The Ecosystem: Remote First Culture

October 8th, 8:19 am

The Ecosystem: Remote First Culture

Remote work is not a new term in the business world. It has been a practicable aspect of work, but the Covid-19 pandemic introduced a radical shift in the world of work, making remote work a practice that has come to stay. And interestingly enough, a good number of companies are gradually embracing a remote work climate, and more companies will resort to remote work in the nearest future.

However, there is a need to differentiate between allowing remote work and empowering remote work. Because remote work can sometimes be cheaper than location-based work, hybrid companies often permit employees to work from remote locations.

On the other hand, a remote-first working culture does not only allow workers to work from home. It creates an environment that fosters remote work. A remote-first culture ensures that remote workers are not relegated to the background during decisive or essential work activities.

Remote First Culture

This culture also ensures that remote workers are empowered to work remotely without feeling lucky to have such opportunities. Consequently, a remote-first culture digs into a company's policies and makes room for efficient remote work.

So, if your work activities are powered by a remote-first culture, there are several ways you can empower your remote teams.

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Of these methods, remote work communities and remote work podcasts are the most commonly adopted. They ensure collaboration and group efficiency among teams. They also help improve the capacity and productivity of remote workers.

Top 10 Remote Work Communities

GitLab

GitLab, also known as the DevOps Platform, helps organizations streamline their software workflow, thereby enhancing remote collaboration. Having begun as an open-source software development collaboration, this platform creates a conducive work environment where every team member can significantly contribute to the growth of their team and company.

Zapier

Zapier is a collaborative community from which remote workers can integrate their array of work apps efficiently. This community empowers remote work by ensuring that your workflows are automated and integrated without the need to develop new apps.

Upwork

Upwork is a remote marketplace where clients can find freelancers to carry out projects for them. It uses Escrow to secure freelancer's payments, and clients get to fund their Escrow accounts before starting their projects.

The exciting feature of this remote marketplace is that it creates a networking opportunity for both talent buyers and sellers worldwide. Their online community also provides a platform through which freelancers can share creative insights.

Buffer

Buffer is a fully remote community with members in 15 countries of the world. They are currently serving more than 75,000 clients, and their mission is to see that innovative firms find possible and human ways to grow.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a top collaboration tool that enhances how teams achieve their goals together. With over 500 million users in over 180 countries, Dropbox enables teams to organize, share, and enjoy access to each member's work from different remote locations.

Slack

Slack brings people from all walks of life together and helps them collaborate efficiently while completing their work. It is a platform from which teams can communicate effectively and share work tools, files, and documents.

Coinbase

Coinbase is a remote cryptocurrency platform that was founded in June 2012. It facilitates the buying, selling, and storing of cryptocurrencies in digital wallets. This online community aims to increase efficiency in the open financial system by enabling consumers and merchants to transact with trending (and new) e-currencies.

Skillcrush

Having a remote-first culture does not mean your team members never hone their existing skills or acquire new skillset. Skillcrush is a remote community from which remote workers can take online courses on a wide variety of digital skills. Each course is resourceful and has proven to be influential in skill development.

Digital Nomad

This community is focused on helping remote workers get the best out of their remote work and business. It was designed for digital nomads and is packed with valuable tips and insight to boost remote work productivity. However, you get to pay $57 to enjoy access to this community where other digital nomads also share their individual remote work experiences.

Hacker Paradise

This remote community is centered on career development, personal growth, and remote collaboration. It integrates awe-inspiring remote work activities with professional collaboration and travel. At $1100 per month, members get to enjoy adventurous trips and networking opportunities from this community.

For every event hosted by this community, the themes are always peculiar to the locations in question. And remote working travelers do not only get to share professional insights, but they also get to learn about each site they visit.

Top 10 Remote Work Podcasts

Remote First Culture

We have listed out ten inspiring podcasts every remote staff should never miss. These podcasts do not only touch extensively on the borders of remote work but are also packed with information that fosters career and business growth in several ways. These podcasts are:

Dear HBR

The Harvard Business Review articles have an unrivalled position among the most resourceful articles on the internet. Undoubtedly, the HBR podcast, known as Dear HBR, is highly educative and resourceful. This podcast combines expertise, humor, and empathy to bring value to your remote workforce. Dear HBR podcast is hosted by HBR experts and editors and seeks to provide answers to workers' concerns. For each episode, you have specialists discussing issues relevant to the workplace and can foster growth on all sides.

Their April 2020 episode "Are You Suddenly Working From Home?" is a must-watch for every team adopting the remote-first culture. It contains the co-hosts' reading list and valuable insights to adopt during remote work.

Women at Work

Women at Work is also aired by Harvard Business Review, and focuses on the different issues that confront women at the workplace. In each episode, the hosts try to address even the most challenging women-related dilemma's in the workplace.

This podcast's Family Management: Looking to a Post-Pandemic Future season 6 is a must-watch for every working woman – especially if you intend to embrace remote work in the future.

Remote Work Life Podcast

Through the Remote Work Life Podcast, Alex Wilson-Campbell shares his exciting journey in digital marketing. He further highlights the requirements for succeeding in a remote environment.

Having worked for more than ten years as a remote staff, Alex interviews a host of other experts like CEOs, attorneys, and veterans to provide answers to your remote work questions. Interviews, business tricks, and tools are also available for users to buy according to their preferences and budget.

