Remote work, hybrid workplace, working from home, virtual meetings. Although not net new ideas, these themes became much more common within the last year. Even as more and more people plan to return to work in person, the concept of a distributed workforce will be the new “normal” for many, and companies and employees will need to learn to adjust accordingly. Distributed workforce best practices will need to be applied to be successful in this new landscape. There are new ways of working across the board – this includes a combination of remote employees, physical offices, and working with colleagues and team members in other locations and time zones (even if they are in another physical office). 

The Voltage Control team has always been remote (outside of our in-person workshops and events) so this shift to virtual work and the distributed workforce wasn’t new to us – we’ve documented best practices for remote teams, and even assembled a toolkit that allows our remote team to facilitate virtual meetings that are as, if not more, effective than traditional face-to-face interactions.

Many large corporations are making the decision to offer permanent remote work options for their employees, including Twitter, JP Morgan, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft. A distributed workforce, when directed by effective systems and processes, can and will be successful with adjustments and best practices.

Employees have demonstrated the ability to work productively in a distributed and/or remote fashion, in large part due to available tools and technology. However, it will take more than simply downloading Zoom and a good Wifi connection (though they are both very important) for a successful distributed workforce. We outline 5 distributed workforce best practices below.

Distributed Work Best Practices

1) Implement recurring check-ins and meetings 

Communication is key. Ensure communication flows between all team members, regardless of physical location. This is increasingly important as workers become more spread across different time zones and locations. Consider daily standup updates on Slack, end of day status emails, all hands/town halls, check-ins with direct reports, and virtual meetings–with video when possible–to include everyone on the team. This isn’t to say you should have a million meetings just to have them by any means. There should always be a clear purpose to avoid wasting time (among other Meeting Mantras). Keeping an open line of communication through all levels and team members will help align and push forward projects and initiatives in a distributed workforce setting.

2) Utilize the best tools and tech

These tools played an obvious role when the majority of office workers were forced to be remote. They will continue to be critical to keeping everyone aligned and organized as the virtual, remote + in-person worlds merge into a distributed workforce. Some of our favorite tools for a distributed workforce include: 

• Asana – Project management tool to help teams organize, track and manage their work.
• Basecamp – Real-time communication tool to keep track of everything you’re working on in a shared space. 
• Doodle – Calendar scheduling system for time management and to easily coordinate one-on-one and team meetings. 
• Focus To-Do – Pomodoro time and task management app that helps you perform tasks efficiently. 
• Google Docs – Smart editing and styling tools support joint teamwork to flow smoothly and easily and keep ideas in one place. Teams can work on different pages or in different docs accordingly. 
• Google Slides – Interactive work templates with multiple pages to allow individual and collective work.
• Google Sheets – Collaborative spreadsheets to organize and update tasks and information. 
• Google Drive or other cloud storage – Drop all assets and work content into a shared space for easy access for all team members. Use different folders to organize information. 
• Harvest – Time tracking software with multiple integrations and extensions.
• Loom – Screen recorder that allows you to capture video screen messages instead of sending long emails. It’s also helpful for sending team members visual directions if you cannot screen share in real-time.
• Process Street – Make checklists for your team to help you remember and keep track of all of your to-do’s. 
• SessionLab – Dynamically design, organize and share workshops and training content.
• Slack – Team messaging platform that is a smart alternative to email. It allows the team to have a shared view of work progress and purpose
• Trello –  A place for assigning work and tracking work progress using a Kanban-style list-making application.
• World Time Buddy – World clock, time zone converter, and online meeting scheduler to coordinate and plan across different time zones.
• Zoom – Videoconferencing platform with breakout room capabilities.

3) Establish and define clear goals for everyone

The success of a distributed workforce depends on meaningful goal-setting. A distributed workforce provides flexibility, in the sense that employees aren’t held to the same confines of a traditional workplace. However, this also means goals and tasks need to be defined even more clearly since the full team won’t be together in person and important details can get lost in translation. Set reasonable goals then make sure that all team members are on the same page so you can accomplish them as a team. Many companies and employees use SMART goal setting:

• Specific: Make your goals specific and narrow for more effective planning.
• Measurable: Define what evidence will provide you’re making progress.
• Attainable: Make sure you can reasonably accomplish your goal within a certain timeframe.
• Relevant: Goals should align with values and long-term objectives.
• Time-based: Set a realistic, ambitious end date for task prioritization.

4) Track projects and productivity

With any team, but especially a distributed one, tracking projects, and productivity is important. You are unable to stop by a team member’s desk to check in like in-person offices so you need a way of making sure that everyone is on task. There are many ways of doing this even if you are not together in person, such as Asana or Trello for project management, and Harvest for time tracking. Team members are able to see what everyone else is doing, what stage a project is in, and coordinate with one another in real-time. Monitoring responsibility online leads to more productivity and collaboration. It also saves time being able to view the status of all projects across all team members, in one platform.

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5) Promote team bonding 

Host offsite/virtual social events so remote workers can get together in person or via video conference for team-building and socializing. The specific events will depend and differ based on location and circumstance. Virtual happy hours or game nights are a fun way to bond. Connection is often more elusive online, so setting aside time for your team to relax or have fun together when distributed is more important than ever. These sorts of social events can have a big impact on your distributed team’s morale.

Numerous experiments have shown how employees are much more productive and engaged when they’re given flexibility on where, when, and how they’ll get their work done. A distributed workforce can boost not only productivity but also retention. Turnover is 25% lower at companies that support remote work environments. The evidence is clear: Remote and distributed employees have great potential to be highly productive and extremely engaged, as long as you know how to engage them. Testing the distributed workforce best practices outlined above is a great place to start.

At Voltage Control we are exercising and sharing the best tools and techniques needed for teams to thrive in the hybrid and distributed workplace, through productive meetings (in-person and virtual), remote work team collaboration, considerations for return to work, facilitation skills, virtual events, meeting culture, Magical Meetings and design sprints.

The post 5 Distributed Workforce Best Practices appeared first on Voltage Control.

We’ve all heard how Design Sprints can transform the way companies can work better — from solving big business challenges quickly to refining company processes to launching innovative ideas. 

Now, as companies adjust to survive and thrive in the pandemic-impacted world, Design Sprints are more important than ever. They were originally created to be done in person, but the working world changed in ways no one anticipated in 2020, and most businesses were forced to adapt to the virtual landscape. In response, facilitators had to rethink how to run workshops like Design Sprints with a distributed team. 

We’re currently facing another shift as many companies are considering a hybrid workplace, and workshop facilitation must adapt to accommodate hybrid events. In fact, prior to last year’s lockdown, Voltage Control had only ever facilitated one hybrid Design Sprint. After everything we’ve experienced over the past 18 months, however, we expect hybrid Design Sprints to become more commonplace.

How a hybrid Design Sprint differs from an in-person one

In theory, how a hybrid Design Sprint happens is not tremendously different from a more traditional in-person Design Sprint. While hybrid sprints require a bit more preparation — and technology — the overall framework is the same. At Voltage Control, we follow the five-day methodology established by Jake Knapp at Google Ventures:

• Monday Map the problem space.
• Tuesday Sketch big ideas, and take risks.
• Wednesday Decide on a solution and create a step-by-step plan.
• Thursday Build a prototype experience.
• Friday Test with real users and observe.

To be honest, the most obvious change in the shift to hybrid is using an online collaboration space like Mural vs. placing sticky notes on a whiteboard (more on that later). For the most part, thanks to advances in video conferencing, almost everything else can happen as it would’ve in 2019 — with an important schedule adjustment. 

Any Design Sprint with a distributed team, whether remote or hybrid, must move at a slower pace to accommodate remote attendees and give them the best experience possible. You don’t want distributed participants to spend more than four hours on Zoom as being chained to a desk and laptop for any longer can stifle focus and participation. Therefore, you must adapt the Sprint agenda for all attendees. This could mean supplementing shorter live-working sessions with asynchronous work that all attendees can complete no matter where they are (and on their own time). 

How to prepare for a hybrid Design Sprint

As companies reopen their offices, it’s a given that some employees will be hesitant to return. Their reasoning, however, will be radically different. Some won’t be comfortable complying with a mandatory vaccination policy while others won’t want to give up the comfort (and flexibility) of working from home. And those are just two of the many reasons people may not be eager to return to the workplace.

