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AI Future of work

8 Exciting CIO Conferences to Attend in 2024

If you are searching for your next CIO-focused conference to attend, finding the right balance between topics, size, and who is in attendance can be challenging. We’ve gathered a list of the top CIO conferences for the latter half of 2024, saving you time and effort. Whether your team wants to join an intimate event with focused conversations or a large-scale conference with attendees from around the world, we’ve gathered eight conferences and series you will want to check out.

CIO New York Summit

This one-day event is perfect for those with a busy schedule who still want to connect. While this event is coming up quickly, it is only held annually, so mark your calendars for next year as well.

When and where is the event?

The CIO New York Summit will be held on June 20, 2024, in New York City.

Who should attend?

This summit is designed for senior IT executives, including CIOs and IT directors from large enterprises and mid-market organizations.

What topics will be covered?

The summit will cover cloud computing, digital transformation, data and analytics, AI, IoT, cybersecurity, and strategic IT alignment. The event features keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities to address industry trends and challenges, followed by an evening networking reception.

FutureIT Events

CIO magazine hosts a variety of in-person and virtual events geared toward IT leadership to help grow your business and goals.

When are they hosting events?

The Future IT series includes single-day events across the United States and Canada.

  • New York, NY – July 11, 2024 at Convene
  • Toronto, CA – September 2024 (details TBA)
  • Dallas, TX – October 8, 2024 at AT&T Stadium
  • New York, NY – November 21, 2024 at Convene

Who should attend?

Managers, directors, VPs, CIOs, and CISOs working with emerging technologies like AI and cloud computing or other senior or director-level IT professionals. Many of these events are invite-only, so we recommend reaching out to the organizers directly for more information on attending an event near you.

What topics will be covered?

Attending a Future IT event will provide you or your leadership team with insights into new solutions for cloud, security, and collaboration tools, along with practical case studies from successful IT leaders. You’ll also hear from leaders about how to overcome common challenges and pain points in your team’s digital transformation journey.

CIO SoCal Summit

The CIO SoCal Summit is a one-day event for technology and cybersecurity executives. The event offers a platform for CIOs to share their insights on digital transformation, cybersecurity, and strategic IT alignment. 

When and where is the event?

The CIO SoCal Summit will be held on July 30, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa in Huntington Beach, California.

Who should attend?

Attendance is generally comprised of CIOs, CTOs, IT directors, and other Senior IT Professionals, Information Systems directors and managers, and Legal, Compliance, and Quality directors and managers.

What topics will be covered?

The CIO SoCal Summit features keynote presentations, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, facilitating networking and collaboration. The theme this year is: Create a Game-Changing IT Strategy to Accelerate Your Business. It emphasizes the critical role of CIOs in driving digital strategies and safeguarding digital assets, covering topics like risk management, compliance, data privacy, and proactive defense mechanisms.

CIO100 Symposium & Awards

Foundry’s Leadership Events and Awards bring together top CIOs, CSOs, and CISOs to share insights and success stories. At the CIO 100 Symposium & Awards, the nation’s top CIOs and industry experts will share their success stories and unique perspectives on strategy, digital leadership, and business growth. The event celebrates IT excellence with sessions on leadership, innovation, AI, and cybersecurity. Attendees can network, learn from top CIOs, and explore award-winning projects and strategies for overcoming enterprise IT challenges.

When and where is the event?

The CIO 100 Symposium & Awards will be held on August 5-7, 2024, at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, 

Who should attend?

Managers, directors, VPs, CIOs, CISOs, and other leaders and change-makers working in the IT field. Registration is currently open for IT executives of organizations with more than 500 employees.

What topics will be covered?

The keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Poppy Crum, a renowned futurist, neuroscientist, and technologist who explores the intersection of technology and human evolution. As an adjunct professor at Stanford University, she leads research on robotics, AI, augmented reality, and sensor fusion to transform industries impacting daily life sustainably. Formerly she was the Chief Scientist at Dolby Laboratories, where she developed technologies that leverage human physiology and behavior to enhance interaction with the world through immersive tech and personalized data.

