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Future of work Hybrid work online meetings remote work

Distributed Work Isn’t Anything New, But Its Tools Have Evolved Significantly

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This article originally appeared on Fast Company.

Distributed work arrangements are far from new territory; large companies have enabled their teams to work across offices or service clients around the globe for decades. 

The difference now is that companies of all sizes can unlock the benefits of a remote or hybrid workforce. And we have more proof than ever that distributed teams can be just as productive as (and even happier than) office-bound workers—if given the support they need. 

Workplace tools are a vital component of enabling effective hybrid or remote work. Our tools have evolved significantly over the past decades, and we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of how they will advance further to address our modern workforce needs. 

Let’s look back at where we’ve come from with workplace tech and examine what’s needed to enable our hybrid or remote teams to thrive in the future.

A Brief History of Workplace Technologies

Sparing an exhaustive review of how workplace technology has changed over time, a few landmark technological breakthroughs have helped us get where we are today. 

It may come as a surprise, but the foundations of remote workplace tools were laid decades ago (primarily in the 1970s and 1980s). In my early career as a trader at the American Stock Exchange and later as President and CFO of Shutterstock, all we needed was a phone, computer, and email to collaborate across the country. 

The following innovations in particular have been monumental in enabling us to conduct work from anywhere:

  • Telephone: Telephone systems have existed for more than a century. They became common for business use in the 1920s and got a significant lift in the 1970s with features like voicemail and call forwarding.
  • Email: The first email was sent in 1971, and in the 1980s, IBM integrated email into its office automation suite, PROFs. 
  • Home and personal computers: Personal computers became available in 1977 and quickly spread as they got smaller (the first laptop came out in 1981) and more affordable. That award-winning Apple 1984 commercial helped, too.
  • Fax machines: In the 1980s, the fax machine enabled us to send documents without relying on the postal service. Eventually, email would allow attachments, limiting the need for fax machines.
  • In-app messaging: Chat rooms existed as far back as the 1980s. AOL Instant Messenger became popular for business and personal use in 1997 (and lasted until December 2017). Now, messaging features are commonplace in our collaboration tools.
  • BlackBerry: The BlackBerry launched in 1997 and was one of the first personal devices that combined phone, email, and web access capabilities. Smartphones are now ubiquitous (and most knowledge work can even be completed with a smartphone).
  • Workplace technology suites: Microsoft Office 97 was an early workplace technology suite that introduced Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Today’s businesses frequently purchase technology packages or suites that give them everything they need (usually at a discounted price for their loyalty).
  • Video conferencing: People recognize Skype for revolutionizing video conferencing and making international communication seamless with its launch in 2003. Today, there are dozens of video conferencing tools available.

Each of the above tools still exists today, albeit with significantly different looks and expanded capabilities. And each of them has been critical in allowing teams to collaborate worldwide.

As we look forward to the future of work, we can expect these tools to come together in even more impressive ways to drive fully integrated and intuitive workplace experiences.

The Next Technological Revolution: Digital Workplaces

Virtual workspaces and enterprise collaboration tools are essential for the next phase of workplace transformation. In a hybrid and remote world, the virtual experience should be a priority, and digital or virtual workspaces can serve as a supercharged version of our physical offices. These should combine our tried-and-true technologies to connect employees with everything they need, from crucial files and information to avenues for collaboration and tools that enable their day-to-day work.

Forrester asserts that personalization is a digital workplace requirement, meaning that employees should have individualized workspaces with customizable interfaces that deliver content, apps, and notifications in targeted ways. Company leaders should actively listen to their employees and explore innovative solutions to improve their digital experience and help them engage with colleagues around the world.

IMPROVING YOUR TEAM’S DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

As a fully remote company, we’ve understood the importance of creating a positive digital employee experience from the start. We give each of our employees the ability to personalize and optimize their digital workspace, starting with:

  • The choice of a PC or Mac computer, a second monitor if they want one, and any peripherals that will improve their daily work experience
  • Excellent whiteboard software we’ve developed where colleagues can collaborate with each other over time, asynchronously, or in real-time
  • A meeting culture that encourages live voice and screen sharing, saving being on camera for when it makes the most impact instead of an every-meeting expectation
  • Regular requests for feedback (direct and anonymous) with an expectation people share what is and isn’t working for them

If you are looking for some easy wins to improve your employee digital experience, I suggest you start with a stipend for upgrading employees’ home offices, including updating equipment and furnishings. 