A hybrid Design Sprint can accommodate those who want to be in office and those who don’t. It’ll just require a little more forethought to ensure things run smoothly and no one feels left out. First, make a list of your ideal participants then verify who can attend in person and who will attend remotely. Next, think about the geographic alignment of these participants. Finally, identify the physical locations that will be required to meet in person. 

Knowing all of this will help you book any necessary physical meeting spaces, set up an appropriate number of video conferencing rooms, source the necessary A/V equipment and use physical proximity to determine the team structure for breakout sessions. As you can see, accommodating everyone’s needs will require detailed planning. This careful attention, however, will show that you equally value what everyone — regardless of their location — has to contribute.

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How to run a hybrid Design Sprint

The one hybrid Design Sprint Voltage Control conducted pre-pandemic was a last-minute change due to an employee’s sudden inability to travel to the meeting site. We managed it OK (and have learned how to adequately adapt since then). We diligently repeated things and drew our remote attendee into the conversation. We also had to adapt our facilitation approach when we got to heat mapping the sketches on Day 3. Our prototyper simply held a camera phone up to the wall so the remote attendee could let her know where to place dots on the sketches. 

Conducting this impromptu hybrid Design Sprint taught us an important lesson about inclusion. To foster connectivity with those not in the room, it’s a good idea to have more than one facilitator. In the above instance, I deputized the prototyper — who had facilitation experience — to stay on top of chat messages from the remote attendee so their comments weren’t ignored in favor of what those in the room were saying. 

This is why I recommend every hybrid Design Sprint has one facilitator for each physical environment and one facilitator for the virtual environment. I also suggest the co-facilitators have a separate online collaboration space where they can communicate or coordinate both prior to and during the sprint. Before the Sprint occurs, they can use this space to get in sync about the arc of the event, the necessary preparations, the potential pitfalls, and everyone’s individual roles. During the Sprint, the facilitators can use this same space to chat with each other about what cameras should be used, what mics should be muted, etc. 

The tools you’ll need to succeed

To make sure you’re capturing what’s happening in the rooms — and giving those who are remotely participating a way to engage — here are the tools and gear we recommend:

Video conferencing platforms

While you’ve likely used Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex in the past, there are also upstarts like Butter. While none of these are perfect solutions — we’d love to pin multiple feeds so we could specifically monitor those not in the room — each service has useful features.

Online collaboration spaces

While participants will each work on their own laptops, we also recommend the use of a virtual whiteboard like Mural or Miro. Working in tandem or asynchronously, each team member will be able to see what everyone else is doing — no matter where they are.

Project management software

While we’re partial to Trello here at Voltage Control, we’ve also used Basecamp, Asana, and Monday. Some of these services have steeper learning curves than others, so make sure you choose the one that works for the majority of your team.

Omnidirectional microphones

An omnidirectional mic ensures remote participants hear everything that’s said in the room. For a large conference room, you’ll want to link two of them together (positioning each towards the ends of the table). While Webex sells its own A/V gear, the Blue Yeti Microphone and Jabra Speakerphones are also worth considering.

Check out our free guides for even more advice

For additional insights on how to execute hybrid Design Sprints, I encourage you to download our 21-page Hybrid Work Guide. It goes beyond what’s above and covers much of what you’ll need to know to establish a hybridized workplace. We also have a Remote Design Sprint 101 Guide that can help you plan for the remote attendee experience. If you have any questions after reading — or want to schedule a consultation — you can contact us at hello@voltagecontrol.com.

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The post How to successfully conduct a hybrid Design Sprint appeared first on Voltage Control.

If you are thinking about running a hybrid workshop, there’s a lot to consider. The hybrid landscape is a new frontier for event facilitators and attendees alike; therefore, putting on a hybrid workshop will require a different approach and mindset than an in-person or virtual one. It will also require alternative tools and methods to create an equal and engaging experience for all attendees–no matter if they’re in the physical workshop room or Zoom room. 

The priority of any workshop should be to engage participants and help them get the most out of their experience to make a lasting impact. Focusing on connection in a hybrid workshop is even more important as you must create an environment that bridges the two worlds and equally supports in-person and remote attendees. People come first. Everything else trickles down from there. With that being said, the right tools and processes are also essential for a hybrid workshop to exist. 

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Hybrid Workshop Tools & Processes 

The proper tools and processes are a critical component of hybrid workshops–both practically to run an event smoothly and strategically to bring all participants together. A hybrid environment is more complex than an in-person or virtual one; therefore, a hybrid workshop will also be. That’s because you have two different types of attendees to consider: those in the physical room and those dialing in virtually, and you want an equal experience for everyone. Prep will require much more time to adequately organize all attendees and set them up with everything they need to thrive. First, you’ll need to decide on the event platform that will support all of your workshop’s needs:

• Live streaming support
• Integrations that offer the highest production quality
• Networking capabilities that allow easy attendee engagement
• Management capacity to run the event smoothly behind the scenes

Then consider the scene from which you’ll run the event:

• Will you be on a stage with cameras to capture the experience?
• Will you be in an office and operate more like a typical video conferencing call?
• Decide the best scenario that supports the event–from the background to the props that will appear in the frame–then gather the materials you need to bring it to life. 

While tech and hardware are the lifelines that make a hybrid event possible, the biggest challenge with remote or hybrid work of any kind is genuine connection. It’s the essential missing element of in-person connection that cannot be replaced by technology–no matter how innovative. There is no substitute for human interaction. To provide the same fidelity of experience for both in-person and remote attendees, you’ll need a tool that supports collaboration, like the virtual tool MURAL. We personally like MURAL at Voltage Control because it’s a customizable virtual whiteboard that supports interactive and collaborative work with a distributed team. Everyone can work together in one visual space, and you can create your own templates to support your specific needs. It helps to bridge the gap between being apart and working together, no matter where you are. For this reason, it’s a great tool for hybrid workshops.

Pro-tip: Check out our MURAL Cheat Sheet for a quick reference of how to use MURAL.

One method to foster connection with distributed participants is to have everyone join the meeting the same way or work together in the same place. Have everyone join the meeting on their own devices via a video conferencing tool like Zoom. This creates a more even playing field for remote participants; when everyone joins the workshop in the same way, there is a smaller feeling of division. Having everyone use MURAL via their own devices to work together is also an effective way to create connection and community. All participants can see each other’s work in real-time no matter where they are physically. 

Once you have your decided tools and location, you must set up attendees before the workshop begins. Preparing attendees may include:

• In-person walkthroughs to set the scene and ready cameras
• Lighting and other production gear
• Virtual walkthroughs on the virtual event platform to teach remote attendees how to navigate the space

If the workshop requires attendees to have certain materials to participate, please send them out in advance. This will ensure all attendees are on the same page before the workshop begins.

Hybrid Distribution

Hand-in-hand with tools and processes is the distribution of attendees and how they’re configured. There are endless configuration possibilities for a hybrid workshop. Here are a few examples: 

• 2 in-person workshop spaces with 10 attendees in each, 1 facilitator in each; 5 remote attendees
• Facilitators are in person and all attendees are remote
• 1 in-person workshop space with 1 facilitator & 10 attendees; 10 remote attendees

Note that it’s just as important to consider the configuration of facilitators as it is for attendees. You must decide where you’ll need facilitators and how many. For example, as in the second configuration above, you could have three facilitators in the same physical room, all with specific jobs, to backchannel together while the participants are remote. This could be a cool experience to lead and navigate the workshop with co-facilitators in person. All facilitators would be on the same page, and the focus of connection would then be on creating an excellent experience for all remote attendees. 

You can also use the distribution of attendees to your advantage. For example, are people who need to be together already in the same room? In this case, a lot of the leg work is already done to foster connection amongst attendees. The people who need to be connected have the advantage of being physically together. You could even have a facilitator in each room to help the groups navigate the conversation/work. Then it’s about effectively communicating each distributed group’s work to the other groups.

While there are copious permutations, keep in mind that each one is unique and will require different considerations and approaches. We’ll never have an exhaustive list of every possible configuration. The important thing is that you consider:

• How are people distributed?
• How is the environment shaped?
• What issues might arise and how might that benefit you?

Hybrid Workshop Resources

In sum, when planning a hybrid workshop, map out:

1. How your attendees are distributed
2. Where facilitators will be and how many are required
3. How collaboration will flow
4. What tech is required to make it happen
5. How the environment is shaped
6. Your point(s) of engagement

Then, when it’s time to start thinking about the experience. Check out our Workshop Design Templates to help guide you through the process. You can also find more information about running effective hybrid workshops, meetings, and events (including more configurations) in our free Hybrid Work Guide. Interested in talking to us about how you can effectively run a hybrid meeting or event? Let’s chat.