Along with additional networking opportunities, some of the topics to be covered will include:

  • Data management and governance
  • Reducing technical debt to increase innovation
  • Cost optimization for cloud scaling and AI
  • Scaling AI for new business models
  • Aligning cybersecurity strategies with business imperatives
  • Breakthrough team performance

Digital Enterprise Transformation Assembly

When and where is the event?

The Digital Enterprise Transformation Assembly will be held on August 22-23, 2024 at The Omni Barton Creek in Austin, Texas.

Who should attend?

The Digital Enterprise Transformation Assembly is designed for global and enterprise CIOs and senior IT executives looking to connect with peers to discuss industry trends and challenges.

What topics will be covered?

Key topics include digital transformation, big data, AI, economic strategies for CIOs, cloud value, data governance, cybersecurity, and strategic IT alignment.

While the agenda is currently reserved only for those registered, some of the speakers listed include executives from Salesforce, Zoom, American Airlines, The Estee Lauder Companies, Mondelez International, Cleveland Clinic, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Global CIO Executive Summit

When and where is the event?

The Global CIO Executive Summit will be held from September 18-20, 2024, at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego, California.

Who should attend?

This regional summit is a smaller-scale, intimate event with generally under 150 people in attendance. This is an ideal space for C-level executives to connect and grow their already global business. This invite-only event guarantees that you are surrounded by industry leaders in your region who are looking to connect and grow their businesses.

What topics will be covered?

The Global CIO Executive Summit will feature interactive keynote sessions with IT leaders, group networking opportunities, and personally-matched one-on-one meetings.  

Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo

The Gartner IT Symposiums are one of the most attended IT yearly events by IT and technology leaders. Hosted by Gartner, one of the most recognizable names in the technology space, consistently delivers a high-quality experience for leaders across the industry.

When and where is the event?

The Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo will be held on October 21-24,2024 in Orlando, Florida.

Who should attend?

This conference is ideal for CIOs, CISOs, Chief data and chief analytics officers, VPs of IT infrastructure and operations, and Senior application leaders.

What to expect

This year features a great line-up of speakers including Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of Nvidia.

The following topics are also set to be on the agenda across the conference:

  • Artificial intelligence and its impact on software, talent, and governance.
  • Emerging technologies, tech innovations, and their enterprise impact.
  • Cybersecurity
  • Digital and business transformation
  • Continuous change leadership and developing a forward-thinking culture.
  • Strategic planning and execution including strategies for growth and business optimization.

AWS re:Invent

The AWS re:Invent conference is the place to be if you are an organization that relies on AWS systems in any way. 

When and where is it?

AWS re:Invent will be held on December 2-6, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Who should attend? 

The event is ideal for developers, engineers, system architects, IT executives, and anyone interested in or who employs AWS and cloud computing services.

There are a variety of conference tracks available to suit the needs and interests of a variety of attendees, making it a great conference for a larger group to attend.

What topics will be covered? 

Topics include AI, machine learning, security, cloud architecture, and over 2,500 technical sessions. The event also features keynotes, training, certifications, and networking opportunities with AWS experts.

Cost to attend:

Full conference passes start at $2,099.

Looking Ahead

The future of work is in the hands of CIOs around the world as we continue to understand and consider how AI and new technologies will shape our lives and the way we do business. If your team is built on the belief that being forward-thinking and preparing for the future is one of the best steps to growth and impact, these conferences will surely set you up for success and keep you in good company. If you’re looking for other conferences to attend this year, explore our round-up of top Future of Work conferences also happening this year.

As you continue your digital transformation journeys, prepare for the future of work with Frameable, the platform transforming the future of remote and distributed work. 

Stay prepared for the future of work

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Future of work online meetings productivity remote work

7 Whiteboard Templates for Reimagined Collaboration and Improved Processes

Processes, workflows, and team goals are constantly evolving regardless of the size of your organization, and collaboration tools are essential for documenting and maintaining all of them. Among these tools, online whiteboard applications are indispensable for teams to brainstorm, plan, and track projects visually and collaboratively. To maximize the benefits of these tools, using the right templates can transform how your team works together. We’ve gathered seven of our most popular templates that you can use today to reimagine and reinvigorate any of your collaborative workflows.

