African business woman sit on couch talks on phone look at pc screen check e-mail, process of business from home remote work, housewife solve everyday issues, find service masters via internet concept

‘We Ask Our Team What’s Important to Them’; Managing a Remote Workforce

by Media

“Bringing people back into the office full time isn’t the answer—workers don’t want to give up the flexibility that gives them greater control of their lives,” wrote Alexia Cambon, a research director of the human resources practice at Gartner, wrote in The Guardian last year. “They want systems that work for the environment they are operating in.” Every organization has its own way of handling our brave new remote world. Here are some tips.

“We created Industry Dive’s culture of teamwork and collaboration when it was just one location,” Terri Travis, Industry Dive’s vice president for human resources, told my colleague Tony Silber recently, as part of our BIMS Speaker Preview Series. “In the past two years, we have evolved to a remote workforce of more than 400 people spread across the country, and now internationally.

Organizations must prioritize adapting to the needs and preferences of employees as they navigate the complexities of a modern workforce. The rise of remote work has prompted companies to rethink their management strategies, ensuring that flexibility and collaboration coexist seamlessly. Terri Travis highlights the importance of fostering a culture of teamwork, even in a dispersed environment.

To achieve this, businesses must invest in modern mobile workforce management solutions that facilitate communication and engagement across geographic boundaries. By streamlining operations and offering essential tools, companies can empower employees to connect, collaborate, and sustain productivity regardless of their location, with reliable solutions from TourTrax playing a crucial role in this transformation. Embracing these innovative technologies allows organizations to create a supportive work environment that meets the evolving expectations of their workforce while enhancing overall efficiency and satisfaction.

In today’s dynamic work environment, the success of any organization hinges on its ability to engage and support its workforce effectively. Employees seek more than just flexibility; they desire a sense of connection, purpose, and recognition within their roles. Companies that understand this shift and prioritize fostering an inclusive culture will see higher retention rates and increased morale. Creating opportunities for both personal and professional growth, while maintaining open lines of communication, can lead to more cohesive teams, even when employees are dispersed across multiple locations.

One critical aspect of this transformation is leveraging the right tools and platforms to facilitate workforce management. Solutions like those offered by https://www.proplanum.com/ enable organizations to streamline processes, from employee scheduling to task management, helping create a seamless workflow. By integrating such technologies, businesses can respond to the demands of a modern, mobile workforce, ensuring that teams stay connected and aligned with organizational goals. This forward-thinking approach not only boosts productivity but also enhances employee satisfaction, setting the stage for long-term success.

As organizations continue to adapt to the remote work landscape, finding and retaining top talent becomes more critical than ever. Flexibility remains a key factor for employees, and effective systems must be in place to support this new way of working. For companies like Industry Dive, which has transitioned to a remote workforce of over 400 people, partnering with a skilled remote recruitment agency can make a significant difference.

Remotely Talents, a leader in remote talent recruitment, offers specialized services to help businesses connect with qualified candidates who thrive in virtual environments. By collaborating with them, Industry Dive and other companies can streamline their hiring processes and ensure they attract individuals who are not only highly skilled but also well-suited to the remote work model. This partnership supports the creation of a robust and cohesive remote team, ultimately enhancing organizational culture and driving success in an increasingly flexible work world.

“We routinely ask our team what’s important to them to get a sense of where things stand. We ask, how do we meet them where they want to be. Are there specific times, events, trainings and other things that would maintain the level of culture and cohesiveness they’re looking for?”

One of the panel discussions we’re most looking forward to at our upcoming Business Information & Media Summit, Feb. 23-24 in Orlando, is the one about the Future of Work, where Travis will be joined by Nick Schacht, chief global development officer, SHRM, and Kevin Turpin, president, National Journal. So many questions need to be answered.