The post Hybrid Workshops appeared first on Voltage Control.

“Design is an artifact, it’s a thing, I believe it’s also a process. I find that there’s not a strong tie to people expressing and trying to describe the essence of the problem. To ask that question, ‘What is the essence of the problem we’re trying to solve here?’ There’s something deeper there and I think that’s somewhat been lost.” -Jim Scott

In this episode of Control the Room, Jim Scott and I examine the multi-layered career of design. We discuss the benefits of implementing the macro & micro exercise, along with the complex elements the public sector faces surrounding design. He then challenges the lack of diversity the design industry faces and the opportunity designers should embrace to create a career built-in diversity across all industries. Listen in to hear Jim reveal his innovative journey to design as he continues his pursuit to lead with adventure and diversity in all aspects of his design endeavors.  

Show Highlights

[1:41] Jim’s Journey in Design Innovation
[9:12] The Macro/Micro Perspective 
[17:28] Design Work in the Public Sector
[30:04] The Challenging Aspects of Design
[43:10] Jim’s Final Expressions

Links | Resources

RE/SPEC
Jim’s LinkedIn

About the Guest

Jim Scott is the Director of Design Innovation at RE/SPEC, a global leader with a specialty in geoscience and integrated design technologies for many leading industry sectors. Jim considers himself a passionate technology leader with over 15 years of experience managing business and technology efforts for teams, large and small. As an accomplished professional with an aptitude for translating high-level business, Jim’s main objectives strive to produce completed development goals. While collaborating and coaching diverse engineering teams with aggressive deadlines, Jim thrives to inspire his teams through the pursuit of seeking an adventurous career in design. Jim’s passion has always remained rooted in technologies that excite, inspire, and become indistinguishable from magic. In 2019, he was one of the few esteemed recipients of the RESPEC Collaboration Award, an award that recognizes performance across all boundaries to work collaboratively.

About Voltage Control

Voltage Control is a facilitation academy that develops leaders through facilitation certifications, workshops, and events. Today’s leaders are confronted with unprecedented uncertainty and complex change. Navigating this uncertainty requires a systemic facilitative approach to gain clarity and chart pathways forward. We prepare today’s leaders for now and what’s next.

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Full Transcript

Douglas:

Welcome to the Control the Room Podcast, a series devoted to the exploration of meeting culture and uncovering cures for the common meeting. Some meetings have tight control and others are loose. To control the room, means achieving outcomes while striking a balance between imposing and removing structure, asserting and distributing power, leaning in and leaning out, all in the service of having a truly magical meeting.

Douglas:

Thanks for listening. If you’d like to join us live for a session sometime, you can join our weekly Control the Room facilitation lab. It’s a free event to meet fellow facilitators and explore new techniques, so you can apply the things you learn in the podcast, in real-time with other facilitators. Sign up today at voltagecontrol.com/facilitation-lab. If you’d like to learn more about my new book, Magical Meetings, you can download the Magical Meetings Quick Start Guide, your free PDF reference with some of the most important pieces of advice from the book. Download a copy today at voltagecontrol.com/magical-meetings-quick-guide.

Douglas:

Today I’m with Jim Scott. Jim is the Director of Design Innovation at Respect, where he specializes in innovating mission-critical solutions that enhance client success. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed multiple collaborations with Jim, bringing design sprint methods in the public sector organizations with natural resource-oriented missions. Welcome to the show, Jim.

Jim Scott:

Hey, Douglas. Great to be with you.

Douglas:

So Jim, let’s get started, just hearing a little bit about how you found your way to being a Design Innovation Director at Respec.. How did you start off your career that landed you in this really interesting role to support innovation through a design lens?

Jim Scott:

Well, the origin, I guess goes way back. I’m one of those lucky people I would say, that had an idea about what I wanted to do with my, I guess I’d call it business life, at a very young age, so basically high school. And the opportunity came about because I’ve had the ability to go spend a lot of time in nature and outdoors and farms and all, and I always was exposed to the wonder of the environment. And so when I began to explore what I might do to apply my interest in that topic, I actually came across articles in the Washington Post by the Dean of the School of Professional Design at the University of Georgia who talked about landscape architecture as a profession.

Jim Scott:

And I realized, you could actually get a job thinking and learning about the environment in a creative way, and that there was a pathway to a profession that was laid out for that. So I applied to a couple of schools but that message from that Dean just rang very deeply with me. So I said, “I’m just going to go there and go to that program.” So that’s how I got oriented to design as a concept, but it really wasn’t until I arrived there, that I was fortunately exposed to a diversity of thought and practice by landscape architects, architects, engineers, artists, other types of people. So I was fortunate that I was given an appreciation for design as a very broad area for creativity, solving problems, understanding the environment and how to work with people.

Douglas:

That’s really fascinating, this notion of learning to appreciate diversity and how it can be just a fountain of merging ideas. And while the process can often serve us, if we don’t have that foundation of diversity of thought, we can often be stifled or miss the bigger picture. So that’s really interesting that some of the early formative days for you, made that real crystal clear.

Jim Scott:

Well, one thing I will say is, I was lucky because my parents brought me up with as minimal exposure to what prejudice would be, as possible. I was a very privileged young man growing up in Northern Virginia, pretty privileged geography. But I had a very, I would call it, a progressive household that I was brought up in, where life was a spectrum of opportunities and choices and realities, both good and bad. And the people that I would encounter through that environment were very, very positive. So, I owe all that to my parents.

Douglas:

So coming back to the schooling and the lessons you learned in design, were there any memories that you have that were pivotal as far as understanding some of the underpinnings, I guess maybe, philosophies or the maybe structural or process elements that really make design work?

Jim Scott:

Yeah, there’s a few things. So one was just the structure of the classes, was very unusual, very much a critique-oriented studio environment, where it was small classes. People were given a design problem. There was some introduction by the professor or whatever the topic was, but then you had to go create your own thing and then you presented it to the group and you had to get up and present why it was achieving, whatever the problem statement was. And you had to provide a basis and a logic for it and you had to defend it. And it was quite a liberating approach because I can recall instances where things I put up on the wall were very crude and not refined, in terms of their execution, but I had thought about them a lot.

Jim Scott:

And I was appreciative of professors that would, in those cases, say, “You’ve been able to address the problem well.” And as well as other people who are a lot more talented than I was, who had beautiful designs on the wall, but there was an appreciation for the thinking that went behind the reasoning of what I came up with. So that was liberating at that point. And then there was a lot of specific exercises that were very enlightening. A lot of practices, in today, you learn… I had a professor named Mike Wall who introduced what he called, the why chain wall. So everything was why. So we went through that whole exercise, that really caused everyone to think more deeply about pursuit of those answers. So that was all good.

Jim Scott:

But even, I had a professor who was a painter who went to the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Design there. And we go out on these field trips and do studies, one of the exercises was called macro to micro. So we’d go out into a field and sketch a landscape and we would go halfway to the subject of that landscape and sketch it again and then we’d go further and further. So each time we did a sketch, we had more detail of what was going on.

Jim Scott:

So that whole experience taught us the concept of scale and the concept of how at the deepest levels of details, down to actually putting your face, staring into the ground and looking at pine needles in a pine forest that textures the colors, all of the things that made up that sketch that you were doing, could be tied back to the macro scale of when you saw that from a distance. So that whole macro to micro thinking, I thought useful, as I’ve been able to approach things as a professional.

Douglas:

It reminds me of the importance of observation and how often our thoughts, our ambitions, our goals, our tasks, our to-do’s get in the way of taking a moment to observe. And I was reminded of this over the weekend actually. I had a friend over who is an artist and there’s a bug on the outside of my door, my door is a glass door and there was katydid, any of you Texans will know what a katydid is, anyone else can Google it. And it was hanging out on the exterior glass, but you can kind of see its underbelly, so we had a really interesting little view of this crazy insect.

Douglas:

And my artist friend was checking it out and he said, “Check out his feet.” And I looked really close at his feet and the feet of a katydid is quite impressive. It looks like a fractal and I never noticed this before. Just an artist, someone who’s used to really dissecting things and capturing the essence of what things are, he went straight into, “Let me examine this thing.” So I loved your story about the macro to micro because these observations matter and especially in a design sprint, and other workshops, we’re sharing analogous inspiration. Well, if you’re not observing things, then you can’t make that move. You’re not going to have examples in your back pocket to pull out, because if you haven’t been observing, then there’s nothing to remember to share.

