Research Lenses:
The Why.
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Remote and hybrid work have been affecting people’s wellbeing, redefining the relationship between personal and professional spaces.
What are the pains of remote work throughout the Designit journey?
What is motivating for Designits in their working setup?
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Designits adapted their ways of interacting with both the physical and digital space, with a major impact on coworker relationships.
What does the relationship with the working space(s) look like?
How do interactions with other Designits happen?
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Designits work differently globally, each studio has a different setup with more or less clear rules around remote work.
How is Designit supporting hybrid / remote work?
How have leaders been managing the transition to different ways of working?
What are the current policies and how do they differ in each studio?
As we move away from traditional office setups, finding ways to collaborate smoothly has become a crucial need.
IF the quality of our collaboration is the result of our collaboration conditions (dynamics) and culture, THEN how might we shape and create the optimal environment for it?
Audience Insight:
The Who.
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1-hour interviews with 13 participants from the Global, Regional and studio leadership
3 Global Leaders
4 Europe Leaders
3 APMEA Leaders
4 North America Leaders
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2-week individual “bullet journal” with 15 participants from Designit North America, Europe and APMEA
4 Designits in North America
7 Designits from OSL, STO, MAD, TLV
4 Designits from BGR, SYD
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Survey involving 210 Designits (36% North America, 45% Europe, 8% APMEA)
76 Designits from North America
95 Designits from Europe
16 Designits from APMEA
23 Designits prefer not to disclose the location
Key Takeaways: Top-Down
Limited visibility and communication across studios and regions
Meetings seem to be the first channel to share updates: Designit lacks effective ways to communicate and share information asynchronously. A clear overview of financial information, capacity, people, skillsets and staffing, ongoing projects and initiatives seems to be missing on a regional and global level.
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“It is challenging to know what others are working on or what other teams are responsible for.”
A global, fragmented culture
With the US being performance driven, a strong hospitality culture in the ME, and the office legacy the EU has, there seems to be no unified remote culture at Designit. While local rituals are diverse and appreciated, global gatherings fail to build a sense of belonging.
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"We should have those spaces where people feel they're part of building that culture. We need to create virtual spaces to build that"
Lack of consistency and shared frameworks
We saw no established processes to guide remote work at Designit, neither shared best practices or codes of conduct.
Each studio set their own more or less formal rules, many of which carved out of common sense (e.g. from 3 days a week at the office, to cameras on in remote meetings).
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“Amazon’s 6-pager is a good example of how good documentation, writing detailed planning docs, and a well-defined process can ensure team and project’s success.”
Key Takeaways: Bottom-Up
The paradox of meeting overload vs. alone alienating time
Some Designits feel overwhelmed by excessive interaction (back-to-back meetings and exhausting workshops). Still, some find the excess of alone time alienating. Finding the right balance is still a challenge.
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“I would like to divide my time more effectively. Specifically, I would like to allocate time for personal focus to complete my work and time for collaborating with my team.”
Cross-border connection: a surprisingly unexplored asset
Opportunities for learning and knowledge exchange beyond the local studio are very valued. Still, most Designits feel poor sense of belonging to the global organisation, and are not aware of what is happening elsewhere.
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"I work mostly in the US, which I'm disappointed about. Before the pandemic there were more opportunities to collaborate with other studios"
The strongest bonds build up at the office
The strongest communities seem to be the larger Designit studios, where in-person rituals are very established, and conversations can happen spontaneously.
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“I feel like when it comes to check-in meetings, status updates, day-to-day touch base, it's really unnecessary to meet in person. But when it comes to a decision making, workshops, and some big presentations, it is better to find the time to meet in person.”
Opportunities
01
Leverage a larger talent pool
By removing location we can have access to a larger pool of talent who lives in small cities or rural environments, reducing the costs for salaries and office spaces and unlocking other ways of using company budgets and making client offers.
02
Increase cross-pollination of teams
There is an opportunity of creating more projects with a mixed team, tapping into other people’s knowledge and staffing the best candidates around communities of practice.
03
Define best practices of working together
New work setups require a new leadership paradigm to structure hybrid work and meet with intentionality.
04
Provide more opportunities for in-person interactions
In-person meetings are need to build trust, grow as a team and support the onboarding and training of junior staff.
05
Continue offering flexibility
Cutting commuting (which is extremely detrimental in India or large cities in the US), more time for personal life and passions, a healthier lifestyle, and the possibilities to enjoy more freedom are great aspects of working from home and high valued benefits from younger generations.
The ingredients of a successful collaboration
Through our exploration, we identified six key dimensions that shape effective collaboration in remote settings. These dimensions form the core of our toolkit, serving as a roadmap to empower teams and organizations to collaborate seamlessly across distances.
In each dimension, you'll find actionable tips, strategies, and insights that have the power to transform how teams communicate, cooperate, and innovate. From optimizing communication to fostering a strong sense of teamwork, each dimension contributes to building an environment where remote collaboration thrives.
Vision
A clear vision is necessary for alignment, and acts as a unifying force for the team.
Communication
Clear and transparent communication is key to team alignment.
Work Modes
While alone time is beneficial, collaboration is the recipe for successful teaming
Safety
Personal health comes first. Make sure that working schedules are reasonable and flexible to accommodate personal preferences.
Engagement
High team motivation leads to better performance
Inclusion
When spending too much time virtually with no interactions, a sense of being disconnected may arise.
Collaborative workshop
The Whistle While You Work Remote Collaboration Toolkit.
The WWYW Remote Collaboration toolkit is designed to guide leaders and teams in overcoming the hurdles posed by remote work.
With a focus on six key dimensions, the toolkit provides actionable strategies, best practices, and tangible examples to address specific areas of improvement.
The toolkit equips leaders with the tools they need to drive positive change within their organization.