CEO (U.S.) of Edelman public relations, Lisa Osborne Ross, also spoke about the importance of reaching out to your staff and colleagues. “We do a thing called ‘P-Can’ [phonetic]. We were doing it every three months during the pandemic, and then we started doing it generally [every] six months. But it was asking people, what are your needs? What are your tech needs? What are your emotional needs?”

Here are seven tips for negotiating this brave new remote world:

Know your time zones and cultures. “Workplaces will need to remain flexible to recruit and retain team members,” Travis said. “Video calls, messaging and other engagement platforms, or other technologies, will be an integral part for companies to keep a strong level of employee engagement with their teams spread across the country and globally. We have expanded our team internationally, and team members have the flexibility to work from where it best suits their needs. But along with this comes more consideration needed for local time zones, regional and international workplace culture and habits, and communication.

Be intentional. “Organizations need to take an intentional approach to address this issue,” wrote Washington Post tech at work writer Danielle Abril. “That means creating onboarding processes that offer several points of connection and give new employees the chance to meet both their co-workers and other people across the organization. And when employees join, managers should make sure new hires feel like they have some ownership in the company’s culture.” Our association has been flying new employees in to take part in a monthly in-person staff meeting. This helps to build relationships, even if it’s just a one-time thing.

Widen your hiring pool. “The world has changed,” Anne Holland, co-founder of cannabis content and event platform MJBiz, sold last year to Emerald for $120 million, told me. There was a time prior to the pandemic when MJBiz employees had to come to the Denver office 10 am to 3 pm Tuesday to Friday. That seems eons ago. The virtual tools “have become much more part of the mainstream now.” After the first month [of the pandemic, working virtually] felt normal and natural, and we were able to hire people outside of Colorado—to really go out and get the best of the best. The only requirement this time was that they had to be available for meetings during Mountain Time.”

Moreover, the key to successful employee engagement in this paradigm is recognizing the importance of thoughtful onboarding practices for virtual staff. So, when onboarding virtual staff, organizations must prioritize clear communication, comprehensive training programs, and establishing a sense of belonging. By fostering a strong connection from the outset, companies can ensure that remote employees feel integrated into the organizational culture, contributing to higher job satisfaction and sustained productivity. As the virtual realm continues to redefine the workplace, prioritizing effective onboarding becomes a linchpin in sustaining employee engagement and fostering a cohesive and connected remote team.

Think out of the box. “In essence, we need to stop designing work around location, and start designing work around human behavior,” Cambon,said. “Employees will work better, stay at their organization longer and keep healthier if they are placed at the center of work design—trust me, we have the data that proves it. This is what we should be asking ourselves: if 9-5 had never been invented; if ‘office’ were a foreign term; if the concept of a meeting sounded like gibberish—in short, if today were day one of the history of work—how would you design how you work?”

Create virtual “connection points” for employees. “Is there a platform in which employees are encouraged to chat with each other?” Abril asked. “Are there regular calls? Are there opportunities to team up with employees from different teams for something that might resemble a virtual water cooler?” “The shift to remote work gave employees a lot more power and control,” Travis said. “If companies do not provide flexible workplace environments, they will not be competitive in the market and will suffer from a retention perspective. We have already seen this on the front half with our recruiting efforts.”

Break bigger meetings into smaller groups, randomly sometimes. About a year ago, I joined one of Rob Ristagno’s virtual CEO Campfire Chats. After a short introduction, Ristagno broke the audience of 20-25 people randomly into smaller groups for a 5-7 minute, get-to-know-you chat. Suddenly, it became myself and two others in that small Zoom window with featured guest, entrepreneur Sam Yagan, vice chairman of Match.com and co-founder of SparkNotes. It encouraged greater participation and familiarity than the large window of 25 people, where the boldest and loudest tend to stand out.

Consider structuring unstructured time, said Tsedal Neeley, a Harvard Business School professor and author of Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere. Perhaps “starting every meeting with some personal connection time, versus jumping right into the subject matter at hand.” He suggested that 10-15% of meeting time could be allowed for the group to chat freely. “Starting in a personal way increases group cohesion and group performance. You have to build in the informal to get to know one another.”