Jim Scott:

Yeah. That’s very true. And I find that today, even in reviewing the kinds of design sprint processes or design projects that I get involved in. And that’s something I always think about and try to pursue, which is, whether it’s user experience or the user interface that someone has prototyped or built, does it really reflect the details behind the thinking, even the practices of the components that built that thing from the ground up, from that sort of the atomic level? Are those things expressed there, as they should be, to be holistically expressed at the top level?

Douglas:

Yeah. It almost comes back to the fractal and feet, right?

Jim Scott:

Yeah.

Douglas:

So the micro and the macro need to resemble each other. Definitely, at least there needs to be a thread of connecting them.

Jim Scott:

Absolutely. Well, you brought up another term, another area that I was exposed to in school, which is the essence. And that’s another thing that I find somewhat intermittent, in terms of just regular discussion these days, around design. And in design, as I have experienced it recently, it’s an artifact, it’s a thing, I believe it’s also a process. Of course, there’s many different definitions. But I find that there’s not a strong tie to people expressing and trying to describe the essence of the problem. There’s a way, of course, to prototype almost anything and produce a product. But to ask that question, “What is the essence of the problem we’re trying to solve here?” That’s even beyond just what the user needs, there’s something deeper there and I think that’s somewhat been lost.

Douglas:

I agree. And I think you can even take this notion of essence and apply it almost to anything. Right? Because we could say, what is the essence of this prototype we’re building? And we can’t articulate that unless we understand what questions we’re trying to answer. Because otherwise, it might become amorphous and it might go down some strange paths that are unnecessary.

Jim Scott:

Well, and I think if you achieve it to a higher degree, it doesn’t need an explanation. It just, it is and you don’t need to talk about it. It’s intuitive, it taps into some, even I would call the mystical ideas around the human dimension of things. So, that’s always something, it’s probably impossible to achieve, but it’s always worth going after.

Douglas:

I think that’s spot on. I want to come back to something that you mentioned a little bit earlier around how your professors appreciated the thought, the real, I would say, fundamental design. And I think this is something that people struggle with a lot, whether we’re asking them to sketch during a design sprint, or we’re asking them to be… I’ve heard so many people tell me, “Oh, I’m not creative, or I can never be that creative.” And it is a muscle that requires some practice also, we have to give people permission and the courage to do it because a lot of people are free to do that stuff because it’s been beaten out of them since elementary school.

Douglas:

And I think that’s one of the reasons why they dub design, they put the thinking behind design, to come up with the term design thinking, to really point out that it’s not just about drawing pretty pictures and moving the pixels around. That we really have to put deep thought in this stuff and come up with concepts and solutions that really address the issue at hand, in a meaningful way. And I think that’s a really important distinction and that’s why some people pushed back on design thinking, because it’s like, “Well, design is about thinking.” So I’d love to hear you elaborate on that a little more, just because you mentioned the professors appreciating that, this notion of going deeper and it wasn’t just about how well it was executed? Are your circles perfectly circled and are they shaded beautifully and all this?

Jim Scott:

Well, some of that I think ties to the design process as I was taught it, and it reflects the modern approach, I think to a degree, where there’s a question or a problem that needs to be solved and there is a commitment to try to understand that. And then there’s a data collection activity trying to understand the phenomenon that you’re dealing with. And then the first thing that we would do is come up with a conceptual design. So that begins to peel back into the underlying essence of things, what those fundamental relationships are, how do they interact? What are those critical kinds of connections that are more important than others that really influence whatever is you’re trying to do?

Jim Scott:

And then you go into a design development phase, but it’s early on. There are signals early on, whether or not you’re close to embracing and understanding the problem you’re trying to solve or the thing you’re trying to create and that can be done. That’s why I really love the prototype outcome from the classic design sprint or from the five-day design sprint because you should be able to achieve the essence of that in five days. And sure, it’s not a final product, but that to me, is the signal that, of course, the validation process helps provide clues to, but there should be something profound that comes through that process, that is achievable in those five days.

Jim Scott:

So that’s why design isn’t necessarily this long, complicated journey ultimately, to have it executed in its most beautiful fashion, that it’s going to deserve that time and effort thought that goes into it. But you should be able to capture that essence pretty early on. So the idea that in a design critique, someone could basically do a napkin sketch and they should be able to have that withstand the kind of scrutiny and challenge that someone from another point of view might have, to try to validate the original thinking around that.

Jim Scott:

So, I think that provides, it’s kind of liberating that way, to give people that sense of, you can come up with this idea and you don’t have to be credentialed or have a bunch of experience, but if you have a desire to understand the needs of the problem and how to address them, that’s why it’s very democratizing I think, in this process. And that’s what I’ve loved about the work that we’ve done together because we’ve gone into organizations that people clearly expressed that they’re a chemist or a watershed model and they’ve never even thought about being a designer. But in fact, they really are, if you really tap into what they’re trying to do. So, I think that’s been part of the fun of this stuff is to share the practice and the thought process is, and how transportable they really are into different domains.

Douglas:

Yeah. It’s pretty amazing to see the folks that are highly trained in some field that you would not necessarily be associate with design, they’re mathematicians, hydrologists, creating very complicated models, they’re renowned in their field. And then they had the courage to come and say, “What we did in that week was provocative. It got me thinking differently. I’m going to come attend a training.” So we’ve had folks, we’ve had PhDs come and attend training so that they could take the stuff back to their teams. And even in small, little shifts in the way they work, and I think that’s pretty profound. And it speaks to something we were talking about in the pre-show chat around public sector in general, and how they’re starved for design, I think was your word. I often say underserved, they don’t necessarily get all the attention.

Douglas:

And I think to me, it’s fascinating because on some levels it’s more difficult because the gaps are wider. So, there’s a larger gap to bridge, but when you do, it’s so rewarding. And when it clicks, people are really appreciative because you’ve kind of presented a whole new way of working and a whole new way of thinking and opened up doors they never would have imagined. So anyway, I’d love to hear your thoughts or even stories around some of this public sector work and how the work that you’re doing at Respect, or even some of the stuff we’ve done together, create shifts for some of these public sector folks.

Jim Scott:

Yeah. So I’ve found that it’s always useful, people find it useful sometimes to distinguish between the public sector and private sector. I’ve had the privilege of working in the public sector for a number of years to complement my private sector work. So maybe I’m just tuned into that idea, that there’s more similarities than there are differences. But the challenges and the commitment that people in the public sector have to provide service and to make a difference, they’re culturally ready to embrace creative ways to make places and people and systems better. So I’d say, that by and large is true. And so there is a ripeness, in terms of how ready they are, I think, to open up, but there’s always risk.

Jim Scott:

Whether it’s institutional risk or bureaucratic risk or whatever it might be, there’s a little bit of hesitancy there. And so that’s where it has been extremely rewarding to show up, give somebody a contained experience, that there’s a cost on it, it’s this amount of dollars, it’s this amount of time, this is what you should expect as the outcome. So it takes away that fear of the unknown, which when you think about all the work that gets done, particularly in the transformational technology era that we’re in, at least that’s how it’s generally categorized. There’s risk everywhere.

Jim Scott:

So that’s what I think has been shared with these client experiences is, they want to be operating differently. There’s an expectation, it taps into their consumers, social media world. They can bank online, but they can’t fill out a form online? So there’s a certain amount of desire to bring what they experience in these other domains and why not make that a part of how public service can be delivered. And I think that’s the really cool thing about today’s digital technologies, is those inertias and barriers to making that come true, are diminishing. It’s now possible to show up with this practice and actually go and take these digital assets and turn them into a solution that is achievable for a budget that’s going to be reasonable. It’s going to fit into the same paradigm that it would need to.

Jim Scott:

So that’s the big level, I think, as far as people are ready for it, and there’s that challenge to, how do we deliver better services? And so it’s a creative process. So I think we’ve been able to deliver that experience for them. And there was one experience that you and I were involved in, dealing with the executive director of a natural resource agency in the Midwest. And there was some skepticism around what we were doing. And I would call it a well-valued proposition, but it was out of the norm for them. That’s the hard part. Right? How do you get people to actually commit public dollars, the public trust, to doing something differently that has a need for generating a tangible outcome, that’s going to deliver that value?

