34. Spotify's Work from Anywhere program, w/ Alexander Westerdahl

Welcome to another episode of Remote First Podcast! In today's episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Chase Warrington. Join us as we uncover the fascinating world of asynchronous communication and gain valuable insights from Chase Warrington's expertise at Doist. Chase Warrington, the Head of Remote at Doist. A groundbreaking company that is revolutionizing the way we communicate and collaborate. Whether you're a remote worker, a team leader, or simply intrigued by the changing landscape of work, this episode is a must-listen.  [rebroadcast: The following episode was one of the most popular episodes since the start of our podcast. We have decided to share this content again because we believe it is still relevant and valuable in the current context .]  ‍ In this episode: [05:43] The concept of working 100% asynchronously and eliminating real-time communication [11:12] The importance of getting more data and tackling tasks asynchronously first, then synchronously [18:04] Why you should focus on hiring in a specific time zone or region to simplify communication and collaboration [27:47] The importance of flexibility and freedom [31:47] Clear and well-written English communication is crucial during the hiring process Connect with Chase  On Linkedin Website Doist Resources Mentioned: Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com ---  Visit modernleaders.co to discover how to optimize your new ways of work.

As the pandemic forced us to adapt to new ways of working, many organizations have embraced the benefits of flexible work arrangements. But as we continue to navigate the remote work landscape, there's still a lot to learn. Let's dive in and learn how Dropbox is designing a virtual-first work culture. Today, we have Alastair Simpson, VP of Design at Dropbox, a company that has undergone a complete transformation since 2020. He will share his insights on the company's complete shift to a virtual-first work culture. Tune in to today's episode to learn more about Dropbox's virtual first work culture. [rebroadcast: The following episode was the most popular episode since the start of our podcast. We have decided to share this content again because we believe it is still relevant and valuable in the current context .]  In this episode: [05:13] Why companies should put the customer at the heart of everything they're doing. [07:55] The behavior change challenge in embracing remote work culture [16:50] How to reduce unnecessary meetings [21:36] How has Dropbox implemented a virtual first approach to work [28:54] The importance of in-person interaction and meetings in remote work  Connect with Alastair  On Linkedin Website Dropbox Resources Mentioned: Virtual First Toolkit ---  Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes, and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com ---  Visit modernleaders.co to discover how to optimize your new ways of work.

‍Welcome back to Remote First Podcast. Today, we are discussing how to embrace hybrid work and how companies can effectively navigate the transition to this new work model. With many companies exploring hybrid work as a potential long-term solution, you will learn valuable insights on how to embrace remote work while still maintaining productivity and employee satisfaction. To have this conversation, we have Claire Donald as our guest today, VP of Engineering at Moo. She will share her knowledge and experience in leading Moo's successful transition to remote work.  In this episode: [6:39] The meaning of hybrid work and how companies can embrace it progressively [15:23] Training and guidance for remote employees  [20:08] How to navigate training and communicate challenges in a hybrid workplace [23:24] Why hybrid work is not a dirty word Connect with Claire On Linkedin Website Moo ---  Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes, and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com ---  Visit modernleaders.co to discover how to optimize your new ways of work.

Welcome to today's episode of Remote First Podcast. We will discuss Human Design and how it impacts the work of teams and organizations. To have this conversation, we have Lena Thompson, human design consultant, and keynote speaker. In this episode, Lena will explain how understanding our unique Human Design Energy Type can help us channel our energy for optimal productivity — along with some tips on how each type can be more productive at work. In this episode: [01:30] What is human design, and why is it important to your work? [08:01] How to best channel your energy and utilize it for optimal productivity [10:34] Learn about the different Human Design Energy Types [27:44] The importance of slowing down and taking time for yourself Connect with Lena Thompson On Linkedin Resources Mentioned: www.Mybodygraph.com ---  Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com ---  Visit modernleaders.co to discover how to optimize your new ways of work.

If we keep talking about where people are working, we're never going to stop having this fight about home office versus office. So, we need to shift the conversation to what really matters: how we work. Today, we have Laurel Farrer, the Head of Workplace, and a Principal of Strategy and Operations at GitLab, who has been a remote work thought leader for almost a decade. GitLab has been able to grow as a company at an accelerated rate that is record-breaking and much of that is because of the ways that they work, which is TeamOps. Tune in to hear all about GitLab’s new way of working that is critical for the success of any team regardless of their workplace model, creates operational efficiency, allows decisions to be made very effectively, and gives everyone an equal voice in the team.  In this episode: [01:25] Laurel’s journey of advocating for Remote Work and the future of work ‍[05:43] How GitLab retired the Head of Remote role [10:54] What TeamOps is all about [15:54] The 4 principles of GitLab’s effective decision-making model [21:18] Self-management and autonomy are critical for distributed teams [27:42] Laurel’s wish in 2023 for psychological safety in a distributed world Connect with Laurel Farrer On Linkedin Website GitLab Resources Mentioned: If you want to dive deeper into TeamOps and the future of work, you can learn all about how GitLab works by taking the same course that they use for onboarding their own employees, TeamOps: Optimizing Team Efficiency, which is and always will be free. The REWORK Podcast - SEASON 2 - EPISODE 0051: Hire Managers of One --- Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes, and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com --- Visit modernleaders.co to discover how to optimize your new ways of work.