Of course, workplace tools can only get you so far. Teams should also develop a digital skills roadmap that guides their technology strategy and helps employees stay resilient as tech stacks change. Investing in team offsites that allow distributed team members to get to know each other can also go a long way to improve hybrid workplace environments.

By combining modern workplace tools with human-focused policies that help employees overcome the natural hurdles of distributed work, companies can reach heights they never could have imagined. 

Explore how you can evolve your digital office experience

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The Remotely Possible Podcast: Insights from Adam Dole on Thriving As A Distributed Team

When your company has an inspiring mission, it’s understandable that applicants will flock to you—and you don’t want to turn away the best talent because of geography. 

In the third episode of the “Remotely Possible” podcast, I spoke with a fellow Adam, Adam Dole, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at Bento, to discuss how he built a rock-solid culture with his global, distributed team. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation, including the advantages of a remote work model and why it’s essential to prioritize human connection, regardless of the remote work tools you use.  

Introducing Adam and His Approach To Remote Work

Adam has aimed to improve the healthcare system throughout his career, building products, services, and businesses that help people live higher-quality lives. After serving in roles at NASA, Method, Inc., and Not Impossible Labs (among several other companies), Adam founded Bento to eliminate hunger and food insecurity in the United States. 

“We started Bento at the beginning of the pandemic when remote was the default,” Adam said. “We didn’t intentionally want to start a team that was going to be remote/distributed, but it was just what had to happen at that time. Fast forward three years, and we’ve got 25 people not only spread across the United States but internationally as well. It’s been a wild ride personally for me to see how good it can be to have a remote distributed team, especially in the ecosystem that we’re operating in now.” 

Adam recognizes that a distributed model has empowered his team to fulfill their mission in ways that in-person work couldn’t. 

“The advantages are numerous across the board,” he said. “First, just being able to attract talent from any location and not being limited to a certain region—or have to have those conversations with a really talented candidate about what it would require to move them… It’s been a crazy, positive competitive advantage for us, just in terms of our effectiveness to work in a distributed way, for a variety of different reasons.”

The Importance of Prioritizing Human Connection On A Remote Team

Building a strong work culture, regardless of your working arrangement, takes a conscious effort. Remote work has forced Adam’s team to be intentional about how they operate in ways that in-person teams can often neglect.

“There can be this expectation that because people are coming to the office, it’s easier to build culture, it’s easier to get on the same page,” Adam said. “But the reality is, it still requires a lot of intention, and a lot of thought and choosing how to do that. And I think it doesn’t always get prioritized when people just make the assumption that because everybody’s coming to the same office, that’s going to happen. Not being in the same space has really forced us to prioritize that as a company… how we’re going to build culture, how we’re going to make sure we’re all on the same page, how we’re going to interact with each other as humans in ways that might not be as obvious when you’re not with each other in the same room.” 

Adam’s team uses a mix of video conferencing and project management tools to complete their work, including a different tool for happy hours than their usual virtual meeting platform. But the tools don’t matter as much as how you frame them, he says. 

“The tools are necessary but not sufficient,” he said. “What has allowed us to get the most out of these tools—but also perform as a company and to be a company that people want to be at, that people get excited to show up to every day—is because the intention of getting to know each other as humans first, and not relying on the tool to do that for us.” 

How does he accomplish this human connection in a remote culture? For starters:

  • Not every meeting is purely transactional. Adam’s team talks about things going on in their personal lives, and they prioritize this opportunity to do so.  
  • They set clear guidelines around how to use each digital communication tool in a healthy and fulfilling way. The goal is that everyone knows each other well enough that they can interpret their tone through messages.
  • At strategic times during the year, his company comes together in person—just like we do at Frameabe at least once a year. It’s an investment that is well worth it. 

For more of Adam’s insights into building a thriving and human-focused culture as a remote team, listen to the Remotely Possible Podcast, episode 3. Interested in sharing your distributed work experience with our listeners? Apply to be my guest for a future episode.

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Why a Virtual Workspace is Essential for Productivity, Whether You Work in the Office or Not

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This article originally appeared on Fast Company.