7 Different Templates to Try

  1. Organizational Chart

While internal HR systems make it easy for team members to see who their leaders or direct reports are, they often take time to update and are often not as flexible as we’d like them to be. A standard org chart is useful, but a dynamic chart showing relationships between your team and other teams, departments, or external partners can better illustrate your workflows.

  1. Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping is essential for marketing teams as well as sales and product teams. -Mapping the entire customer life cycle helps your team understand your customers, their goals, and their experience with your product. Building a clear customer journey helps to surface potential gaps in both the market and the product that your team can work to fill in your industry.

  1. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis

SWOT analysis helps teams of all sizes and calibers make informed decisions and prioritize the next steps for improving the outcomes of any organization. By regularly identifying and leveraging their strengths, teams can achieve their goals more efficiently and boost morale, often leading to higher productivity. Recognizing weaknesses, spotting opportunities, and identifying threats help teams improve, innovate, and manage risks to stay competitive and forward-thinking. 

  1. User Story Map

While marketing, sales, and support teams will need to utilize the broader Customer Journey template mentioned above, engineering, product development, and quality assurance teams will find benefits in the User Story map. This helps teams visualize the end user’s journey within your product, ensuring a clear understanding of user needs and goals. Organizing and prioritizing user stories streamlines product development, ensuring efficient and focused progress. Additionally, user story mapping aids in identifying gaps and dependencies in various product workflows, so you can ensure a high-quality product is delivered. This approach can further enhance collaboration among team members, promote a user-centric development process, and ensure that the final product aligns with your users’ expectations. 

  1. Process Mapping

Process mapping offers significant benefits to your organization. It helps teams visualize workflows and understand the sequence of activities involved in a process. Documenting frequently repeated processes enables your team to work more independently, reducing the need for assistance Outlined processes also make it easier for leaders to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks, enabling teams to streamline operations and improve their productivity. Clearly outlining processes promotes better communication and collaboration for cross-functional teams, makes aligning team members on process steps and objectives easier, and standardizes procedures for consistency and quality.

  1. Eisenhower Decision Matrix

The Eisenhower Decision Matrix is a tried and true approach to task prioritization. It helps prioritize tasks by categorizing them based on urgency and importance, ensuring that high-priority tasks receive the most attention. Doing so improves time management and helps reduce the stress in decision-making, as individuals can focus on what truly matters without being overwhelmed by less critical tasks. This approach increases productivity by helping people work more efficiently and effectively. Additionally, it ensures that focus remains on high-impact activities that contribute significantly to personal and organizational goals, ultimately leading to better outcomes and success.

  1. Kanban Framework

The Kanban method brings several great benefits to the table for task management and tracking. It uses a simple board system to visualize tasks, so teams can easily see what’s being worked on and spot any bottlenecks. By setting limits on how much work is in progress, the Kanban system helps keep your team’s workload balanced and aids in reducing inefficiencies. Use this board to help improve teamwork and communication since everyone can track progress and stay on the same page. Plus, Kanban encourages regular reviews and tweaks to processes, leading to better productivity and a smoother workflow overall.

Customizing Templates in Whiteboard

While there are many more professionally designed templates available for your team to use in Whiteboard,- you can also easily create and save your own templates to meet all of your collaboration needs.

When you’re ready to get more from your whiteboard, get started for free with Frameable Whiteboard.

Rethink your team collaboration with Whiteboard

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AI Microsoft Teams productivity

Frameable’s New AI Assistant for Microsoft Teams Tops Copilot So Far

As an independent software vendor working to improve the end-user experience in Microsoft Teams, Copilot’s public release had us on the edge of our seats. Yet, so far, we’ve been disappointed.  We aren’t the only ones. 

Continued tool explosion has many knowledge workers feeling overwhelmed with the sheer number of tools they need to do their jobs.  That’s why having a useful, accurate, and well-integrated AI tool that enhances personal productivity from within Teams is a worthy goal.

With all this in mind, we set out to develop an AI resource that delivers the context and accurate answers we need throughout the day, increasing our overall thru-put from inside of Teams. We succeeded, and now we’re releasing it to the public:  announcing AI Assistant for Teams from Frameable.