Encourage two-way conversations. Edelman’s Ross spoke a lot about the importance of “two-way conversation” during the pandemic in her conversation with The Washington Post. “I think managers had to change. Managers had to realize they were not managing for work, but you’re managing for people, which again, is something we should have been doing all along.”

 

American Physiological Society Equity Award 51 -99

‘The Fellows Are Just Rising Stars’; the Sky Is the Limit for APS’s Porter Fellowship

by IMPACT AwardsMedia

Thanks in part to its Porter Physiology Development Fellowship, the American Physiological Society has been able to go from a mere eight Black members in the early 1960s to more than 1,000 members from groups underrepresented in science today. The program also stands apart for the positive ratings given by Fellows and their transitions into esteemed careers.” SIIA’s inaugural IMPACT Awards judges agreed and named the program one of 10 2022 winners.

One of the most impressive attributes about the program is that APS staffers work hard to keep the Fellows involved in the Society in following years.

“We started a Meet the Fellow Twitter campaign where we show an image of the Fellow, provide their name and the institution where they are conducting their research and host it on Twitter,” Brooke Bruthers, director of member communities for APS, told me a few weeks ago. “And we get [excellent] engagement on every single one of those tweets which is really exciting… Some of the Fellows are also now on our DEI Committee.”

Bruthers also told me about a former Porter Fellow who she got to know at diversity conferences who’s “an associate professor, and we’ve stayed in touch over the years as she’s moved from New Orleans to Texas, and she’ll be coming out to our office in a couple of weeks for a strategic planning meeting. So I’m looking forward to seeing her again.”

The Porter Fellowship is the Society’s flagship diversity program. Over the last 55 years, the program has supported underrepresented racial and ethnic minority scientists in their pursuit of education and training in the physiological sciences, as well as retention in physiology careers. The Fellowship is unique in the STEM field in part because of its longevity and for the unique mentorship and large stipend ($28,300) it provides.

In this third winner Q&A in our IMPACT Awards series, Bruthers talks more about this amazing program.

AMPLIFY: You’ve worked at APS and on the Porter Fellowship for a long time.
Brooke Bruthers: Yes, the program’s always been near and dear to my heart. The Fellows are just rising stars of physiology. It’s really exciting to work with them as graduate students and then to see them be successful and grow in their careers, and get engaged with APS in governance and leadership positions. I’d say it’s a boutique fellowship experience. We fund up to eight graduate students each year. So it’s a small cohort but we’re very proud of them.

When I hear about successful programs like this, I always ask about the culture. It must be an important part of who you are as an organization.
Brooke: It is, and we have buy-in from the leadership and support from our CEO, from our Council, our presidents, all of our members and leadership roles. So it’s been kind of just that. But it’s very important that the DEI values and culture that we have within APS are [implemented] across the board.

Tell me more about the Fellowship and a report that was done.
Brooke: Our Porter Fellows go through a professional development course where they learn about networking, publishing and scholarly journals. They learn about what’s called, My Individual Development Plan. So [they do] career planning and work with our members and leadership positions. So we wanted to take those program activities and evaluate them, which we did. We’ve done that for a long time, but those five years (2016-20) is where the report focuses on, and it just showed gains and skills and knowledge in all of those areas. So we were pleased to be able to highlight that the program impacts are positive and it’s working for our Fellows.

I’m impressed by how you work to keep them engaged beyond their fellowships. That’s valuable.
Brooke: Yes, and that’s still an area for improvement. We just engaged with the consulting firm who conducted a baseline assessment of our membership and gave us a series of recommendations. We are about to meet with the DEI Committee to prioritize those areas and essentially have an action plan for how we can move the needle forward. I’m hoping that we are going to really look at goals and measurable objectives. We have the baseline data. So now, what are our next steps to keep this moving? How do we continue to keep the Porter Fellows engaged with the organization and in the pipeline of leadership positions? And we’ve started to do some of that work with a governance task force. But there’s more to come. It’s a journey. We’re just going to continue on this journey and hopefully make things better.