We’re no longer debating whether hybrid work is the future of work. The question now is if leaders should prioritize the in-person experience or the virtual experience to optimize their distributed workplace strategy.

It’s understandable why many executives want to focus on their company’s in-person experience. Shared office spaces carry a perceived sense of normalcy that many have missed, and it is seemingly easier to brush the dust off our old playbooks for designing in-person workplace cultures than it is to tackle the challenges of distributed workspaces. But to achieve the full benefits of hybrid and distributed workforces, and enable all employees to be productive and fulfilled, the virtual experience must be the priority—even if your company primarily engages in person. 

The Enterprise has Been Distributed for Decades

With all the talk about hybrid work and remote work, many people have lost sight of the fact that traditional office environments were often also distributed. We just weren’t as aware of the ways in which the friction between people who sat together and those who worked in distant offices detracted from their experience. 

It has always been rare for an entire company to work from a single building in one location. Large companies had offices globally, or a few regional offices around the country. Over time, team skills and information inevitably became siloed. In the worst cases, company tools and resources were restricted to the corporate headquarters, leaving everyone else—including freelancers and consultants—to fend for themselves. Not a great recipe for a productive and engaged workforce. 

A shared virtual workspace can remove these barriers and empower everyone with the same tools and resources. Now that the future of work is here, we have the opportunity and means to fulfill this potential. 

How a Virtual Workspace Empowers Teams

A dedicated online workspace allows everyone to work together more effectively, regardless of where they are located. To get work done, employees can access the same information, resources, and people through a purpose-built virtual workspace instead of needing to work from a specific office location.  

There are several reasons why it’s smart to align your company around a virtual workspace: 

1. Workplace Inclusivity

More voices can be heard, and people can more easily engage when online collaboration is the standard for your company. Asynchronous communication channels and modern video conferencing solutions give people opportunities to connect and share their feedback. Contrast that with sitting in a conference room, where they may be spoken over or ignored, or putting colleagues in distant offices on speakerphone. Furthermore, people can more easily balance their work and personal priorities when they can access a reliable virtual workplace from anywhere.

2. Analytics

Unlike in in-person environments, everything you do in a virtual setting can be utilized and shared to improve your company culture. For example, you can use a virtual meeting tool that analyzes how much each attendee talks. This data can help you notice if specific people dominate meetings or talk over their peers. 

3. Knowledge Retention

The most effective teams rely on shared templates and central resource hubs that streamline their work. Building your virtual workspace to have rich information libraries means employees have a go-to place to overcome their challenges—instead of asking around the organization and across offices to get the information they need. The key is to train them to navigate your virtual workspace and access these resources effectively.

4. AI Capabilities

When everyone operates from a digital-first mindset, you’ll get the most value from your software—especially AI-powered tools. When you have a bot attend your meeting to take notes, for example, it can automatically transcribe your conversation and analyze that meeting content to generate to-do lists for your team. 

Futureproof Your Organization With the Right Virtual Tooling

Providing an optimal in-person working environment requires your team to first focus on the remote experience. By using the right tools—and training your team to use them effectively to boost productivity and increase knowledge sharing—your team will be more productive and connected with your culture regardless of how they choose to work.

Keep your organization future-proof with top-of-the-line collaboration tools

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Why Distributed Work Is The Future—And How to Run An Effective Hybrid Team

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The future of work is remote and hybrid, and companies that force employees back to the office will quickly realize the disadvantages of fully office-based work.

It’s understandable why many leaders cling to in-office work. It’s what many of us are used to, and, admittedly, some work is performed better in person. But employees expect and deserve the flexibility of distributed work—and your company can achieve greater success by enabling it.

To help company leaders understand how to build an effective distributed team and explore why I built Frameable as a fully remote company, I joined Lisette Sutherland on The Collaboration Superpowers Podcast. Below, I share a few highlights from our conversation and tips for empowering remote teams. 

Why did you decide to make Frameable a fully remote company?

If you want to attract and retain the best talent, you can’t require employees to come to your physical office. 

We’re not back to 2019 in terms of the way we work and what employees expect about their relationship with their employer. Employees need a balanced life. For us, it’s not worth the trade-offs of having a physical office and insisting that we only hire people who are nearby and willing to commute. We’d prefer to benefit from investing in a remote team where people can thrive from anywhere.

