Your Remote Learning & Development Resources Blog

Let’s Reminisce: Your First Day

How about a brief trip down memory lane? Recall your first day in a new role.

• If you worked in a traditional office, was a workspace set up just for you? (Maybe a fun company swag bundle came along with it!)
• Did a supervisor or teammate walk you through internal processes, giving you the inside scoop on resources and a list of where to go for help?
• When Day 1 concluded, were you left feeling positive about your next professional chapter?

Your responses indicate whether your first onboarding experience was wholly worthwhile—or worth forgetting altogether. The hard truth: even the best recruiting efforts go to waste when faulty processes disengage employees on Day 1.

So how do we describe this all-too-important intro to a new role and workplace? Onboarding is the process a company employs to acclimate recent hires to its culture, team, workflows and policies. Traditionally, it occurred in face-to-face work environments; fully virtual and...

Over the years, career and technical education (CTE) hasn’t gotten its due respect. This is, of course, my opinion, but I feel confident saying that at best it is misunderstood, and at worst, it is grossly underestimated as a promising learning pathway for high school students. Career and technical education plays an important role in the conversation about both the future of work and the future of learning—here's why.  

CTE directly prepares students for high-wage, high-demand careers in a variety of professional fields like health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing, hospitality, marketing and many more; as a methodology, CTE encompasses everything from in-class learning to certification programs to work-based learning opportunities in the field.

A New Era for CTE 

CTE is experiencing a Renaissance of sorts. Perhaps the most exciting part is that the often hands-on, tactile learning-by-doing approach it incorporates...

Conferences are valuable learning experiences no matter your industry—but if you work remotely, conferences can provide you with the rare opportunity to connect with other people in real time, in the same space.

Get ready to block off some time on your calendars—we've highlighted some of the best conferences you can attend if you want to learn more about remote work and learning & development. 

Grow Remote 

Dates: April 16, 2019

Location: Tubbercurry, Ireland

Audience: Remote workers and employers

Website: https://growremote.ie/ 

Grow Remote's mission it is to bridge the gap between remote work and local impact. They've grown to 43 chapters across Ireland and Europe, and at their event in April, they're hosting talks, meetups and the activities of the west for attendees to experience the best of what rural Ireland has to offer. 

Association for Talent Development International Conference &...

Most remote work opportunities require at least some level of English, and on top of that, jargon can also be a barrier for those who are new to remote work. That's why one of the keys to making remote work accessible is providing language resources—our Remote Work Dictionary is just one of the language supports that we're developing at Workplaceless. We've made this first (US English) version open to everyone, and we'd love feedback from anyone interested in this topic. What terms should we add?

Access the first version of the Remote Work Dictionary here 

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...

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 simply and concisely states our reason for existing:

Workplaceless helps remote workers and...

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...

I don’t have to tell you that industry 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? 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 like you 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 next year, 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 strategy that aligns internal training with your business needs and goals:

1....

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...