as marketing or content creation, Copilot can suggest ideas, create drafts, or even generate entire articles, presentations, and marketing materials that aid in brainstorming and accelerate the creative process. The use cases for generative AI are endless if you know how to use it, so adopt it as a supportive tool to boost productivity.

The sheer number of future AI trends we can expect to see keeps growing, and Nvidia and Microsoft’s AI technology is sure to remain a pivotal part of these conversations as many more organizations continue to adopt AI at scale. 

To stay competitive, organizations should adopt both generative AI tools and productivity tools to streamline knowledge-worker workflows. Several excellent tools like Frameable Core can enhance daily collaboration and communication in Microsoft Teams for your workforce. By leveraging the power of next-level collaboration, you can accelerate the growth of your organization. 

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Microsoft Teams remote work Virtual Training

5 Tips for Successful Virtual Instructor-led Training with Microsoft Teams

Remote work and learning have become the new norm with 90% of companies offering some form of digital learning for their employees. Early adopters like IBM reported that employees learned 5 times more content by incorporating virtual training sessions into their programs. As a result, creating an effective virtual instructor-led training (VILT) program has become crucial across industries. With Microsoft Teams being the most common platform for delivering virtual training, making sure you leverage all of its capabilities effectively can mean the difference between an average training lesson and one that is most effective. Here, we outline five essential tips for leveraging Microsoft Teams to conduct successful VILT sessions, ensuring that your training leads to effective learning outcomes and more productive workers.

Understanding the Importance of Engaging VILT

Along with the shift to remote work, there has been a growing body of research supporting the effectiveness of well-designed virtual training programs. For instance, a study by the IBM Smarter Workforce Institute found that participants in virtual classrooms outperform traditional face-to-face learners in knowledge retention and application when the training is engaging and interactive. Engaging VILT sessions not only facilitate better learning outcomes but also contributes to higher job satisfaction and productivity among employees.

Leveraging Microsoft Teams for VILT

Microsoft Teams offers a rich set of features that can be leveraged to create interactive and engaging VILT sessions. Here are some tips for corporate trainers to make the most of Microsoft Teams:

1. Maximize Engagement with Interactive Tools

Engagement is the lifeblood of effective learning. Microsoft Teams offers a plethora of interactive tools like polls, quizzes, and surveys through integrated apps such as Microsoft Forms. Trainers can make the learning process active and participatory by using these tools in VILT sessions. For example, interactive polls can be used to gauge learners’ opinions or knowledge on a subject at the beginning of a session, setting the stage for a tailored learning experience. These interactive tools not only break the monotony of traditional lecture-based learning but also encourage trainees to think critically and engage more deeply with the content. 

2. Utilize Breakout Rooms for Personalized Learning Experiences

Breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams allow trainers to divide participants into smaller groups for discussions, workshops, or role-playing exercises. This personalized approach not only enhances learning by allowing for more in-depth exploration of topics but also encourages collaboration among participants. Research from the Harvard Business Review supports the idea that small group learning leads to a 55% improvement in learning application over traditional lecture-based training.

3. Incorporate a Mix of Media and Content Types

Diversifying the types of content used in training sessions can cater to different learning styles and keep participants engaged. Incorporate videos, infographics, and interactive content like digital whiteboards to help boost retention rates. This approach is not merely a nod to the variety in learning styles but a powerful method to ensure that all participants remain engaged and can absorb information in ways that suit them best. 

4. Leverage the Power of Asynchronous Learning

Not all learning needs to happen in real-time. Microsoft Teams allows for the creation of dedicated channels for ongoing discussions, resource sharing, and asynchronous learning activities. Trainers can even record the training sessions and offer them on-demand. This approach not only accommodates different time zones and schedules but also encourages continuous learning beyond the confines of scheduled training sessions.

5. Provide Immediate Feedback and Support

Feedback plays an integral role in the learning process. In the context of VILT, leveraging the capabilities of Microsoft Teams to provide real-time feedback and support becomes a game-changer. The platform’s instant messaging and meeting features facilitate a direct and immediate line of communication between trainers and trainees, enabling a dynamic exchange of feedback that can significantly enhance the learning experience.