What are some of the challenges your team has faced working remotely?

There are some challenges of entirely remote work, but they all have antidotes and best practices to mitigate the effects. 

The primary challenge of remote work is that, no matter how good your toolbox is, you still benefit from spending time in person together (even if you’re not working when you do it). Humans are social, and we need that person-to-person connection. Offsites are one of the things we do to fulfill this need. We hold an all-company offsite twice a year, and as we grow, we may support different teams having offsites across the country or around the world. 

We see many other companies try to get together at least once a year, too. And not just for gathering in a conference room with a novel view. Planning opportunities for team members to engage in social avenues above and beyond sitting in a room together working all day is essential. Host a cooking class. Go on a hike. Take a ropes course. Anything to help people understand each other outside of work will help them work together more effectively. 

For more advice, I recommend reading my Fast Company article about how to build a great company culture in a fully remote company. 

Are ‘return to office’ mandates misguided? 

There are many explorations of why companies are mandating employees to return to the office, and some are pretty cynical. In some cases, the boss thinks it’s not a big deal to ask people to commute (possibly because their commute is the shortest), or they simply don’t want to work from home anymore. 

From what I’ve seen with most managers, however, they are just used to working in an office. And it’s true there are elements of in-person work that are hard to replicate with the current out-of-the-box toolset that workplace tool providers offer. 

If companies aren’t intentional about adapting their toolkit—not only using the tools but misusing them deliberately to achieve certain things they weren’t designed for—then it’s easy for teams to just sit at home and rely on their calendar to guide their work. And it’s harder to achieve that same level of collaboration and creativity at home if everyone’s just working through their calendar. 

How can leaders create a better team culture remotely?

Enabling a remote culture is a win-win for the employee and the company. 

Research from Nick Bloom at Stanford found that people save 72 minutes commuting each day when working from home. And 40% of those time savings are spent working extra on primary or secondary jobs. The rest of the time goes toward leisure activities—which are essential for preserving one’s well-being—or caregiving activities. When companies give employees the freedom to work from home, workers are willing to split the time they save commuting between themselves and their employer. 

When people are rested, relaxed, and able to invest in their health, family, and well-being, they do better work. And they don’t mind working a little more if they love their job and feel a healthy balance. 

What is a virtual office manager, and how does the role benefit remote or hybrid teams? 

A virtual office manager is vital for companies trying to get comfortable with and effectively transition to hybrid work or a fully distributed team. You can have a sole virtual office manager or distribute the responsibilities across many people. And this doesn’t have to be a full-time position; 10-20 hours a week can suffice for many teams.

A virtual office manager ensures that everyone is engaged and can work effectively with their personal office setup. They help team members overcome challenges and continually assess and optimize the virtual or hybrid workspace so everyone can thrive. Think of it like a traditional in-person office manager but for distributed, remote, and hybrid teams. 

My team created this virtual office manager’s handbook to fully explain how this valuable role can maximize remote employee engagement. 

Why is Frameable focused on Microsoft Teams?

Frameable’s solutions have evolved quite a bit over the years. We created a virtual office that was truly delightful, and then our customers and potential customers expressed that they wanted it to integrate with the solutions they were currently using.

After assessing the core infrastructure providers currently available to power hybrid work—video conference solutions, collaboration solutions, scheduling solutions—we realized that Microsoft would be a valuable place to start!

What does Frameable offer? How does it improve Microsoft Teams?

We offer a family of complementary, interoperable—but distinct—upgrades available through the Microsoft App Store. We designed these solutions to improve the out-of-the-box experience companies and users get from Microsoft Teams. 

For example, During Microsoft Teams video calls, only one person can share their screen at a time. We’ve observed, however, that many collaborative working sessions work better if people can work fluidly—receiving, producing, and note-taking. Our app MultiShare allows multiple people to share their screens simultaneously in a Microsoft Teams call. This helps meetings move smoothly without team members interrupting each other to ask for permission or give a courtesy heads-up that they would like to share their screen.

We offer a diverse set of products that sit on top of Microsoft Teams, and MultiShare is just one example.

Tools That Power Effective Remote Teams

The above topics are just a few areas that Lisette and I discussed. To learn more about what tools my team uses to power our distributed workforce and how we assess which tools we will use next, listen to the full episode here. 