Jim Scott:

So at the end of that whole experience, the executive director comes up to me, pulls me aside and says, “I knew this was going to work, but I didn’t realize how you were going to be able to get my five different groups through their organizational reinforcements operate differently. And now you have broken down all of their methods and cultural barriers. And you got them to work together, so easily, so effortlessly, to come up with this composite solution. Because now they understand what each other party needs and why they need it. So now there’s this shared empathy.”

Jim Scott:

So this is beyond just breaking down silos. It’s really creating another level of empathy across organizations, so that people who aren’t normally conditioned to understand those people down the hall or over in the other building. Now, they’re forced into coming to grips with that in a very positive way and go, “Wow, if this makes my job better, can it make their job better?” And then it creates that dual reinforcement, which it’ll be interesting to go back in time and see how much of that has lasted, which is an open question in many of these experiences. We get a lot of positive around the outcome of these design sprints and what we implement, the big test is, what’s it going to be like 5 years, 10 years from now? How much of that can persist through the organization, through time? That’s a big challenge.

Douglas:

Yeah. There’s a lot of inertia and things tend to regress to the mean, if you will. I think the organizations that are most successful are the ones that want to invest in the long haul. And honestly, it’s generally tied to leadership’s ability to realize that these ways of working aren’t the risky proposition, that the risk is another phenomenon that’s coming at them because the more and more complex things get, right?

Jim Scott:

Yeah.

Douglas:

Then the risk just keeps coming at us. And these approaches are de-risking mechanisms. The leaders that are starting to realize that and embrace that, are the ones that are starting to not only work in this way, but also bringing in coaching, bring in extra touchpoints where they can stay sharp. Because at the end of the day, it’s one thing when you have an outside facilitator come in and run something like this and light the light bulbs off and get everyone really aligned, but then model alignment creeps in, collaborative dysfunction creeps in and when people are faced with scenarios that are a little bit different, they’re like, “Well, how do I address this? How does this model fit into this situation?”

Douglas:

And that’s where having a coach or someone to guide you, CISCO, not public sector, but a great example of this. They created something they called the Change Lab because they’re wanting to change the way they work. And so Change Lab is a weekly, little community practice around these new techniques and they get together and coach each other, it’s a peer-led function. And they brought us in periodically to be guests in Change Lab to help and mentor and coach, just so that the focus stays there. So I think to your point, it’s sort of like a garden. If we go on and work on the garden, we can get it in great shape. If we leave it for a couple of years, it’s not going to necessarily be the results we might be looking for. So it does require some tending and some forethought on how to do that.

Jim Scott:

I think that really ties into the… I need to embrace that more and try to help people understand that this is beyond just a one-time experience that creates and delivers this prototype and all the other things that come downstream of that. But I think you hit it well, when you talked about, it’s a leadership responsibility and finding those leaders who can embrace this and make it part of the organizational long-term. And that can even flow into services that tend to be, we tend to go into projects that have a very specific need and we solve that problem. And I think what we’re talking about here, is organizations need to create an opportunity for these renewal kinds of investments made around the thinking, the practice, the cultural validation of this approach, as it would need to change over time, anyway.

Jim Scott:

So I don’t know how that gets institutionally accepted or adopted. Getting back to the public sectors, there’s all kinds of training, budgets that agencies maintain for individual certifications and things. And I think that’s where, this is an area that any organization probably should consider or think about, “How can we look at collaborative investments that are going to reinforce and strengthen this mission that we’re now on, to help build and bring this value?” Because there are all kinds of parameters to now consider. If we can demonstrate that it does de-risk our work, it takes away uncertainty, it creates all these other things. Those need to be almost performance indicators that say, “This is why we do this.” And give leadership a very clear story to say, “This is why we make these investments because they’re doing the following things.”

Jim Scott:

So ultimately, it needs to go into procurements, an easy button for people to say, “We need more of this stuff. This is what we need. This formula, these combinations, and this is the annual checkup.” Or whatever that long-term strategy is. But I think there is an opportunity to go beyond these design sprints, as experiments, as validations, and to the degree that they provide that value and demonstrate it. Then how you had that conversation about making it a part of a longer-term strategy for an organization, regardless of the detailed projects you do, is a good thing to pursue.

Douglas:

100% and it comes back to your point around, these groups often require interdisciplinary cross-organization collaboration and that’s quite a bit different than cross-functional. In a company where we’re talking about bringing a cross-functional team together, there might be some inertia on those teams around how their team leader or their department head has given them direction and guidance, and what their incentives and focus are, and that has to be shifted. But when you’re talking about different governmental or NGO, or local, federal organizations that have different regulations, different budgetary concerns, they’re trying to protect their situation and they’re coming into this collaboration thinking, “Well, how much can I really give?” Right?

Douglas:

So, they’re sizing up everything through this lens of, “What’s going to be the impact to us?” And so I think the structure design processes, where we do explore the art of the possible, and what’s the conceptual design before we worry too much about things like impact and who’s going to pay for this, et cetera. It really gets past that collaborative dysfunction, where everyone’s sizing each other up and thinking about, “Well, how’s this going to impact me?” And it’s more about, “How can we best serve the community or best serve the outcomes we’re seeking and then we can figure out how to make it work later.” And so anyway, I think that everything you’re mentioning makes a lot of sense and it underpins the need for this kind of work in the public sector, especially anything that might be cross-sector or cross-organization.

Jim Scott:

Well, that’s the real challenge. I mean, I don’t want to say it’s easy, but presenting the opportunities around the design projects that I’ve done, I won’t call it easy, but that’s just scratching the surface. The reason we do these things is for a higher purpose, I think, and for a desire to see everything become better. And we have to begin to find maybe more efficient ways and more effective ways to instill these values, these principles and have them tested and validated back to us, as to whether they’re going to take hold or not? And then if they erode or get changed or knocked off course, how do we adapt to keep them on track and provide that long-term value? So that’s the area that I like to think about because it’s hard and there’s nothing clear, there’s no silver bullet there, that’s for sure.

Douglas:

Absolutely. And speaking about no silver bullet, I think these processes themselves are just a mechanism for us to communicate some concepts and come together and get past some collaborative dysfunction and get to some forward momentum on a way of working together, a way of thinking about challenges and certainly should be scrutinized themselves from time to time. And in our pre-show chat, you were mentioning that you’ve noticed a little bit more scrutiny, or maybe a sense of challenge around design thinking, design sprints, design, as a discipline, where folks are pointing out that there are some considerations we need to make.

Jim Scott:

Yeah, I think that’s part of maybe the cycle of maturity of these practices in this modern context and the challenges that they face. Because when you take this kind of magic, if you will, and you put it into real-world situations… There’s a few articles I’ve seen recently about how there’s been challenges and issues around economic disparity, racial disparities, the lack of diversity being expressed as a part of the practice and the people driving this stuff. And all those critiques are super valid, in terms of expressing the challenges of our time in the use of design as a process. So, I’m one of these optimists from that standpoint, I think it’s an eternal thing, but we have to always tune and challenge ourselves to make sure that our work is in tune with the times.

Jim Scott:

And some of those effects might be fleeting, but some of those things, we need to be aware that they’re more lasting and we have to invest in those. So, I don’t know how we make that work as a part of the overall practice, but there’s always a knife-edge there. People can sell design as the shiny thing that people just need to have for all of its perceived virtues, but there are challenges to actually having it fulfill and express that essence of that solution. That I think ultimately, test whether it’s going to work or not, in whatever setting that it’s in.

Douglas:

It makes me think of a couple of things. One is, these startups that they just want to hire the UX designer and they’re going to sprinkle some design pixie dust, and everything’s going to be awesome. If we don’t make it part of strategy and we don’t invest in it and we don’t change the fabric of the way that we think, and the way we work, it’s not going to have an impact. And so it’s almost like tokenism, right? Maybe the impacts are not as severe, but it’s the same as like, “Oh, let’s just throw some design at that.” Versus really making design part of the DNA of the company.

Douglas:

And I think that’s really similar to this other issue, which is, if we are going to really invest in design strategy and bring forth solutions for diverse community and support everyone that might use this product or the service, we need to make sure we’re informed. And ideally, part of the design team, are going to be representative of the people that are going to use it. And I got a great story from a conference that I attended called, Culture Rati, a plug for Culture Rati, great, great conference. Anyone that’s interested in diversity, equity inclusion or anything, HR and culture-related, how we can design better experiences for our employees. Great, great conference.