After permissions are in place, Frameable’s AI Assistant accesses 1:1 chats, group chats, meeting chats, channels the user is a member of, transcripts of recorded meetings they were invited to, and several other data sources.  The assistant references and weighs all these sources to provide private, fast, and comprehensive answers to key questions (prompts) asked by a user throughout the workday.
Ready to explore AI within Teams?  See how Frameable’s new AI Assistant compares to Copilot in our latest video comparison, and then explore Frameable’s full suite of apps designed and built specifically to enhance productivity and collaboration in Microsoft Teams.

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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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Categories
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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Categories
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. 

Make the Future of Work work for you with Frameable

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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. 
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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.
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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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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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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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The Remotely Possible Podcast: Insights from Aaron Mackey on Powering Remote Connection

Remotely possible title card featuring adam riggs and aaron mackey

Although business leaders may view remote or hybrid workplace tools as an added expense, the reality is that many teams already worked across locations well before the pandemic—and distributed arrangements have allowed companies to make full use of their technology investments. 

In the sixth episode of the “Remotely Possible” podcast, I spoke with Aaron Mackey, VP and Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at Sonata Therapeutics, to discuss how hybrid collaboration tools enable his data-driven startup to thrive. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation, including how to balance the need for in-person collaboration with remote flexibility.

Introducing Aaron and His Hybrid Startup Team

Sonata Therapeutics is an early-stage startup with approximately 60 employees. Most of its scientific staff work from its laboratory office space in Watertown, MA, and Aaron’s data team consists of 8 people (and growing!).  

Implementing a hybrid model was an easy transition for Aaron’s team, enabling them to focus on in-person connection when they go into the office.

“Because so much of our work is cloud-based now, that former necessity of being on-prem so you could go over and push the power button on the server to reboot the darn thing; those days are over. And it’s really freed us,” Aaron said. “You can be on-prem because you have a sort of human-human interface relationship to manage. But if it’s spent managing code and data and infrastructure, well, that’s all off in the cloud anyway. So you can really do that from just about anywhere.” 

Hybrid Models Maximize The Value of Workplace Tech Investments

Aaron reflects that his team has always been distributed, even before the pandemic, given that teams and clients across locations would collaborate regularly. 

“It wasn’t distributed in the sense that people were working from home; it was working for different corporations that had offices in Boston and Princeton and San Diego,” he said. “Everyone was in an office, but we were still having meetings that involved remote connectivity. There was still collaboration that required conference calls and shared resources.”

Because companies already invested in video conferencing tools and remote collaboration solutions, Aaron feels the pandemic helped them gain the most value from those investments. 

“The transition in COVID was not very hard for us, and it [allowed us to] make use of a lot of the investments that companies have made in that teleconferencing equipment and to continue to have those investments pay off in terms of employee productivity and well-being and overall job satisfaction,” Aaron said. 

Having the right tools alone isn’t enough, however. Establish clear communication guidelines and explain to hybrid workers how to use each tool effectively. The process requires flexibility based on individual preferences to ensure everyone feels supported in this hybrid work arrangement. 

“Whether it’s email or a chat, everyone has their preferred modes and their boundaries of how important or relevant it is,” Aaron explained. “Every team and every organization has to navigate to what extent does chat become almost a distraction versus email becomes the sort of wasteland.” 

Managers should allow team members to engage and interact in spontaneous ways and discuss matters that aren’t work-related.

“When you’re remote, and you don’t have the spontaneous face time that happens—the watercooler/coffee-cart interactions—you have to more actively manage those face-to-face relationships,” Aaron said. “Sometimes they’re going to be scheduled. Sometimes they’re the weekly team meeting or the daily stand-up. But you also have to carve out room and intention to have more spontaneous chats.” 

Aaron shares three things that hybrid teams need to thrive:

“You need tools, you need people who know how to use the tools, and then you need a process that people understand how to follow and that the tool actually supports.”
For more of Aaron’s insights into leading an effective hybrid team culture and his tips for interviewing candidates for hybrid or remote positions, listen to the Remotely Possible Podcast, episode 6. Interested in sharing your distributed work experience with our listeners? Apply to be my guest for a future episode.

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