Listen to our podcast, Remotely Possible, wherever you get your podcasts

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The Future of Work Begins Now—Here’s Who’s Designing It

By now you’ve probably heard this a thousand times: hybrid work is here to stay. People love their remote and hybrid jobs, and everyone has come to the general consensus that workplace flexibility is not something that people will easily forgo. As companies and workers alike look to the future, it’s helpful to keep an eye on the biggest change-makers in the industry. Here’s a look at our team’s round up of the people and organizations to watch as we navigate the ever-changing future of work. 

Nicholas Bloom

Bloom, a Stanford Economics professor, is the foremost expert on remote work and remote work trends, authoring some of the most insightful research on the subject to come out in the last decade. In 2017, when only 8% of the U.S. worked from home, Bloom gave a talk about his research and how leaning into work from home could change the world. Now in 2023, he’s become a key advisor to many Fortune 100 companies, and definitely someone everyone interested in the remote work revolution should keep their eye on.

Katie Burke

As Chief People Officer at Hubspot, Katie Burke has shaped the company’s post-pandemic approach to business and has even shifted how they pay their employees. Compensation at Hubspot is now based on one anchor city per country; for example, New York City is the anchor for U.S. based employees, so no matter where U.S. Hubspot employees find themselves, they are being paid fairly. With this move, Hubspot is leading the way as many other organizations look to become both more equitable and attract top talent—no matter where they are in the world. 

Canva

Canva is an approachable graphic design platform that is changing the way people create and collaborate on visual content. With a user-friendly interface and extensive library of design templates, Canva is empowering individuals and teams to create professional-quality designs without the need for specialized skills or software. This democratization of graphic design is helping to break down barriers to entry for those interested in design and enable more creativity in the workplace across various industries. Furthermore, Canva’s cloud-based platform allows for seamless collaboration and sharing of designs across teams. Canva is playing a key role in enabling remote collaboration, they even bolster a large roster of entirely remote employees around the world.

Cheryl Cran

Cheryl Cran, the founder of NextMapping, is a recognized expert in the future of work and its surrounding thought leadership. She has been at the forefront of the conversations surrounding the future of work, providing insights and guidance to organizations worldwide. Cheryl’s vision for the future of work is one of innovation and human-centeredness, where organizations are able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and leverage the latest technology to achieve their goals. As an acclaimed author of 10 books and an inspiring keynote speaker on the topics of remote and hybrid work, Cran is a visionary thought leader in the future of work. Her insights and expertise have been featured in top-tier publications including Fast Company, Huffington Post, and Forbes as she works to shape the future of work by empowering individuals and organizations to embrace change and create success regardless of their industry.

Frameable

Frameable has brought a new perspective to what it means to collaborate remotely. Developing sleek and easy to use tools for elevating day to day meetings, productivity, and even large-scale virtual events, has positioned them to become a stand out in the remote work space. Their flagship product, Spaces, gives teams a virtual office that is straightforward and easy to use. And for organizations that already use Microsoft Teams, they even offer a built-in application specifically for Teams users to make work more streamlined and collaboration seamless no matter where coworkers are located. 

If you’re looking to take your remote team to the next level, see how Spaces can improve your team’s connectivity and productivity–no matter where they are. Schedule a demo to learn more.

Front

Front provides a shared inbox platform for teams to manage their emails, social media messages, and other communication channels in one place. Its platform offers features like email templates, message assignments, and automated workflows to help teams work together more efficiently and effectively no matter where they are. On top of this comes integrations with top technologies already in use by many, like Slack. By simplifying and automating many repetitive tasks that come with day-to-day work, Front is positioned to keep changing how we work.

Chris Heard

CEO of Firstbase, Heard founded the company that is now changing the way organizations handle the hardware needs of their remote workforce. By giving teams access to the physical items they need to get their jobs done and keeping track of everything in the cloud, Firstbase is making it easier and more efficient for companies to take advantage of going remote. Follow him on LinkedIn where he regularly discusses the future of work and shares conversations from his podcast Against the Herd.

Hive

Hive is a new platform for managing both projects and teams. It offers a centralized workspace where team members can collaborate, track their tasks, and communicate with each other. Hive’s big differentiator is its ability to integrate with other tools that teams often use, such as Google Drive, Salesforce, and GitHub.Its user-friendly interface and powerful features make it a popular choice among teams of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. 