Douglas:

But I was at a panel with the Head of Diversity from Target, and the Head of Diversity from Twitter, and they were both staying at a hotel here in Austin called South Congress Hotel. And they were pointing out how the shower was racially insensitive and it was very hilarious because they are very funny people. And just the idea that this inanimate object could be racially insensitive, but it’s not the object’s fault. It’s the person that designed it, which hearkens us back to the design of everyday things. Right? So, her point was, clearly there were no African-American people on the design team or they weren’t consulted, certainly, because this thing was not very friendly to the people who can’t get their hair wet frequently.

Douglas:

And so a really funny, an unfortunate story, but it really gets back to this card deck that I wanted to bring up when you mentioned this in our pre-show chat. I just had Leslie Anne Noel on the show recently, she’s got this awesome card deck called the designer’s critical alphabet. And there’s two cards in here that I think are really applicable here. One is the critical race theory. And the suggestion on this card is, “What if you had someone from a different race or background design or redesign this product or service, how would it be different?” So ideally we’re including them, but at the very least, we need to step back and use that as a heuristic.

Douglas:

What would be different if they designed it? And if we are drawing blanks, if we think it would not be different at all, then we probably need to do more our research because it means we don’t know. And in fact, we should probably be doing more research and including people regardless. And then assimilation is the pattern or trend of the majority basically engulfing the minority. So the cultures of the minority tend to fade in support of adopting the cultures of the majority. And I think that is something designers should fight against, to make sure we preserve the beauty of the minorities. And so I don’t necessarily think it’s the process, the scaffolding, but how it gets used. And I think the scaffolding is really an easy thing to attack. Right?

Douglas:

But as you know, if someone’s walking around with a hammer trying to hammer screws, it’s the person that’s wielding the hammer, it’s not the hammer’s fault. So I think that it’s really important that we step back and look at how we’re using these tools and not attack the tools and we might need to adopt the tools, as well. So anyway, I just wanted to share that because I had a lovely conversation with her about a month ago and would love to hear your thoughts on that, Jim? Because I know you’ve spent years in the design industry, have worked with a lot of different people, across a lot of different sectors and problems. How has this surfaced for you? And do you have any advice for listeners, around how we approach that?

Jim Scott:

Well, with that as a topic, I think I’m actually fascinated by that deck. I want to check that out and learn some more about that. Because what that reminds me of is going back to my education, I had an opportunity to be in a workshop with Christopher Alexander’s firm. And so you may know, Chris Alexander wrote, A Pattern Language, among other things, and there’s actually a great YouTube video of him speaking to the Object-oriented Programming Association or a group in San Francisco in 1996. So I’ve been a pattern person, in terms of, they made a huge impact on me and the idea of these patterns and when they try to express the essence of something, they’re universally transferrable and applicable to a degree, they need to be adapted to course, for local conditions.

Jim Scott:

But this whole idea that there’s higher levels of understanding that are portable and transportable, I think it seems as though there would be architectural patterns, there are social and cultural patterns. And I think that’s where maybe this concept of developing this vocabulary, this shared understanding of tuning into the times that we’re in and having modes of communication and methods that we apply that will give people hopefully, an ability to sense those things, and to be, “How do I not be insensitive? How do I be sensitive to the needs of the group I’m working with or whatever it is they’re requiring?”

Jim Scott:

So I think that’s one thing that occurs to me. I think we need more structures like that, that are shared very easily and communicated universally across the design professions. So whether that’s these decks of insights and issues that we need to be attuned to, but then how do we take that and form them into things that then, can become applied as an integrated whole, in dealing with whatever problem is we’re trying to solve? And I guess the other thing that makes me think about is, there’s oftentimes, and this is getting back to my landscape architecture education. We often felt maybe, a sort of professional ego, but this idea that we had to learn about the whole landscape and the functions of the entire landscape. And we had to put them all together and see what that meant as far as the relationships across those systems.

Jim Scott:

And then that would inform us how we would be best advised to consider changes to that landscape and it was always contracted. And this is from my architectural professors. They always contrasted that with their profession saying, “We just worried about this box. We’re just going to design this box.” So I wonder how much of that idea of design, that is disconnected from the environment, can perpetuate itself so you end up with a shower head like that, that is disconnected from the broader public. It might look cool. It might’ve shown up as some five-star rating of some hotel and everybody thought that rain shower was the coolest thing.

Jim Scott:

Well, yeah, who wrote that thing? Those become social dynamics that become popular and then fads if you will, and then people making choices, will pick them, maybe not based upon the problem they’re trying to solve or the people they’re trying to serve, but for other reasons that are disconnected. So I think we need some more of these patterns to help keep that connection and give people pause to think about, “What is it I’m really doing here and who am I really trying to serve?”

Douglas:

Wow. That seems like a really interesting field of study or at least a blog post, this notion, this difference between designing for the ecosystem and then design in the box. And it’s interesting, in the world of software, we think about abstraction boundaries and we create these abstraction boundaries so we can think about the box that we’re in. And the abstraction boundary creates, I would say, interface points. Right? There’s signatures, it’s almost like if you think about antibodies or other kind of chemistry, metaphor’s, where it’s like, “Oh, this molecule can connect to this molecule because the key matches the receptor.” Or whatever.

Douglas:

And so in software, we create similar abstraction boundaries where, I know if I build this thing, it’ll connect to this other thing, so I know the context that I’m in. So as long as I adhere to those rules, I can make this thing work, however I want it to work. But I think if we take that thinking to something more dynamic, more complex, like the human condition or just the world, where we’re in an ecosystem, I don’t think it’s quite so simple. I don’t think we have those abstraction boundaries that are really cut and dry with these very well-defined signatures that we can connect into. And I think that understanding the context you’re in and adapting your practices accordingly is really critical. So I love that, you’ve got my gears turning there, Jim.

Jim Scott:

Well, yeah, these are the things, they’re going to be perpetual pursuits, right? We’re never going to have the day when we solved this problem or this challenge because every day is different. People are different, in terms of their dynamics, their challenges. I mean, just consider what we’ve been through in the pandemic. What kinds of influences has that had on so many things? And that’s a double challenge because, or maybe it’s less of a challenge, because we’ve all been through it, to a different degree. Some unimaginable, in terms of the pain and agony that they’ve been caused, but others?

Jim Scott:

I wonder about what are the potential good things that have come out of this challenging experience that everyone’s been through and has that created some shared understanding and make people more open to others, even though we’ve been in all this isolation for multiple months? I’ve found that to be true. I think I’ve increased my potential for empathy and true willingness to open up to what other people are really going through, just trying to imagine it and whether or not I can relate to it. And I think that has a definite impact on everything that we’re doing from a day-to-day basis now. So yeah, the more that these processes can inform and be tuned to the realities that we’re all in and build structures and practices and processes that give people a way to connect and share a deeper understanding, we’ve got to grab those things and try to preserve them.

Douglas:

Awesome. Well, I think that brings us to a very natural stopping point. So I want to invite you Jim, to leave our listeners with a final thought, anything you’d like them to keep in mind as they reflect on this episode?

Jim Scott:

Well, I guess as someone who’s been doing this a long time, and actually, this is one of my other lessons from school. The sense of you, for those people that may be just getting their degree. I don’t know what the general consensus is out of design schools these days are, to advise young people going into the profession. But I was told before I graduated that number one, I had actually taken an oath of poverty and didn’t realize it, but my professional commitment was going to lead me through a long period of learning. And it wasn’t going to be until I reached, I would call it, past middle age, I’ll put it that way, that all of it was going to come together and whether it has or not, I don’t know. But there is something to be said about pursuing a career and your life journey and do it with as much adventure and diversity as you can, if you’re a designer, because it’s only going to add to your ability to grow that capacity into the future.

Jim Scott:

So, I was given that guidance early on and it has proven true to me. So I think that’s what’s interesting to be able to, for what all the work that you do and all the range of people you work with, from students, to new people, new design, to advanced professionals. I mean, this is a lifelong commitment, that’s what’s very fulfilling about it and there’s challenges too, along the way. But what I’ve found is so rewarding, is all the cycles of my career that I’ve gone through, this is the one thing that I’ve been able to maintain, as a way to keep my orientation about where my professional endeavors and my personal creative goals are. So that’s one of the positives about it. It can be frustrating, but whatever entry point anyone’s had into considering design, consider it as a lifelong practice.