The Remote Show

This podcast is one you want your remote team to feast on constantly. It is produced by We Work Remotely and serves as a hub of inspiration for remote teams with growth ambition. It fundamentally focuses on assisting businesses in building and maintaining a remote (and completely office-free) workplace.

For every episode of this podcast, the hosts converse and dialogue with professionals from successful remote businesses. These professionals include employees, directors, CEOs, and founders, and they disclose crucial information on how to adopt an efficient remote-first culture in the workplace. This podcast also provides valuable tips for overcoming the challenges that confront remote teams in the world today.

Building Remote Teams

If you head an organization of remote workers, or you're looking to adopt the remote first culture in your workplace, this podcast would be very resourceful for you.

Building Remote Teams aims at enlightening remote team managers about the nitty-gritty of succeeding in a remote work environment. It also covers tips for utilizing virtual reality to improve productivity during remote work. The host, Jevin, boasts of 11 years of experience in managing a 50-man remote team. Hence, he shares his wealth of remote working experience.

Inside Remote

By conversing with a broad group of freelancers and remote workers, Andrej Fodor, the host and founder of Inside Remote opens you up to the real world of remote working. Also doubling as the CEO of RemoteSome, a remote recruitment consultancy firm, Andrej thoroughly unveils the secrets behind using remote work effectively.

The Yonder Podcast

Do you often feel that you may be very much on your own in the remote work journey? Then the Yonder Podcast will help you overcome this barrier. Yonder is a remote work podcast that seeks to help individuals savor every moment of their remote work and overcome the obstacles that disempower remote work efficiency.

In the 88th episode of this podcast, Jeff Robin interviews the founder of Running Remote, Egor Borushko, about the present state of remote work across the globe.

Work from Home Show

The Work from Home Show is one of those podcasts where experienced remote workers take you on a journey of optimizing remote work. The hosts, Naresh Visa and Adam Schroeder, have been remote workers for more than ten years and are passionate about helping people understand the remote environment.

Every week, they discuss topics ranging from how to start a remote business, how to make maximize your time as a remote worker, and how to balance your work with life at home. In one of this podcast's August 2021 episodes - Why and How Guide to Building Successful Remote Teams - the hosts featured Alexander Torrenegra, who dished out helpful insight for managing an efficient remote team.

Do the Work

Have you ever wondered how to combine parenting with work without leaving your home? Then the Do the Work podcast will be great for you and your remote team members who are also parents.

In this podcast, the host, who runs several chains of businesses, and has three kids, speaks on different hacks you can implement to overcome the hassle of balancing work and parenting. And quite impressively, he keeps things real, making sure to mention the downsides alongside the good sides of his work/parent life.

WorkLife with Adam Grant

WorkLife with Adam Grant is a TED podcast sponsored by the likes of LinkedIn and Verizon. It is hosted by Adam Grant, a famous TED speaker and an NYT bestselling author who has successfully helped the U.S. Army, Google, and the NBA attain efficient work environments.

In each episode of this podcast, Adam Grant talks about unique people doing extraordinary things at work. And the focus is to enable people to make the most of their time at work – and he does this in a friendly, relatable manner. As a remote worker, you'll find the 'how can science fix remote work' very resourceful.

Top 10 Remote Influencers

Remote First Culture

Some companies are successfully implementing the remote-first culture in their workspace. There are also individuals with a track record of upholding the remote-first work principle. These people contribute significantly to the prevalence of remote working worldwide, and following in their footsteps can mean a significant breakthrough in your remote work efforts.

Here’s a list of the top ten remote influencers you should be reading about:

Andreas Klinger

Andreas Klinger doubled as the Head of Remote in two remote companies: CoinList and AngelList. He currently works as OnDeck’s CTO and one of Remote First Capital’s prominent investors.

Chris Herd

As CEO of First base, Chris Herd takes to Twitter to widely promote the remote work culture. His company helps remote organizations to quickly acquire and set up necessary remote office equipment for remote workers.

Laurel Farrer

Laurel Farrer is the CEO of Distribute Consulting and founder of the Remote Work Association. She is also a writer at Forbes and a passionate advocate of remote work.

Hiten Shah

Hiten Shah is the co-founder of Nira, Crazy Egg, and KISSmetrics. He shares his remote work experience at different remote work summits and seminars.

Wade Foster

As CEO of Zapier, Wade Foster is a remote work devotee who has amassed millions of followers on Twitter and LinkedIn for his tremendous effort in the remote workspace.

Darren Murph

Darren Murph is GitLab’s Head of Remote. GitLab is one of the significant pioneers of remote work; it has no physical office space, and its entire workforce functions from different remote locations.

Hailley Griffis

Hailley Griffis is the Head of PR at Buffer. She also heads the ‘MakeWorkWork’ podcast and is a featured contributor in Buffer’s widely read blog.

Jason Fried

Jason Fried is not only a remote work influencer; he is the CEO of Basecamp, a platform that enhances remote collaboration. He is also an NYT bestseller, with more than 3.3 million users on his remote platform.

Meghan M. Biro

Meghan M. Biro is an analyst, an HR tech brand strategist, an author, a speaker, and founder and CEO at TalentCulture. She is a key contributor at Forbes, and she takes Twitter and the WorkTrend podcast to share her remote work experience.

Tamara McCleary

Tamara McCleary is a futuristic remote worker and the CEO of Thulium. She speaks in different global tech events and features on Forbes for her influence in the social marketing niche.


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