The immediacy of response serves various purposes during training sessions. Firstly, it enables trainers to keep track of the progress and level of comprehension of trainees. Secondly, it facilitates the prompt correction of any misunderstandings or misconceptions, ensuring that trainees are on the right track. Moreover, real-time feedback creates a supportive and interactive learning environment where trainees can gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Solutions to Uplevel Microsoft Teams for VILT

While Microsoft Teams provides a solid foundation for VILT, exploring advanced platforms like Frameable Core can take your training programs to the next level. Frameable offers tailored solutions that enhance VILT engagement, interactivity, and the overall learning experience. Features like multiple simultaneous screen shares and digital whiteboards allow trainers and trainees to experience highly collaborative sessions. With its intuitive design and specialized features for virtual learning, Frameable addresses the nuanced needs of modern corporate training programs.

Explore Frameable for Effective Virtual Instructor-led Training Solutions

In today’s fast-paced corporate world, delivering engaging and effective virtual instructor-led training is more important than ever. By leveraging the capabilities of Microsoft Teams and embracing innovative platforms like Frameable, you can ensure that your training programs are not just educational but truly transformative. Engaging VILT sessions are the key to unlocking effective learning outcomes and fostering more productive, knowledgeable workers.

Dive deeper into how Frameable can revolutionize your virtual training programs and embrace the future of corporate training today with engaging virtual learning experiences.

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Future of work remote work Research

Do You Have the Right Technology and Tools to Support Hybrid and Remote Work?

Thanks to workplace technologies, distributed work arrangements have existed for decades in large enterprises. Given the massive push toward remote and hybrid work in recent years, companies of all sizes can now also benefit from these arrangements.

The Conference Board reports that just 4% of CEOs worldwide will prioritize returning to the office in 2024, reinforcing the demand for flexible work arrangements. The key now is for organizations to sift through an ever-evolving landscape of tools and technologies that each promises to be the cure-all for the potential hurdles of remote and hybrid work.

To understand the current state of hybrid and remote work —and uncover which tools are actually worth the investment —we conducted our inaugural Remote/Hybrid/Distributed Work Index by surveying hundreds of workers in the U.S.

The findings provide clear insights into which technologies are most effective for enabling team engagement and innovation. Let’s dig into a few highlights. 

Technologies that Power Remote Collaboration

Our research reinforced that workers at hybrid and fully remote companies overwhelmingly feel more engaged and innovative compared to working in a full-time office setting.

When we looked at how these employees ranked the most effective workplace tools, there were several clear distinctions between which tools enable engagement and which foster innovation. 

Remote Work Tools for Engaged Employees

Our research found that 39.8% of distributed workers agree, and 26.4% strongly agree, that they are more engaged in a remote and hybrid setting. Only 12.3% disagreed —and those workers may benefit from new or improved tooling.

We asked these engaged employees about the specific tools they think are most effective for powering their distributed workplace. The following are a few of their clear favorites:

  • Workplace management suites: Microsoft Office was the top-ranked tool by engaged employees, with Google Drive following closely. Complementary tools, including Gmail, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook email also ranked highly. These rankings reinforce the need for remote and hybrid teams to access, store, and share documents in a centralized place.
  • Video conferencing tools: Given the need for more personalized collaboration, it’s no surprise that Zoom is a top favorite, followed by Microsoft Teams and Skype. Regardless of which video conferencing tool your team uses, ensure that you create guidelines around its use to reinforce how team members can collaborate effectively. 
  • Workplace messaging tools: Microsoft Teams was our research’s highest-ranked instant messaging and collaboration tool. Slack and Discord, however, ranked as the bottom two tools for engaged workers. These rankings could suggest that companies need to encourage engagement on messaging tools more consciously, or that it’s time to transition away from Slack to Teams. 
Frameable 2024

Remote Work Tools to Inspire Innovation

As another lens to examine the best workplace tools for remote and hybrid teams, we asked employees whether they feel they are part of a culture of innovation. From the 58.8% of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed, we asked which workplace tools they found to be most effective.