Douglas:

Jim, it’s been a pleasure having you on the show today, I really enjoyed the chat and looking forward to talking to you soon.

Jim Scott:

Douglas, thanks so much. Appreciate the opportunity. Talk to you soon.

Douglas:

Thanks for joining me for another episode of Control the Room. Don’t forget to subscribe, to receive updates when new episodes are released. If you want more, head over to our blog, where I post weekly articles and resources about working better together, voltagecontrol.com.

The post Episode 54: Design First appeared first on Voltage Control.

The following information is a sneak peek from our upcoming Hybrid Work Guide. 

Stay home, go back to the office, or combine both for a hybrid work environment? This is the loaded question currently floating around the business world. Hybridity is the hottest topic–a flexible workplace model that combines in-person and virtual work by allowing workplace flexibility and prioritizing connection.

As companies adjust to the possibility of being back in person again, the possibilities of a hybrid workplace have also opened the exploration of hybrid meetings and hybrid events. It’s important to note that “hybrid” has several distinctions: there is a hybrid workplace–where workers spend their time doing work (remote or in the office); hybrid meetings–how we design meetings that occur with a blended audience (some people in person, some participating remotely); and hybrid events–when meetings become large and specialized, the needs from a standard hybrid meeting shift. Also, note that the hybrid landscape is still evolving. It’s an ongoing and dynamic situation. Therefore, there is no single way to approach it because there are copious factors that influence different variations of what it can look like (and even those can change). 

In this article, we will talk specifically about the possibilities of hybrid events. Experimenting with running hybrid events is a great way to dip your toes into returning to in-person work. You don’t have to take a stance on hybrid permanently; you can use hybrid events as a transition if you so choose. They can also be their own type of event post-transition back to the office.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of hybrid events and how to prepare for them, so you can decide if they’re the right fit for your organization. 

Benefits of Hybrid Events

Just like virtual events, hybrid events have the expanded possibility to bring more people together than the restrictions of in-person alone. Remote work has shown us the power of connecting with people from around the world with a single click of a button. People who may not be able to make an event in-person or who want to save time and money traveling can still attend a hybrid event as a remote attendee. It is also a more comfortable option for people who do not yet feel ready to be back with others in person. 

How to Prepare for Hybrid Events

Planning hybrid events will require much more prep work than remote or in-person events to get everyone organized and set up all necessary tools; there is must more to consider. First, you must decide on the appropriate virtual event platform that supports your specific event’s needs. This includes:

• Live streaming support
• Integrations that offer the highest production quality
• Networking capabilities that allow easy attendee engagement
• Management capacity to run the event smoothly behind the scenes

Then, consider the setting from which you’ll run the event:

• Will you be on a stage with cameras to capture the experience?
• Will you be in an office and operate more like a typical video conferencing call?
• Decide the best scenario that supports the event–from the background to the props that will appear in the frame–then gather the materials you need to bring it to life. 

It’s vitally important to properly set up all attendees (in-person and remote) beforehand so that everyone is equally prepared. This may include:

• In-person walkthroughs to set the scene and ready cameras
• Lighting and other production gear
• Virtual walkthroughs on the virtual event platform to teach remote attendees how to navigate the space

Will the event require attendees to have certain materials? If so, send event packages to distributed attendees beforehand. Make sure everyone is on the same page and has what they need to participate before the event begins.

Keep in mind that hybrid events will have many different models: 1-to-1, 1-to-many, and many-to-many. Therefore, they will require variances in the structure around how they are clustered and organized.

• Are there cohorts that are together and how does that impact design?
• How many facilitators are needed and how will they work together? (More on this in Hybrid Facilitation).
• Similar to hybrid meetings, how will you bring people together when some are together and some are dispersed? 

Map out your event so you can consider the attendee experience. As you experiment with different event structure variations, be mindful of the trap to cater events to the in-person experience and unwittingly neglect the remote experience. We have to custom-design events for the type of collective interactions and equanimity we want to create. To do this, we must keep social norms top of mind. For example, we can’t throw all in-person attendees in a bar and expect them to go across the room to the camera in the corner and engage with remote people. It just doesn’t work. If we design against social norms, we fight against them. Instead, use them to your advantage.

Consider offering different tiers for your event with different expectations. What is your version of “exit through the giftshop”– a practice used by museums to force all guests through the gift shop?  Here are some examples:

• Implement a fun game that requires in-person attendees to find answers or engage with other attendees upon arrival in order to make it past registration. Some of these people might be online, some may be in person. Individuals must interact with one another and the tools–think finding the person’s video on Zoom + their designated spot in the event MURAL board (or some other point of engagement)–to find the answers to unlock access.
• Pair each event attendee with someone, or multiple people, that they have to locate and connect with throughout the event. Pair folks who might have things in common, or might be well suited to work together or learn from one another. Design in moments of interaction where they might discuss prompts or share experiences and reflections.  

Start Experimenting

If a hybrid event speaks to you and your organization, give it a try! Remember, there is no one size fits all way to do it. Even within an organization, different teams work differently. This article is merely meant to offer suggestions about things you can do to run your own hybrid event. Choose what works best for you. 

Hybrid is always changing, it’s about exploring options that exist now and even the ones that don’t exist yet. Stay curious and keep the needs of your organization top of mind. Hybrid events could end up being an asset in a permanent hybrid work environment or as their own entity within your organization. 

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The post Want To Run A Hybrid Event? appeared first on Voltage Control.

The idea of a “normal” office workplace is now something of the past. Remote work and work from home are a new norm. There is another shift in the workplace occurring as offices are starting to plan their reopening. The idea of a hybrid workplace is becoming more critical and attractive as employers and employees revisit recent learnings and their needs moving forward. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, believes the hybrid workplace is “here to stay” as the productivity of working from home will remain vital during this time. 

A hybrid workplace is a flexible workplace model that is designed to support a distributed workforce of both in-office and remote workers. The hybrid workplace isn’t a completely new idea, with many companies (especially in the tech and start up worlds) allowing flexible work from home policies or remote hires. However, there are nownew ways of working across the board – businesses have been forced to rethink what it means to have a physical workplace. 

The global shift to remote work was drastic at first, but opportunities quickly presented themselves. The virtual business landscape brought many positives that most people didn’t even think about before. For example, virtual workshops and conferences allow hundreds of people across the globe to connect without the cost of travel or timing limitations. Cost savings in general for both employees and employers emerged. Time was also saved across the board – instead of needing to plan for a busy commute, parking, elevator ride up to the office, setting up a conference room, etc., joining a meeting became as quick and easy as clicking “Join a Meeting” on Zoom. The Voltage Control team has always been remote (outside of our in-person workshops and events) so this shift wasn’t new to us – we’ve documented best practices for remote teams, and even assembled a toolkit that allows our remote team to facilitate virtual meetings that are as effective, if not more effective, than traditional face-to-face interactions.

More and more companies are making the decision to offer permanent remote work options for their employees, including Twitter, JP Morgan, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Dell. Other large employers like Google and Facebook have extended work-from-home options for employees through the end of this year. Remote work, when directed by effective systems and processes, works.

Employees have demonstrated the ability to work productively and successfully, in large part due to available tools and technology (discussed in more detail below). However, many also can’t wait to get back to the office. Being in person with other colleagues provides a sense of collaboration and inclusiveness that isn’t easily replicated, especially if used to it before. Working from home also has its own set of distractions, especially for those with families, spouses, roommates, and pets. 