It really is a collaborative effort!
Brooke: Yes, we’re really myself, Teresa Ramirez and Emma Hedman [on this]. But we worked with Kirsten Gossett to create the report and put it in the beautiful format that we have. We also worked with Erica Roth, who takes care of all of our Twitter. And then the mentoring Q&A portion in the magazine Melanie Padgett Powers helps with. She’s fantastic. We provide her the list of our Porter Fellows and where they are, what their areas of research are, what their career path and development questions are, and then she pairs them with an expert for the magazine. It’s a real team effort.

Congratulations again!

 

 

Media Library (7)

DC In the Desert: A Brief Dispatch on CES 2023

by Policy

By Paul Lekas, Senior Vice President, Global Policy, Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).

Last week, members of SIIA’s policy team – along with over 115,000 others – attended the annual CES trade show in Las Vegas. CES showcased the future of tech innovation in autonomy, AI, health, gaming, robotics, and more. It was also an opportunity to convene thought leaders and government officials in a series of discussions on critical information and technology policy issues – including across SIIA’s policy portfolio. Here are our key takeaways from “DC in the desert”:

  • Resilience is the new watchword. Resilience of global supply chains, resilience of cybersecurity protocol to ensure a healthy digital ecosystem, and resilience of international alliances and partnerships. Policymakers will continue to look for ways to advance resilience across the digital ecosystems. This means advancing robust, secure, reliable and inclusive frameworks for cybersecurity and digital access. CISA Director Jen Easterly and National Cyber Deputy Director Camille Stewart Gloster spoke eloquently on the topic.
  • Content moderation will be big in the 118th Congress. As the Supreme Court readies to hear challenges to Section 230, Congress is prepared to investigate content moderation and possibly legislate on Section 230 reform. Nevertheless, voices from industry, government, and civil society expressed concern that legislative reform could restrict free speech and have significant negative effects on the Internet as we know it today.
  • International tech standards are critical to ensuring the safety and reliability of technology and comportment with democratic values. Industry has a critical role in participating in the development of international technological  standards. Government and industry representatives spoke to the importance of advancing standards around cybersecurity, AI, and other key technologies and involving a greater segment of the private sector.
  • Fostering international cooperation on digital policy. International cooperation is key to fostering interoperability and innovation. Forums such as the US-EU TTC, IPEF, and APEC have a lead role to achieve this. Several speakers conveyed optimism that these new forums will help advance an international data governance framework that comports with democratic values.
  • Continued need for federal privacy legislation. Civil society, industry, and government representatives lamented the failure of ADPPA in 2022 and hope there is an opportunity to move forward legislation in 2023. Thought leaders were virtually united in the view that the United States needs a national standard for privacy, and anticipate – in its absence – that a growing patchwork of state regulation will exacerbate challenges for consumers and businesses alike.
  • Digital divide. The digital divide in terms of broadband connectivity is alarming, yet there is hope the new funding authorized in 2022 will enable NTIA and the FCC to close the gap. FCC Commissioners Simington and Starks and NTIA Director Davidson spoke passionately about this effort.
  • The FTC will be active yet remains under resourced. FTC representatives, including Commissioner Slaughter, spoke to the FTC’s continued efforts to police the online ecosystem through existing authorities yet expressed serious concerns about the FTC’s resourcing.
  • The US-China tech competition. While concerns about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took a backseat at CES, Senator Warner described it as “the issue of our time,” pointing to how tech and national security are inextricably intertwined.
  • AI efforts continue and differences between the US and EU approaches remain. The primary vehicles for AI regulation remain, in the U.S., the NIST AI Risk Management Framework – a voluntary framework which will be published this month – and the EU AI Act. The AI Act continues to take a heavier hand in oversight and pre-market regulation, in contrast to the NIST approach.