Notion

Notion is the productivity and project management app taking the world by storm. From solo-entrepreneurs to full teams, Notion’s user base has quickly grown and it’s easy to see why: Notion is approachable. Whether a team needs to plan and scope a large project, or a young adult finds themselves needing to create a budget, Notion is straightforward and customizable to users’ needs. This all in one powerhouse that can be a CRM, calendar, note taker, and even an Excel competitor is definitely one to pay attention to. 

Okta

Okta provides identity and access management solutions. With a cloud-based platform, it allows organizations to securely manage and authenticate users’ identities across different applications and devices. Okta’s platform is highly scalable, allowing businesses to easily integrate it into their existing infrastructure. As remote, hybrid, and work-from-anywhere models continue to grow, the need for secure and efficient identity management solutions is definitely not going anywhere.Their continued expansion of capabilities has positioned them to become a new leader in the industry.

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How a Virtual Office Integration Can Benefit Your Customers and Your Business

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As more organizations look to incorporate hybrid and remote work into their workflows, virtual office integrations have become an increasingly popular option. With virtual office integrations, organizations can offer their employees increased flexibility while reducing costs associated with traditional office spaces. In this blog post, we will explore virtual office integrations’ benefits for both channel partners and their customers and why they should include them as a key part of a modern business strategy.

What is a virtual office integration?

A virtual office integration enables employees to work together more effectively when they are not physically together. These integrations are typically bolted onto traditional meeting and communication software, such as Microsoft Teams, enhancing the platform’s existing capabilities. Think about the different interactions you have experienced when working in an office versus working remotely. Traditional meeting software is very limited in terms of visibility and insight into co-workers’ daily activity and enabling ad-hoc collaboration. Integrations can allow employees to hold more effective and engaging, scheduled and unscheduled virtual interactions that better replicate the in-person experience.

Benefits to Customers

As a channel partner, you understand that keeping your customers happy is essential for building long-term relationships with your customers to drive growth. By offering a virtual office integration, you can help your customers reduce friction, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. When offering a virtual office integration, highlight the following benefits:

Increased Flexibility

A frequently cited benefit of working remotely is the increased flexibility it gives employees. Virtual office integrations can help fuel this flexibility by providing a greater toolkit of real-time collaboration tools, more accurate statuses, and eliminating the silos that can arise during remote work, allowing teams to work together more effectively.

Access to Top Talent

Whether your customer is currently working remotely or is transitioning to a remote or hybrid workstyle, a flexible work environment will open up the opportunity to hire top talent from around the world. Recent data from LinkedIn showed that although remote jobs represent less than 20% of jobs posted, these listings accounted for over 50% of all applications. As the labor market continues to remain tight, employers looking to hire top talent face increased pressure to maintain or expand their remote work policies. A virtual office integration can ease communication across locations and time zones and increase productivity during core working hours, allowing organizations to hire the best talent from around the world.

Cost-Effective Solution

One of the most significant advantages of virtual offices is their cost-effectiveness. According to Global Workplace Analytics, “a typical employer can save about $11,000 a year for every person who works remotely half of the time.” Virtual office solutions and integrations can eliminate costly expenses such as rent and overhead costs, justifying the integration cost.

Minimize Learning Curves

Out-of-the-box virtual office solutions offer the same benefits as integrations, but they can pose a challenge for customers in terms of learning and adaptation. Integrations, on the other hand, can be much more user-friendly as they can blend seamlessly into existing workflows and systems. According to a 2021 Deloitte survey, poor integration across applications is seen as one of the main barriers to the effective application of tech, with 45% of respondents ranking this as one of their top three issues. Offering customers a virtual office integration rather than a new solution can help make the transition more manageable for employees, ultimately resulting in a more seamless and productive work environment.

Benefits to Partners

Upsell Current Product Offerings

According to the book Marketing Metrics, businesses have a 60-70% chance of selling to current customers, compared to the probability of selling to a new customer at 5-20%. Virtual office integrations can provide a great opportunity to upsell or cross-sell to your existing customers. Providing bundles with virtual meeting platforms or other complementary products can offer your customers a wide range of valuable benefits while increasing your recurring revenue streams. 