As more and more companies and offices are planning their re-openings keeping all this in mind, we predict both remote work and in-office presence will co-exist. Therefore the workforce will need to approach this hybrid model strategically, leading us into 5 best practices of a hybrid workplace:

1. Remember the importance of technology + tools

These tools played an obvious role when the majority of office workers were forced to be remote. However, as some employees return to the physical office and some remain remote, they will continue to be critical to keep everyone aligned and organized as the virtual + in-person worlds merge into a hybrid workplace:

• Zoom – Videoconferencing platform with breakout room capabilities
• Trello –  A place for assigning work and tracking work progress using a Kanban-style list-making application. Assign individuals to cards to create clear to-do lists and organize priorities.
• Google Docs – Smart editing and styling tools support joint teamwork to flow smoothly and easily and keep ideas in one place. Teams can work on different pages or in different docs accordingly. 
• Google Slides – Interactive work templates with multiple pages to allow individual and collective work.
• Google Sheets – Collaborative spreadsheets to organize and update tasks and information. 
• Google Drive or other cloud storage – Drop all assets and work content into a shared space for easy access for all team members. Use different folders to organize information. 
• Basecamp – Real-time communication tool to keep track of everything you’re working on in a shared space. 
• Focus To-Do – Pomodoro time and task management app that helps you perform tasks efficiently. 
• Process Street – Make checklists for your team to help you remember and keep track of all of your to-do’s. 
• SessionLab – Dynamically design, organize and share workshops and training content.
• Slack – Team messaging platform that is a smart alternative to email. It allows the team to have a shared view of work progress and purpose
• Loom – Screen recorder that allows you to capture video screen messages instead of sending long emails. It’s also helpful for sending team members visual directions if you cannot screen share in real-time.
• Doodle – Calendar scheduling system for time management and to easily coordinate one-on-one and team meetings. 
• World Time Buddy – World clock, time zone converter, and online meeting scheduler to coordinate and plan across different time zones.

2. Take Care of Your People

Your employees are your most important asset. Ask them what they actually want – don’t assume everyone wants the same thing when it comes to remote vs. in-person work presence. This is a benefit of the hybrid workplace – it allows flexibility depending on employee comfort level, schedules, and physical location. Consider offering your employees options of working at your company, for example:

• Remote First: Primarily working from home
• In-Office First: Primarily working from the physical office
• Something in between: Splitting time relatively evenly between working from home and from the office

Also, try to maintain company culture for everyone in the hybrid workplace, regardless of what they choose. Just because someone is not in the office does not mean they should be overlooked. Hold informal online meet ups, virtual town halls, and ensure they’re included in any perks that those in the office receive (for example, if food or coffee is provided to office employees, consider giving remote employees a snack stipend or coffee subscription).

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3. Make Your Job Listings Remote

If you are offering existing employees the option to work remotely, include this hybrid workplace strategy in your recruitment efforts. Wherever you can, make new job listings remote. This may also allow businesses to unlock talent that may have been inaccessible previously. Perhaps the best candidate for a job opening lives in another state. With remote hiring options, you are not bound to proximity to get the best for your team.

4. Communication is Key

Ensure communication flows between in-office and remote staff. This is increasingly important as workers become more spread across different time zones and locations. Consider daily standup updates on Slack, end-of-day status emails, all hands/town halls, check-ins with direct reports, and video meetings to include everyone on the team. It will take extra effort to ensure all employees feel connected and can communicate effectively, but it is what will make your team successful.

5. Be Adaptable

Experiment with different workflows and processes to discover what works best, and be open to change. This idea of the hybrid workplace becoming the “norm” is new to many – there will be a learning curve so employees and employers should remain patient and flexible. It will definitely take some time to get used to, but testing new and different processes will allow for more improvement and better solutions moving forward.

Employees increasingly value flexibility in the workplace, according to a survey by Salesforce, resulting in the rise of the hybrid workplace. For employers, the hybrid workplace can offer better and more diverse talent when location isn’t a constraint. Companies may also see a positive impact in other areas, such as employee satisfaction, productivity, and cost savings. Changing the way a business runs will no doubt have its challenges – but it’s clear the hybrid workplace is here to stay, and embracing the opportunities it offers will likely be well worth it.

Here at Voltage Control, we are exercising and sharing the best tools and techniques needed for teams to thrive in the hybrid workplace, through productive meetings (in-person and virtual), remote work team collaboration, considerations for return to work, facilitation skills, virtual events, meeting culture, Magical Meetings, and design sprints.

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A return to work is around the corner, but what will that look like? For many businesses, that will not mean “business as usual”. The adjustment to remote work has many people considering a hybrid workplace. However, hybrid work has become a blanket term used to meekly describe the dynamic that the future of work suggests. Hybridity in the workplace is much more than the location and time we work; it’s not that simple. The merging of in-person and virtual work will mean the emergence of completely new a paradigm for all workers. Just like we had to shift to different processes and systems for remote work in the virtual landscape, we must consider the full picture of what hybrid roles and hybrid workers will look like in order to be successful in a new kind of work environment.

First of all, returning to work in person is a question of who is comfortable doing so. While some people are eager to be back in a collaborative office space, others aren’t so ready for various reasons–be it health concerns, a preference for remote work, or a resistance to getting back into an in-person work routine. Make no mistake, getting back together face-to-face is going to be a transition. It won’t immediately revert back to how it used to be because too much has happened since then. We’ll have to readjust our schedules–like organizing care for kids and adding a commuting routine back in–and get reacquainted with social norms and behaviors that come with an in-person work environment. From seemingly little things like questioning, “Do I shake my co-workers’ hands?” to larger concerns about whether employees will start back full or part-time, returning to work will mean ironing out kinks and getting readjusted. You’ll also need to consider the configuration for your hybrid environment–will there be multiple offices? What does hybrid mean to your organization–does it mean Mondays and Fridays in the office and every other day remote? This transition will take time. 

As employees begin to reestablish patterns and norms, they will be faced with new and potentially unexpected thoughts and feelings. They may find this process difficult and unsettling. Make sure to listen to their needs and give them time to adapt. While many may be excited to rush back, we’ll need to support those that need more time. We also don’t want to rush into hasty decisions that don’t sere our long-term needs and unnecessarily alienate team members.

It is our responsibility as leaders to establish clear expectations and “new norms” while also holding space for team members’ needs so that everyone can transition as painlessly as possible. 

I was recently chatting with some of the facilitators in our community and they declared that there is no such thing as a hybrid workshop. Their point was that if you are seeking full and equal participation from everyone we need to ensure that the interface for everyone’s ideas has consistent and equal bandwidth. In order to do that, all of your in-person attendees need to join the virtual session individually, making them all virtual participants as well. 

There is currently no software specifically made for hybrid work; software that exists assumes for remote work. We will need tools and processes that not only seamlessly support the merging of productive in-person and virtual work, but that also make connection a priority. Perhaps the greatest challenge for remote teams is genuine connection. It’s the essential missing element of in-person connection that cannot be replaced by technology–no matter how innovative. There is no substitute for human interaction. That’s why many businesses are prioritizing physical togetherness for their employees even if they have the choice to remain fully remote. The value for connection–however you create and maintain it–is paramount to do meaningful work together. 

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The word of hybrid also ushers in new concerns around co-location and who is actually in the room. Many workers have relocated during the pandemic and may no longer be near an office. What are the lines of collaboration that have been severed locally? Co-location will impact our design choices and skew our perspective. For example: When designing hybrid meetings, workshops, and other gatherings, there will be a natural pull to group co-located individuals during breakout sessions. While this may work out sometimes, we certainly shouldn’t take it for granted.

Do you see room for hybrid work within your organization? If so, how are you preparing for the shift in the workplace? If you decide to support a hybrid workplace, how will meetings work with some team members in a physical room and others dialing in virtually? What will you need to do to encourage equal connection amongst dispersed and in-person team members? How will hybrid work change talent acquisition? Will in-person team members have advantages or disadvantages that virtual workers won’t and visa versa? What technology needs to exist to fully support an effective hybrid work environment? The intricacies of a hybrid workplace are vast, but it’s a puzzle that can create a full, functional picture. 

If you are considering a hybrid work environment, keep this in mind: at the center of productive work is the people who make it happen. Keenly focusing on your team members and what they need to thrive is essential, especially in a hybrid environment. There is definitely no one-size-fits-all approach to getting the best performance from individuals and creating the best experience for them to succeed in. Learn your team members’ strengths and create opportunities for them to utilize them. One person may work best in person, while others may soar when they’re able to buckle down and hone in on their duties alone in their chosen workspace. It may seem like a game of Tetris at first, but leaning into the specific needs and preferences of your team, paralleled with how everyone can work best together, will create the most effective and inspiring work environment for all. 

It’s important to remember that we are entering a new age of experimentation. While it may seem familiar, this is new territory, so everyone will have a different perspective and approach. We must find what works best for our teams while also merging with the methods and preferences of other companies and people we work with. For example, I’ve recently been asked to facilitate a session where I’m remote and everyone else is in person. Each experience we have in the hybrid workspace will be a prototype to help us build new and innovative ways of collaborating. 

This transition will be interesting and we’ll all have to decide for ourselves and for the betterment of our teams which approaches, systems, and processes create the most advantageous results. Stay curious and stay safe.

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