Notably, the tools achieved a more level baseline than when ranked by workers in engaging cultures. Previously low-ranking tools like Slack and Discord appeared much closer to the middle of the pack than before, with a smaller difference between the top- and bottom-ranked tools. 

  • Workplace management suites: Microsoft Office was again the top choice from our research, followed by Google Drive.
  • Video conferencing tools: Zoom was again a top favorite, with Skype following closely. This data reinforces that video conferencing tools are essential in inspiring innovation, which could be amplified by features that support healthy brainstorming and collaboration. 
  • Project management tools: The project management tools in our survey as a category were ranked more favorably by innovative organizations than engaged ones. Smartsheet, one of the lowest-ranked tools by engaged employees, surpassed Monday, Miro, and Wrike in this data splice.
Frameable 2024

Design A Remote-First Workplace

Organizations should prioritize their investments from a remote-first lens to maximize the benefits of any workplace technologies. 

Why? Dedicated online workspaces create a central hub for all company knowledge, regardless of whether employees work in an office part of the time. A well-built virtual workspace can foster workplace inclusivity and knowledge retention while enabling analytics and AI capabilities that empower workplace leaders to measure and optimize their team outputs.

If a workplace is built to prioritize the in-person experience, distributed workers will inevitably lack the resources and tools they need to embed in the company and support its mission effectively.  

Strategies to Empower Hybrid Teams

Workplace technologies are an integral part of an effective distributed team —but they are just one piece of what helps remote and hybrid workers thrive. 

To learn more about overcoming the potential challenges of distributed work and maximizing the opportunities with your remote or hybrid team, download the full Frameable Remote/Hybrid/Distributed Work Index today.

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Hybrid work Microsoft Teams remote work

The 5 Best Microsoft Teams Integrations for Productive Distributed Teams

two large puzzle pieces being held up by two people

When it comes to distributed work, what sets successful teams apart from their less successful competitors is staying productive and efficient no matter your work style or location. To take your team to the next level of success, it’s critical to ensure they have the proper tools and training in how to use them. Even if your organization uses Microsoft Teams, you can still improve upon numerous workflows. Whether it is automating repetitive tasks, gathering information, or communicating with team members, some workflows can be disjointed, frustrating, or simply take way longer than they should! This post explores the best add-ins for Microsoft Teams to boost your remote, hybrid, or distributed teams to the next level. 

Trello

Distributed teams need clarity and efficiency when tackling projects. Making sure everyone is on the same page with real-time updates and a tool that is easy to use means wasting less time figuring out how to manage projects so you can spend more time completing them. Adding Trello boards directly to Teams channels means you never have to stray far to check up on related tasks and progress across multiple channels or projects. The Trello integration allows team members to receive real-time updates, send notifications, and access Trello boards directly within the Teams app. Not leaving Teams means fewer tabs open or programs running that slow down your devices, making it easier for remote and distributed teams of any size to stay organized and on top of their to-do lists. 

Polly from Microsoft

Clear and efficient communication lies at the heart of successful remote collaboration. The Polly add-in for Microsoft Teams facilitates engagement, feedback gathering, and data-driven decision-making inside and outside meetings. With Polly, teams can create polls, surveys, and quizzes within the Teams app, making it easy to gather feedback, involve all team members, and drive engagement in various settings. This add-in enables remote teams to foster a collaborative culture, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard, even when working from different locations. By adding Polly, teams using Teams can better streamline communication channels, boost participation, and make informed team or project decisions.

Zapier

Helping your team stay on top of their to-do list is easier when everyone can automate repeatable workflows or send alerts automatically. Zapier connects with various other highly used platforms like Salesforce, Google Sheets, and Hubspot, just to name a few. With Zapier, you can create custom workflows, generally known as “Zaps,” that automate repetitive tasks, synchronize data across platforms, and trigger actions based on specific conditions. By integrating Zapier, teams can eliminate manual data entry, streamline workflows, and focus on tasks that add value, enhancing overall efficiency and productivity. For distributed teams or remote workforces, adding automatic notifications to project channels can help ensure everyone stays updated with the latest information necessary to remain as productive as possible.