Increase Customer Retention

As companies continue to navigate the new realities of the post-pandemic world, virtual offices have emerged as a practical solution to optimize remote and hybrid work. With many companies looking for solutions that can help them stay connected and produced while not physically together, offering cutting-edge virtual office integrations to your customers can help position you and your business as a leader in the industry. Stay on top of your customers’ current problems to help increase satisfaction and loyalty long-term.

Differentiate and Grow Your Business

One of the best ways for partners to maximize their ROI is to diversify their portfolio mix. By adding virtual office integrations to your existing portfolio, partners can expand their product offerings, target new markets, and reach a wider range of customers. Virtual office integrations are a valuable product add as the remote and hybrid work models continue to grow. A Gallup survey in June 2022 found that 8 in 10 people work in a hybrid or remote environment, leaving only 2 in 10 people working entirely on-site. This means there is a significant market for virtual office integrations, and partners who offer this solution can capitalize on this trend while reducing dependence on a single product offering. Since most virtual office integrations are subscription-based pricing models, this also opens up the opportunity for recurring revenue streams, leading to greater stability for your business.

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You’ve heard about the rise of remote and hybrid work models, but are you offering your customers the solutions they need to thrive in this new landscape? Our Microsoft Teams integration allows you to enhance your customers’ remote work experience while latching onto a software solution they are already familiar with. Connect with us today to expand your product offerings, increase retention, and boost your ROI.

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9 Future of Work Conferences to Attend in 2023

Explore our 2024 roundup here.

This post was updated on July 21, 2023 to include more conferences leading into 2024.

As technology continues to evolve and shape the way we work, it’s essential to stay informed on the latest trends and advancements in the world of work. Attending conferences on the future of work can be a valuable investment to meet talented leaders, identify innovative solutions, and in some cases, even showcasing your own! With so many options to choose from in 2023, we are helping you stay ahead of the curve by identifying the top nine future of work conferences you should attend.

Future of Work Expo

February 14-17, 2023 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL

The Future of Work Expo 2023 in Fort Lauderdale is a conference program dedicated to helping companies navigate today’s hybrid workplace. The program will explore the intersection of technology and the human element, providing guidance on how to strike a balance between automation of work and processes and maintaining employee engagement. The conference’s goal is to help attendees reimagine their company’s workplace transformation, including implementing powerful new technologies.

Featuring keynote speakers from top companies such as Dell and EY, attendees will gain insight into how to develop and manage a successful hybrid workplace. At a lower cost than many other conferences, the Future of Work Expo is a great choice for those looking to improve productivity in the ever-evolving workforce and provide a better customer experience.

WorkX

February 21 – 23, 2023 in NYC and August 8-11, San Diego, CA

Formally known as Future Offices, the WorkX Conference brings together all things related to work experience. The 2023 conference will specifically explore the intersection of the future of work and workplace transformation. By offering two different tracks, attendees can explore content and presentations that are most meaningful to them. While the Future of Work track will examine challenges and issues related to most of the “people” issues, the Workplace Transformation track will look at how organizations are repurposing or utilizing their space to provide the best employee experience.

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!

SHRMTech 2023

March 7-8, 2023 in San Francisco, CA

SHRM is a leading voice in the HR professional community and continues to shape how employers and employees work together. At SHRMTech, 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.

For professionals looking to expand their HR tech knowledge and stay ahead of the curve, this conference will provide learnings, networking opportunities, and outcome-focused practices and solutions. Attendance is expected to be high as this is SHRMTech’s first U.S. event! If you are currently a SHRM credential holder, this event is also a valuable opportunity to earn Professional Development Credits towards your renewal. 

IDC Future of Work Conference

March 15, 2023 in London

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 discussed will include ESG targets, democratized innovation, employee performance, and employee retention.

With a focus on data gathered from IDC’s Future of Work European Employee Survey, this conference focuses on why work is changing, from a data-driven perspective, highly focused on European trends.

WSJ Future of Everything

May 2-4, 2023 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. 

Hear from featured speaker T.S. Anil, CEO of Monzo, a British online bank, as he breaks down why company culture matters as much as the bottom line and what Monzo’s recent U.S. launch means for the future of online banking.

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. 

