WEBVTT - The New Corner Office: Re-create the water cooler

0:00:05.480 --> 0:00:09.680
<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:12.920
<v Speaker 1>the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:16.480
<v Speaker 1>new world of work, where location and hours are more

0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:20.320
<v Speaker 1>flexible than in the past. Today's tip is about how

0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:24.919
<v Speaker 1>one company has kept their casual interactions going after going virtual.

0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.560
<v Speaker 1>Matt Hall runs Hill Investment Group, which turns fifteen years

0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:33.040
<v Speaker 1>old this year. I did it before Breakfast episode last year,

0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:35.360
<v Speaker 1>in which I mentioned the company's ritual of tea time,

0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:37.919
<v Speaker 1>people would stop to take a social break in mid

0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:40.640
<v Speaker 1>afternoon in order to renew their energy for the last

0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:43.280
<v Speaker 1>hour or so of the work day. People tend to

0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.120
<v Speaker 1>need a break then anyway, and when everyone takes one,

0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.720
<v Speaker 1>it doesn't seem weird because of rituals like this. I

0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.040
<v Speaker 1>know that Matt thinks a lot about productivity and keeping

0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.400
<v Speaker 1>people engaged, and so I asked how he'd been adjusting

0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:59.840
<v Speaker 1>to virtual work in the wake of COVID nineteen. He

0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:03.080
<v Speaker 1>noted that in the past I've been against remote work.

0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:06.480
<v Speaker 1>The resistance in my head was mainly about the team

0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:09.880
<v Speaker 1>needing to be physically to gather to feel connected, he says.

0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:13.119
<v Speaker 1>He notes that the company had worked hard and spent

0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:15.640
<v Speaker 1>a lot of money to make the offices in St.

0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:19.800
<v Speaker 1>Louis and Houston feel idyllic. He also says that there

0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:21.920
<v Speaker 1>was a part of me that wondered if people would

0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:24.400
<v Speaker 1>give their all if they were tempted to do household

0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:27.880
<v Speaker 1>chores or play with the dog. But now he says,

0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:30.960
<v Speaker 1>I know I was wrong about remote work because I've

0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:35.440
<v Speaker 1>seen it can actually work. The team has done two

0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:39.319
<v Speaker 1>things to keep some of the same interactive vibe going. First,

0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:42.680
<v Speaker 1>they book in the day with virtual meetings. Now long

0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:45.800
<v Speaker 1>time listeners know my dislike of recurring meetings, so to

0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.800
<v Speaker 1>be clear, these meetings are short because no one likes

0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:51.920
<v Speaker 1>to drag things out for hours, and they're focused because

0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:55.480
<v Speaker 1>one person facilitates the topic for the entire group. This

0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:59.440
<v Speaker 1>keeps the virtual check ins from wasting people's time. It's fun,

0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:02.840
<v Speaker 1>how dual, and sets the tone. Matt says. It also

0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:05.480
<v Speaker 1>keeps the work day from bleeding into all hours of

0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:11.160
<v Speaker 1>the day and night. Bookend means bookend. When you say goodbye,

0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.920
<v Speaker 1>you can be done. As he says, the virtual meeting

0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:18.840
<v Speaker 1>is connecting us like never before. They've also moved office

0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:22.000
<v Speaker 1>chatter virtual. We share socially and at a light mix

0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:25.080
<v Speaker 1>of business topics inside a cool tool called Bonfire. He says,

0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:28.720
<v Speaker 1>that's b O n F y r E. It's an

0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:31.160
<v Speaker 1>app on our mobile devices, and it's another great way

0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:34.040
<v Speaker 1>for us to stay in touch. Bonfire is not about

0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:38.320
<v Speaker 1>tasks nor productivity. It's about connection. So people share what

0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.680
<v Speaker 1>they're making for lunch, or their struggles with parenting, or

0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:45.280
<v Speaker 1>that somebody just got new chickens. In other words, the

0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.800
<v Speaker 1>same stuff you'd talk about at the water cooler. He

0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:51.080
<v Speaker 1>reports that I still can't wait to get back to

0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:54.079
<v Speaker 1>the office, but now I know it isn't the thing

0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:58.280
<v Speaker 1>that binds us. In fact, our team has likely never

0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:01.359
<v Speaker 1>been more connected with because we are checking in more

0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:05.280
<v Speaker 1>often and because we have a common enemy in COVID nineteen.

0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:10.400
<v Speaker 1>When work is approached intentionally, people get more done and

0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:13.880
<v Speaker 1>feel better about it. That's true in an office or

0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:17.280
<v Speaker 1>when everyone is working from home. Here at the new

0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:20.120
<v Speaker 1>Corner Office, I'll be sharing lots of ideas from teams

0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:23.720
<v Speaker 1>that work remotely or flexibly, So feel free to email

0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:26.520
<v Speaker 1>me and let me know what's working for you or

0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.680
<v Speaker 1>not working for you. You can reach me at Laura

0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:34.880
<v Speaker 1>at Laura Vanderkamp dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura,

0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:38.520
<v Speaker 1>thanks for listening, and here's the succeeding in the New

0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:45.840
<v Speaker 1>Corner Office. The New Corner Office is a production of

0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:49.040
<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, visit the i Heart

0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:52.720
<v Speaker 1>Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.