To Remote or Not to Remote; That is the question. 

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
As the COVID-19 global pandemic continues to shift and change, companies are left wondering whether or not to allow teams to continue remote work or to mandate a return to the office either in a full or hybrid model. A recent study in the journal Nature Human Behavior explored remote work's impact on over 61,000 Microsoft employees. Here are some of the key findings:   Organization-wide remote work reduced the collaboration network of workers.The reduction decreased new connections and worsened "siloed" connections.  The timing of communication shifted from synchronous communication to more asynchronous communication.  The issue is complex. Although the study discusses some significant limitations and reinforces the need for future research, it is clear that these three critical challenges with remote work may make it harder for employees to collaborate. The end goal of the collaboration is the ability to acquire and share new information across the network, and this study indicates the changes that exist in this area. Companies must also weigh the benefits of remote...
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Improv’s “Yes and…” to Improve Brainstorming

Improv’s “Yes and…” to Improve Brainstorming

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
I have always loved brainstorming. There was a time when my team seemed to sour on brainstorming, and I was heartbroken. I was determined to understand why. With a few minor tweaks, I improved the quality of our brainstorms and decreased resistance to them.  Have you ever been in a brainstorming session where ideas seem to propagate more great ideas, and the energy in the room feels like it is sizzling? Picture that brainstorm session, and now picture a brainstorm that you have been at that felt awful. When done poorly, brainstorming sessions can drain the energy from the room and have a lasting impact on morale.  How do you develop a team that is good at brainstorming? Here are a few of my favorite ideas:  1. Practice “yes and” skills through improv. By playing improv games that encourage your team to practice a “yes and” mentality, you will create a team that can take risks and is resilient when brainstorming. This article lists some...
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Using Kahoot

Using Kahoot

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
Think about the last time you played a game. How did it make you feel? Games and polls are a great way to engage teams during virtual meetings. Kahoot allows you to gamify your organization’s training and onboarding. This intuitive online platform is free for all educators and relatively inexpensive for paid memberships. You can easily create quizzes, games, and polls that can be shared during team meetings or even go so far as to create versatile blended learning solutions, including self-paced courses. Seamlessly host Kahoots via any video conferencing platform, including Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.  One of my favorite ways to use Kahoot! Is as an icebreaker to build motivation and facilitate a strong group learning dynamic. You will want to prep your quiz or poll in advance and then get a shared link to drop into the chat box of your video conferencing tool of choice. Once participants click on that link they will be asked to...
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Using Padlet

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
What's a Padlet? In its purest form, a Padlet is a digital pinboard. You can dress it up or dress it down. These pinboards have received significant attention and usage in the education world with the rise of digital learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But they also have great potential to help increase collaboration in the workplace.  Collaboration is what makes Padlet special. One of the strengths of this platform is that each contributor has an equal voice.  What are ways you can use Padlet to Increase Virtual Collaboration? You might consider using Padlet for the following:   Icebreaker board to connect pre-meeting. Voting board to aid in deciding which topic should discuss at an upcoming meeting or which training they feel they might need. Resource board, one that could be for HR resources or project-specific collections. Pre-training exercise board to introduce employees a topic and track growth. Interactive exercises during a digital meeting Q and A board during a meeting. (Also sometimes called a parking lot.) Company feedback form.Exit ticket,...
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Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
Microsoft Outlook is used in many companies. Although much of Outlook is intuitive, many people have never received training on this platform and therefore are unaware of many of its helpful collaboration features. In this continuing series on virtual tools to enhance collaboration, I will share three cool features in Microsoft Outlook to boost virtual cooperation in your team.  @Mentions: Have you ever needed to send an email to a dozen coworkers but only needed an answer from two of them? In the past, you might have bolded, underline or highlight to draw attention to who you need feedback or input from, but this can be missed or overlooked by team members who do not read the email carefully. With Outlook, you have another option. Type @ followed by their name, and several things happen. First, their name is automatically added to the "To" line of the email message. Members of the team mentioned using the @ symbols will see their name...
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Google Jamboard

Google Jamboard

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
In my continuing series on tools for remote collaboration, I will be focusing on Google’s Jamboard. Not to be confused with Google's Jamboard display, the Jamboard is a virtual whiteboard simulator. Like other Google products, its strength lies in the fact that it is free and available for all operating systems and that it is incredibly intuitive to use. My favorite way to utilize Jamboard is during a virtual meeting, workshop or training. This tool allows for incredible user collaboration and engagement. In advance of the collaboration, you will want to access this google app through Google Workspace or by going to jamboard.google.com and prepare your set of boards in advance. This process is relatively swift and easy but essential to do before your meeting so that you are not asking people to wait as you set up the necessary boards. Within the board, you will set up a series of sub-boards that all participants can easily access. Participants can then...
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Zoom Breakout Rooms

Zoom Breakout Rooms

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
I love breakout rooms. I know they aren’t for everyone, but I think they are essential when working with larger teams. Many of your team members might be intimidated to speak in front of the larger group, but when placed in small groups, they can open up and share ideas or be task-focused. I thought this was a premium feature on zoom, but I did some research, and it turns out breakout rooms are included in all accounts; you just have to go into the web portal and then the more advanced settings to turn this on! I have the written steps to do this below, but I found that confusing, so I looked for a video tutorial to assist you.    Steps to enable the breakout room feature for all members of your organization: Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator with the privilege to edit account settings.In the navigation menu, click Account Management, then Account Settings.Navigate to the Breakout Room...
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Google Docs

Google Docs

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
Over the next few posts, I will share a few of my favorite tools for collaboration in a virtual environment. Helping to promote collaboration in your organization is hard enough in person. When you add the dynamics and challenges of doing it in a virtual environment, it sometimes seems nearly impossible. The good news is that you can foster collaboration within a remote team with the proper training and support.  The first tool that I want to feature is Google Docs. Many students know the power of this tool for collaboration because it is free and easy to use. An often overlooked application, Google Docs can empower a team and foster collaboration. During a video or conference call, multiple people can view and edit a Google Docs file simultaneously. With Google Docs, everyone working on a project can make changes to the same master document. The work saves almost immediately, and team members can brainstorm or work on a shared proposal...
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