Overview and MultiShare by Frameable

Whether you find yourself leading a large team for a multi-national organization or a small, bootstrapped remote team, you will need to collaborate effectively and efficiently. For teams using Microsoft Teams, having an all-in-one dashboard like Overview is akin to having a trusty guide by your side. It consolidates the cacophony of documents, conversations, and events into a tidy, digestible interface. The beauty of Overview is not just its utility, but in how it simplifies the often-overwhelming task of sifting through digital chatter to find what you need when you need it.

Whether you’re onboarding new recruits, leading a remote training session, or tackling a shared project, the ability to display up to 15 different screens simultaneously means you can handle just about anything. With MultiShare, the flow of ideas and collaborative energy feels more natural, like pulling up a chair to a coworker’s desk to work side-by-side. If your organization recently transitioned into using Microsoft Teams, this could also be a feature you’re used to but are now missing. 

Better Workflows for a More Empowered Workforce

In the era of remote work, maximizing the potential of collaborative tools like Microsoft Teams is essential for business success. By integrating any of the above tools with Microsoft Teams, remote and distributed teams can develop more seamless workflows that the keystone workplace tools just don’t offer on their own. 

Ready to elevate your remote collaboration? Explore Frameable for Microsoft Teams and unlock the true potential of your distributed team. Refresh your workflows, enhance productivity, and give your team the tools to thrive in any work setting. Explore Overview and MultiShare, or get started for free on the Microsoft AppSource marketplace.

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Hybrid work remote work

The Remotely Possible™ Podcast: Insights from Sabeen Malik on Enabling Innovation on Distributed Teams

Many tools on the market can help remote and distributed teams channel their creativity. But instead of forcing teams to use a small set of company-sanctioned tools for the team’s unique problems, it’s helpful (and empowering) to give employees the freedom to use the tools and processes that work best for them.  

In the seventh episode of the “Remotely Possible” podcast, I spoke with Sabeen Malik, Vice President of Global Government Affairs and Public Policy at Rapid7, to discuss building trust and enabling innovation on distributed teams. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation, including the three elements of trust and how to strike the right balance of synchronous and asynchronous communication when problem-solving.

Introducing Sabeen and Her Remote Cybersecurity Team

Rapid7 is a cybersecurity provider with solutions spanning detection and response, vulnerability management, and application security. Sabeen is building her team and currently works with five people in the U.S. and U.K. She is used to working with remote-first teams, partly due to her previous role at Thumbtack.

“Thumbtack very much is built around this idea [of] remote first,” she said. “Even pre-pandemic, the idea was to think about this model and how are we going to think about remote-first work in an environment where so many more tools were available for folks to work not only across time zones, but across different operational capacities, and what does that look like to bring that all together.”

Why Trust is Essential for a Healthy Distributed Team Culture

Sabeen recognizes that many teams use video calls to tackle challenges. She encourages companies to establish clear rules and expectations about when cameras can be on or off as a way to help employees process information in their preferred mode.

“I personally don’t feel like I need to see everybody when I’m doing what I need to do, which a lot of times is discussing concepts and information and deliverables,“ she said. “At the same time, I have found there is a little bit of a difference between consistently building trust in teams and having video on and off and everyone understanding what the rules are as to why someone may turn their video off and what the norms are around that.”

Trust is vital for enabling an effective distributed team that achieves the innate advantages of remote work. Sabeen encourages leaders to consider what trust means to them and their organization.

“It’s important to think about ‘what is trust at the end of the day?’ and ‘what are we actually looking for?’,” she said. “Thinking about how do you continue to use the tools and yourself, in terms of your ideas, to build it.” 

Sabeen shared her own perspectives on the three critical elements of trust. “I think about three elements: competency, integrity, and goodwill. For a team that has a lot of external stakeholders, trust is built by meeting them where they build trust. Internally, it’s more about how do you share with your teams the ideas around each one of those as a norm-setting behavior.”

