Modev's Summit: Our culture of remote work

At Modev, we work tirelessly to develop communities for our clients by organizing events that are high value to attendees. Usually, when you attend one of our events, the experience is matched and flawless, but the behind the scenes component is seldomly visible - which is a good indicator of great execution. The beauty of our dynamic at Modev is that we are internally powered by community.

Our team is often described as friendly, kind, knowledgeable and an all-around pleasure to work with. I love this team and I’d be remiss not to share all the praise and kudos they get. But one thing you might not know is that we’re a team of entirely remote workers. WHAT? Yup!

How is that possible? Having a team that gets along so well, produces incredibly valuable events and builds communities? All while our community is spread across North America. Well...our team of Modevators are really good at working remotely.

Our team members work from home, use co-working spaces and travel while working with Modev. Some of our team members are even businesses owners. How does this work? Well, the number one draw for working remotely is freedom. The ability to build a life that reflects their personal and professional needs, passions and priorities. All while still delivering world-class work.

It takes a very specific and special kind of person who is able to have so much autonomy and be "all-in" when it comes to work. Obvious traits include organization, being a self-starter and adaptability, but what sets a Modevator apart? I’d have to say it is hunger. A hunger for knowledge, discovery, and that competitive drive to produce the best possible work and experience.

Does this all sound amazing and you're ready to sign up? A few things to consider.

5 things to consider when working remotely:

1. Communication is the key to great work.

Some of the main tools we utilize to ensure we keep everyone on the team informed and on the same page are Zoom and Slack. Whether we’re jumping on a planning call, status call or setting up a video conference to have coffee, we always have the ability to do so in a virtual face-to-face setting to create a sense of inclusion amongst each other.

2. Open Communication

Creating a safe and open communication portal for our team members is so incredibly important to us. We make sure to set a tone that encourages our team to ask questions and provide suggestions. The Modev environment is incredibly supportive. We know we are going to make mistakes because we’re human, but we are constantly supporting and encouraging each other in the discovery phases of our work in order to turn roadblocks into opportunities to grow. Failures are opportunities to learn and make future experiences better. This mindset has such a positive impact on our culture and overall results. But most importantly, we have created a powerful team dynamic that celebrates each and every accomplishment along the way.

3. Find a Schedule That Works

Time zones can often confuse teams when it comes to planning calls or meeting deadlines. At Modev, we make it a priority to accommodate to different time zones since our team members are located in PST, CST, EST, APAC and more. Understanding others’ availability and time zone is very important in order to encourage team members to own responsibilities and meet deadlines accordingly. This is why one and two are so important, through open and honest communication we better understand one another’s lives and priorities. From knowing one another’s school pickup schedule to the night owl worker we’re better able to schedule, plan and build community.

4. Know what makes you productive.

This includes scheduling, routines and understanding how your space impacts productivity. Whether it’s pumping the right amount of coffee, setting up a workspace or designating certain times to focus on work, the value behind identifying your productivity sweet spots is invaluable.

Productivity can include personal growth as well, so we make it a priority to incorporate each team member's strengths and aspirations into the mix and talk about the connection between company and individual goals.

5. You are the company you keep.

Being on remote team requires a lot of trust, flexibility and a willingness to establish relationships. Identifying the right team is without a doubt the most important component to creating the culture and results you envision. The reality is that remote teams have fewer opportunities to grab a coffee or head to an impromptu happy hour, but we don’t allow that to set us back. Instead, we work based off solutions instead of problems. Virtual coffee, virtual breakfasts, virtual toasts and virtual brain power sessions are amongst some of our social interactions that give our teams the opportunity to engage in a comfortable setting. Kid you not, our team members have met for the first time and completely forgotten that they hadn’t physically interacted before.

A fantastic example of our team’s amazing ability to create unforgettable experiences is coming up July 24th. The Modevators are currently churning away, creating a seamless event in the forefront of natural language processing. Amazon approached us last year with a very unique proposal: to develop a three-day summit that celebrates advances in voice technology and equips participants with the right tools to excel in this promising and vital space.

VOICE, Sponsored by Amazon Alexa will take place in Newark, NJ at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. This is definitely one you won’t want to miss, and in an effort to make the event as accessible as possible, we're providing all-access passes at a deeply discounted rate to the first 500 people to register. Head to voicesummit.ai to get your ticket for $100 with the code FIRST500. See you there!