Reworked CONNECT

May 10-12, 2023 in Austin, TX

The Reworked CONNECT conference is produced by Simpler Media Group, the parent brand of the Reworked and CMSWire professional communities. As a result, this conference is highly focused on employee experience and workplace leadership. Attendees will have the opportunity to see inside today’s most productive workplaces and make new connections within the Reworked community. 

The conference features five different tracks: 

  1. Leadership & the Modern Organization
  2. Employee Experience: Design, Build, Listen & Optimize
  3. The Digital Workplace: Intranets, Collaboration & Killer Apps
  4. Future of Work: Intelligence, Automation & Virtual
  5. Talent Development & Enterprise Learning 

The array of tracks is perfect for mid-to-senior level employees to learn how to better adapt employee experiences within their organization. 

Gartner Digital Workplace Summit

May 15-16, 2023 in London, June 12-13, 2023 in San Diego, CA, and August 29-30, 2023 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.

Attendees have the options to choose from four different tracks:

  1. Lead and Execute a Digital Workplace Strategy
  2. Optimize Technology to Get Work Done
  3. Construct Solid Infrastructure and Operations Foundations
  4. Power a Connected Digital Employee Experience

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.

Future of Work USA

June 6-7, 2023 in Chicago, IL

The Future of Work USA event launched in 2019 with the goal of focusing 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. Future of Work will also host conferences in Canada, APAC, Europe throughout 2023. Attendees will have the opportunity to view panels and presentations, network, and participate in discussion groups. 

Attendees of Future of Work USA will receive great value at a competitive price, with speakers from top companies such as Coca-Cola, BP, Starbucks, and Walmart.

Forbes Future Of Work Summit

June 8, 2023 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 2023 summit, interested attendees can take a look at the 2022 agenda, speakers, and sponsors to get a better idea of the conference offerings and key findings.

Whether you have already embraced flexible workplaces, or you need a bit more convincing, these nine conferences are sure to provide expert insight on the future of work and help you stay ahead of the competition.

CIO’s Future of Work Summit

September 30, 2023 – Virtual

CIO’s Future of Work Summit will focus on sharing expert tips for managing a remote workforce and maintaining top talent amid a rapidly changing landscape.

Previous topics from their February summit touched on:

  • How to retain valuable team members is the face of rising inflation
  • How to approach and discuss employee monitoring
  • Ways to maximize the benefits of in-office collaboration time
  • The best and latest collaboration tools

If you are a CIO or innovative leader, you won’t be disappointed by joining this virtual summit. Previous summits have featured top leaders from Forbes, Adobe, Qualtrics, Zscaler, and more.

Future of Work Expo

February 14-15, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Get ready for an electrifying glimpse into the future of work! The Future of Work Expo is where cutting-edge technologies, employee experiences, and ground-breaking ideas collide. This Future of Work Expo is all about empowering technology leaders, influencers, and decision-makers with game-changing strategies to maximize workplace productivity and help them to keep delivering an amazing customer experiences.

With networking events, giveaways, and an onsite start up pitch showcase, there is no shortage of exciting opportunities to interact with the leaders and future change-makers across the technology industry.

Gartner Digital Workplace Summit

March 18-19 2024 in Grapevine, TX

The Gartner Digital Workplace Summit is centered around the new and significant challenges that have evolved out of the changing work landscape. The summit’s goal is to provide workplace leaders with the tools and support as they navigate redefining their workplace culture, connectivity, and creativity in the here-to-stay world of hybrid and remote work.

At their previous summit these were the top discussion and presentation points where leaders learned how to:

  • Create a Digital Employee Experience
  • Champion Digital Skills
  • Connect Everything to Value
  • Develop Workforce Digital Dexterity
  • Focus on talent to drive the Future of Work

Previously, the conference has offered a variety of different tracks based on attendee interests and roles in their respective organizations.

The Future of Software in the Evolving Workplace

The flexible workspace will continue to be an important driver of employee satisfaction and productivity. In order to ensure success, it is essential that the software organizations use enables both remote and hybrid models.

While some executives are set on returning to the office, the reasons they’ve given for their push may not be backed by data. Developed to help with the needs of modern remote work, MultiShare offers remote and distributed teams the long-desired ability to share their screens simultaneously in a Microsoft Teams call. Discover more about what your team can do in Frameable Spaces and advance into the future of work today.

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