Insights for Working, Leading, and Learning Remotely

Developing a career that reflects our passions and provides opportunities to grow is the ultimate professional goal. Career development takes constant work, and when you work remotely, there are special considerations that you need to keep in mind. We've identified seven keys to remote career development that address the unique challenges that remote professionals face.  

Interests, Knowledge & Skills 

Your interests, knowledge, and skills form the foundation of your remote career. Your interests are topics or fields that inspire your curiosity or passion, like law, education, or design. Your interests guide the learning experiences, professional opportunities, and hobbies you pursue.

Your knowledge is the theoretical and practical understanding of a subject, which you acquire through formal and informal education and experience.

Your skills are your particular abilities—these include hard skills, like computer programming or accounting, and soft...

Take a look at how where we're focused in 2020!

Published on January 16, 2019

In the weeks and months to come, you’ll notice an all-new Workplaceless. We’re really excited to share our revamped company branding with you—and not just because a fresh look and feel is a fun change for the New Year.

Kickstarting 2019 with branding that better reflects who we are and what we offer was important to us. And since our specialty is in learning and development programs for the remote workforce, this represented a different kind of journey for our team. Reflecting on the key tenets of our brand meant that we had to define our purpose, core values and mission. (It’s an exercise we would recommend for any company that hasn’t conducted a deep dive on the subject, as there’s no more important work than getting to the heart of what you do, and why you do it.)

 In the process, we landed on the following mission statement, which we believe...

It’s that time of year again: time for wrapping things up neatly with a bow, and looking back on a year full of activities with an equal dose of nostalgia and realism, along with the resolve to make next year even better.

Yes, ‘tis the season for fourth quarter post-mortem meetings! Or, if you prefer, reflective evaluations. (What did you think I was referring to?)

Unsettling as their moniker may sound, post-mortems are a critical part of our professional journeys because they offer us all the chance to learn and grow. They help us to gain critical insights into what worked, and what didn’t, and most importantly, determining why certain things happened in the way they did and how we can improve upon them next time.

This isn’t an opportunity to point fingers. If anything, post-mortems should be a team-building experience as a way to examine past actions and their results. Finally, you’re able to assemble a collective outlook to guide future projects and...

It's officially the dawn of a new decade and I don’t have to tell you that the future of work is evolving at a rapid pace. No matter the vertical or sector, the changes we’re witnessing now once took years, even decades to happen.

What does this mean for you and your company? The battle for top global talent is in full swing. Competition is heating up in companies around the world, including those that have distributed personnel and those that are remote-first. In the latter two, in fact, remote leaders are placing an emphasis on learning and development (L&D). They’re not only viewing this as a perk for potential hires; it’s a valuable and highly strategic investment in their business.

But if you haven’t already started planning for the year (or decade) ahead, don’t panic—however, it is time to get a move on. Here’s how to assemble a blueprint that works for your company.

There are three basic components to any winning L&D...

Gratitude.

It's as important to discuss with your loved ones as it is with your colleagues, supervisors, and peers. And while gratitude is certainly a powerful word, it’s even more influential in action.

Like many things in life, gratitude is often better demonstrated than described.

As 2018 comes to a close, professionals across the U.S. will soon be firing up their ovens (and their appetites!) for the annual Thanksgiving holiday feast with family and friends. They’re likely thinking about all the things they’re thankful for this year, and may even mention these at the dinner table. (I know I will, before the tryptophan sets in, that is…)

In our ever-distracted era, this kind of direct connection and sharing is a truly beautiful thing. Don’t you think it’d be ever-more-inspiring if we all prioritized showing our gratitude not just in November, but throughout the year?

It’s a smart move in EVERY context, including at work. Small acts of...

Dozens of speakers delivered valuable advice to a couple hundred remote workers and digital nomads last week at Nomad City. 

It was an incredible learning experience—not just because of the facts, information, and processes that were so generously shared. It was because the content was relevant to the audience.

They told stories. They gave clear examples. They answered questions. They gave feedback. It wasn’t just speakers delivering information. It was a conversation. 

That makes all the difference between an interesting learning experience and a transformative one: 

Discussion. Conversation. Synchronous exchange of ideas.

But… you work remotely. And that means that conversation is not likely to occur organically. You have to make it happen.

How can you do that?

1. Plan. Decide what you want to get out of the discussion and who should be involved. Do you want to check and extend understanding of a concept? Incorporate new ideas into a...

Guest post by Linda Ginac, CEO of TalentGuard 

Any opinions expressed within the blog are those of the author and not necessarily held by Workplaceless itself.

The world of work is changing rapidly, thanks in part to the advances made in the technology marketplace. As companies continue progressing toward a more modern approach to operations, it is no surprise that an estimated 63% of businesses have remote workers among their ranks. What may be shocking is that half of these organizations have no remote work policy, including the absence of career pathing capabilities for those who work outside the confines of a traditional office. Remote workers deserve the same type of career development frameworks and opportunities as on-site employees, but the distance can make this task more daunting. The good news is that technology makes this less of a challenge for organizations with remote employees.

Here’s what companies need to know about the importance of career pathing among...

This is a guest post by Chanell Alexander of The Remote Work Life. 

In 2016, 43 percent of employed Americans said they spent some time working remotely according to a Gallup survey. This study also found that the opportunity to work from home is becoming a more substantial factor in where employees are deciding to work. So, it is safe to say that remote work is on the rise. However, the variety of jobs that are classified as remote are not as diverse as one would think. According to a study by Flexjobs, there are seven popular industries for remote work.

Where are Most of the Remote Work Jobs?

 Flexjobs outlined healthcare, information technology, education, sales, customer service, accounting, and hospitality as common fields for remote work. However, the common denominator for all the positions listed in these fields is the accessibility of the internet. Jobs like customer support, teaching, medical coding, transcription, auditing, and travel agency can be...

New Employer + New Employee = Fear of the Unknown 

A new hire. A new job. 

The word new in this context expresses unknown. 

In a situation where a new employee is brought onto a team, there are a lot of unknowns on both sides: 

The employee is not certain of what to expect of their new position and team; and 

The employer is not sure whether the employee will be a good fit or not.

Those unknowns can cause tension and anxiety, not to mention unmet expectations, dissatisfaction, disengagement, and employee turnover.  

In a remote environment, there are even more unknowns because you must rely only on virtual communication methods to communicate and understand expectations. 

How can you reduce unknowns?

There are several ways you can reduce the number of unknowns in a new hire situation. 

Remote Employers can: 

• Thoroughly vet candidates by going through various rounds of...