These CES discussions provided insights into the perspectives of key government officials on important issues of the day. SIIA looks forward to continuing to work closely with Congress and the Executive Branch on the critical issues that align with our 2023 priorities.

2023 new year goal,plan,action concepts with text on notepad and office accessories.Business management,Inspiration to success ideas

Collaborate, Seek New Voices and Book a Trip (Orlando?) to Get 2023 Rolling

by Uncategorized

Four years ago, Fast Company posted an article titled How to Redesign Your Days to Give You Back a Few Extra Hours Every Week. The author listed five categories where we can make changes: Quit Something; Limit Something; Pause Something; Delegate Something; and Add Something. It’s a worthwhile exercise.

I’ve updated this each year but contemplating these five areas after a pandemic and cultural reckoning may yield some new answers. Let’s take a closer look—and please fill in your own answers for 2023.

For Limit Something, how about limiting a lack of collaboration? “In 2023, we’ll see a reconciliation around how we work—from communicating online to onboarding new employees, from managing tasks to celebrating milestones,” writes Rodney Gibbs, senior director of strategy and innovation for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in NiemanLab’s always-terrific Predictions for Journalism 2023. “A few newsrooms and other industries have already figured this out. Wily news orgs, taking a hard look at how they work, will follow suit and recast their processes and norms to accommodate our new normal. The stakes are too high to sit back and hope it works itself out.”

For Quit Something, they wrote “Quit a recurring meeting. Quit a committee. Quit Facebook. Quit Candy Crush.” How about quit going with the same speakers? Audience favs are okay but take time to research and find new and diverse speakers for your next webinar, podcast or event. With them might come new audiences. And think about giving other people chances to shine, such as photographers or freelance writers. “Diverse perspectives are rarely legitimized as sources for topics other than diversity, and said communities are often reported on once a year—or once a tragedy,” writes Dominic-Madori Davis (pictured), a senior reporter at TechCrunch covering venture capital and startups, also in Predictions. “It’s never routine, never guaranteed. This produces work without nuance, far from being as intersectional as the actual business and tech audiences are.”

For Pause Something, they wrote: “[Go] on a walk in the middle of the day. [Give] yourself permission to run an errand during your lunch break. Stopping for a moment to assert your ability to do the non-urgent reduces the sense that everything has to happen at a frenetic pace, and that there’s no time to slow down.” Wow, this has just multiplied in its relevancy! Many of us are starting our work day earlier and ending later, amplifying the need to take breaks. There is one problem, however. In his book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Dan Pink wrote: “Research shows us that social breaks are better than solo breaks—taking a break with somebody else is more restorative than doing it on your own.” That may not be easy right now. Try reaching out to a friend or neighbor for a walk.

Delegate Something has become a bit tougher in these times, for two reasons, I think. One, we’re interacting even less, of course, with co-workers so delegating something takes more intentional outreach. And two, maybe “delegate” isn’t a great word anymore because we only think of giving tasks to someone less senior, rather than sharing tasks and perhaps giving one or two to someone who is more suited to them, regardless or your command chain. Writes Fast Company: “As you plan your day, ask yourself: Is this something that I really need to do myself, or could someone else do this instead?” If this makes you reach out to a colleague, then that’s a good thing. A 5-minute phone call can supersede 30 minutes of emails sometimes.

For Add Something, their advice was: “Add an exercise class, book a trip, plan a get-together with friends.” I can give you an idea that satisfies the last two: book a trip to Orlando for our Business Information & Media Summit (BIMS – 6th edition, I believe) where you will meet and network with many friends and colleagues in the industry. Given the coming cold snap—which we know is just the beginning—spending a few days in Florida at the end of February will be much welcomed. Wait, I’m sure the hotel has an exercise room—that’s three for three!