Over the course of our conversation, Sabeen rejected the notion that in-person teams are more collaborative or innovative because of serendipitous encounters.

“[The idea] that you’re just sitting randomly and someone comes into a booth or someone stops by your workstation, and you have this amazing idea… I think that’s a little bit lionized or this mental model that I’m not sure most folks are operating that way,” she explained. “I think it has to be a little more structured than assuming it’s going to happen just because you all happen to be in the same space, and it’ll randomly happen.” 

When facing a challenge, Sabeen says that leaders should assess if they are explaining the problem well enough or if people need a change in time and space to let creativity flow. Innovation often comes down to allowing people time to think through challenges and work with their preferred tools.

“One of the things I’m doing more is asking folks the best ways that they think about creative ideas and how do they capture those,” she said. “If you’re at the early stages of a problem or a strategy, I tend to find that synchronous work tends to work better. What you’re truly trying to do is collect ideas and then shape ideas so everyone understands the end goal of executing on something. And then in terms of how and why and what the things are that are related to the execution, asynchronous tends to work a lot better.”

For more of Sabeen’s insights into building trust on remote teams, including a more detailed explanation of the three elements of trust and the tools her team uses, listen to the Remotely Possible Podcast, Episode 7. Interested in sharing your distributed work experience with our listeners? Apply to be my guest for a future episode.

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Future of work Hybrid work remote work

New Frameable Research Reveals the Benefits of Distributed Workplaces

As company leaders seek to deliver the most fulfilling workplace experiences, new research reinforces that remote, hybrid, and distributed arrangements present a clear competitive advantage.

Frameable’s first edition of The Remote/Hybrid/Distributed Work Index explores how remote and hybrid work arrangements affect employee well-being, productivity, and collaboration. We also examined how effective existing workplace technologies are in supporting distributed workplaces. Here are a few of the key takeaways.

Four Things We Learned About Distributed and Hybrid Work

Frameable surveyed U.S.-based workers who currently work in a remote, hybrid, or distributed team culture. The research, conducted in November of 2023, dispels several persistent myths about the modern hybrid and distributed workforce and provides actionable ways for leaders to improve their strategies. 

Employees are More Engaged in Hybrid, Remote, and Distributed Workplaces

More than half of employees (66.2%) agree or strongly agree they feel more engaged when working remotely than from a company office. Only slightly over 12% of respondents disagreed. This suggests that some types of work still benefit from in-person collaboration—and that some companies need to work on being more intentional about inspiring engagement with their team. More on that later.

Remote and Hybrid Workers are More Productive

The majority of survey respondents (84%) said they feel more productive because of a flexible workplace model. Only 4% disagreed, and 12% felt neutral. The good news is these productivity benefits will likely increase as companies refine their technology stacks and implement tools and processes built for a remote-first model. 

Microsoft Office Enables Engagement

Digging into which tools specifically are most effective in enabling engagement, employees ranked Microsoft Office as the No. 1 choice, followed by Gmail, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, Outlook email, and Zoom. Of course, leaders should set clear guidelines around how to use all workplace tools to their fullest potential. 

Workplace Flexibility Drives Retention

Adding to the productivity and engagement benefits, nearly three in four workers (73.6%) are more likely to stay with their company because of their workplace flexibility. This is likely in part due to benefits employees cited, such as having more flexibility to accommodate their lives, being more involved in their children’s daily routine, and addressing caregiving responsibilities. 

Prepare for the Future of Work

The above findings are just a glimpse at the reasons why remote, hybrid, and distributed models present a competitive advantage for companies—but there are several challenges that leaders should prepare to overcome. 

The full report provides advice on addressing some of the concerns workers raised in the research, including:

  • Essential skills for managers of a distributed team
  • Strategies to build and maintain trust in remote and hybrid settings
  • Technology recommendations to power an effective and secure distributed team

Download the full Frameable Remote/Hybrid/Distributed Work Index today.

Download the full Frameable Remote/Hybrid/Distributed Work Index report

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