Employee experience is crucial and, as we enter the “year of employee experience and retention”, it has truly become the foundation for a company’s success, especially a remote or hybrid one. Today, we have Sophie Bieber, Head of Global Employer Branding at SAP, a massive tech company that established a dedicated, cross-functional team to support and guide the company towards the Future of Work. Tune in to discover the lessons SAP has learned with the Pandemic about hybrid and remote work, as well as the ways that having a team dedicated to making the Future of Work a reality can impact the employee experience. In this episode: [01:42] SAP’s experience going fully remote during the Pandemic [05:43] The office is no longer the default and SAP employees get to choose what works best for them [08:37] The ways SAP gives each team the resources and support they need [16:26] The Future of Work team and its impact on Sophie’s experience as a leader at SAP [23:49] Employee experience is crucial Connect with Sophie Bieber On Linkedin Website SAP --- Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes, and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com --- Visit modernleaders.co to discover how to optimize your new ways of work.

We are facing a prolonged period of high uncertainty with a world post-COVID, a war between Ukraine and Russia, a recession, “the great resignation”, and, more recently, massive layoffs in big tech companies. Navigating all of that is not easy. So, today, we have Michelle Labbe, the Chief People Officer at Toptal, a company that even before the pandemic was already one of the world’s top remote work employers and provider of top remote talent. We are discussing the current state of affairs, how that has impacted Toptal and remote work in general, the best practices Toptal has in place to weather this storm, and what we can expect to see for remote work moving into 2023. In this episode: [06:47] The demand for remote talent since the start of the pandemic [09:29] Are contractors the future of remote work? How post-pandemic layoffs are affecting culture and changing remote teams [15:43] Ways to support your remote employees once they’ve been laid off [19:26] How the latest layoffs have started a trend among remote workers [24:32] Ideas and strategies to improve employee retention [28:47] The pros and cons of remote and hybrid work on the employee experience and retention [35:53] Michelle’s wish for 2023 Connect with Michelle Labbe On Linkedin Website Toptal Resources Mentioned: Toptal's Suddenly Remote Playbook --- Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com --- Visit modernleaders.co to discover how to optimize your new ways of work.

Tune in to discover more about how Airbnb is creating the future of work and is leveraging its existing business model to try and revive tourism, as well as work through the complexities that every employer has to take on to enable their employees to live and work anywhere. Today, we have Q Hamirani, the Global Head of the Live and Work Anywhere Program at Airbnb. In this episode: [01:34] Q’s journey to become the head of Airbnb's global Live and Work Anywhere program [05:09] The lessons and insights Airbnb has gleaned from this program [08:39] What changed about working and traveling and what didn’t after the Pandemic [12:47] Airbnb’s mission as industry leaders to drive the future of work [18:21] The Live and Work Anywhere program for Airbnb employees [21:31] The keys to the success of the program [26:55] How the program was validated both internally and externally [29:03] The way the program is helping hosts attract remote workers Connect with Q Hamirani Q Hamirani is the Global Head of Live and Work Anywhere center of excellence at Airbnb. He is a business-driven people executive, advisor, investor, and executive coach with a passion for building scalable people functions to help change the world. On LinkedIn Airbnb Website Map of Daphnee's live and work anywhere experience using Airbnb for 3 years.  --- Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com --- Visit remotefirst.fm for full show notes.

What if I told you that remote doesn’t always come first? For the last episode of Season 5 and 2022, I'm sharing the mic with Scott Markovitz, a startup advisor and fellow podcaster with his show Leading from afar. We got to take a break from remote podcasting and we let in-person come first as we recorded this episode in real life in Berlin. In this episode, we’re talking about the absolute necessity of getting people together in real life, especially for fully remote companies; some ways to build relationships virtually; working from anywhere; the importance of async for the future of remote work. We also got to share what we feel the year 2022 was like for remote work, and what we see happening in the upcoming year of 2023. Scott went even farther into the future and shared with us his musings on what work will look like in 2024. Thank you so much for listening! I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and see you next year for Season 6, starting on January 10. --- Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog Work Hub. Find what you need, see who’s working on what, and get updates on where things are at, without the endless stream of emails and pings coming from everywhere. Sign up now at Qatalog.com for a free 30-day trial, for you and your team. --- Visit remotefirst.fm for full show notes.

The way to build a solid remote-first work culture is to create a culture that fits the medium rather than forcing the medium to fit the culture. A lot of companies are trying to take the things they used to do in an in-office culture and put them into a remote work environment. It turns out, that those things don't translate very well into this new medium of working remotely and, ideally, asynchronously. ‍So today, we have Kapil Kale, Co-Founder and COO of Tremendous and former COO at AngelList, who has built a profitable and sustainable remote work culture at both those companies. In this episode, we're chatting today about the principles for designing a culture optimized for remote work, the differences between remote and hybrid work in 2016 and 2022 and tapping into the global talent pool through remote hiring. --- Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn’t exist in the long run without great partners. This season’s sponsor is Qatalog Work Hub. Find what you need, see who’s working on what, and get updates on where things are at, without the endless stream of emails and pings coming from everywhere. Sign up now at Qatalog.com for a free 30-day trial, for you and your team. --- Visit remotefirst.fm for full show notes.