 

 

SIIA Neals 69 Social Avatar-500x500 reverse

Video, Infographics and Diversity Add to 2022 Neal Award Winners, as 2023 Deadline Nears

by Media

With the deadline for entering the 2023 Neals approaching fast (this Sunday night! Enter here!), it seems a good time to look back at some 2022 winners and remind us how special these are to the industry. Diversity and inclusion have certainly become a big component to the winners, be it as a subject or in sources and reporting.

This week’s Supply Chain Dive: Operations, winner of the 2022 Neal Award for best eNewsletter, starts off getting right to the point. “In this newsletter: Ohio emerges as manufacturing hub; climate change pressures production; and factories grapple with staffing constraints. (Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.)”

Writer Sarah Zimmerman then entices the reader with 2-3 graphs on those stories, before she changes things up with a big red 746,000 for “the number of job openings within the manufacturing industry for Sept. 2022.”

An opinion poll follows—love the reader interaction—followed by last week’s poll results and a request for new poll ideas. Finally we get Quick Hit headlines and then a Parting Thought from Zimmerman. It’s all well-crafted, easy to read and engaging.

Here are 4 more lessons from 2022 winners:

Diversify your writers and sources. Writing in Arizent’s Accounting Today, Ranica Arrowsmith’s 2022 Neal Award-winning, exceptional story for Best Single Article, is titled AI, Applied: Opening the Black Box. She provides ways that AI can assist people in accounts receivable, accounts payable, audits and other transactions. A key source for Arrowsmith (pictured) is Samantha Bowling, who lists herself on LinkedIn as an: “AI Innovator, Mentor, Business Owner, Auditing Standards Board Member, Speaker and I LOVE what I do.” She also quotes the co-founders of an AI-driven accounts receivable platform, and Youngseung Kuk who manages business outsourcing services for Top 100 Firm Armanino in Boise, Idaho.

Add special photos, infographics and/or video to a story. For his 2022 Neal Award-winning story—Heart Attack Struck Sek Kathiresan’s Family. He’s Devoted His Life to Stopping Them—Industry Dive’s Ben Fidler used personal photos given to him by his subject, Sek Kathiresan. Then Fidler tracked down a video of Kathiresan winning the Curt Stern award (shown above)—an honor given to pioneering human geneticists by the American Society of Human Genetics. In the video, Kathiresan recalls the journey that took him from a small town in India to an awards stage in San Diego. “For profiles to be as powerful as they can be, the subject has to be gracious with his or her time and willing to be vulnerable and honest,” Fidler told me. “It’s a lot to ask of someone. You have to earn their trust and respect. Part of that is getting to the point that you’re asking someone for personal photos, which are, of course, a delicate subject… After we’d developed a rapport, I explained why I thought they’d be helpful and how they’d elevate the story…”

For her Neal winner in Best Technical/Scientific Content—titled Less Than Zero: Driving Down Carbon Emissions Needs More Than High-Performance Glazing—Ellen Rogers, editor of USGlass Magazine, leads with a powerful inforgraphic: Global CO2 Emissions by Sector. The graphic shows that the building and construction industry accounts for about 40% of energy-related carbon emissions in the construction and operation of buildings.

Highlight winning ideas. In an article titled Diversity in Trucking Won’t Work Without Inclusion in Endeavor Business Media’s 2022 Neal Award-winning issue of FleetOwner, executive editor Cristina Commendatore points to Total Transportation in Jackson, Miss. They have a team that specializes in going to historically Black colleges and universities to promote the trucking industry. The company also touts having nearly three times more female drivers than the national average. “It’s easy to be diverse,” said CEO John Stomps. “Inclusion, however, is a culture; you’ve got to have that from the top down.” “Without an inclusive culture, it’s impossible to maintain diversity within any business operation,” Commendatore writes. “That’s particularly important for the trucking industry, which has a growing labor shortage and hasn’t traditionally been known as the most diverse industry.” Sure enough, another article covers the driver shortages.