As the world moves to a more remote workforce, businesses across industries and markets are having to adapt. We asked leaders who have experience with making remote work effective to share their stories, lessons, and insights with us.
Margaret McNair
Yes, we are able to work remotely! As you can imagine, it can be challenging to collaborate, virtually. As a team we try our best to stay efficient by using collaborative systems and tools like Trello and Google Chat. We have a solid internal process where we are able to tag each other in on various projects. This decreases our need for so many meetings. Read more>>
Alex Dewar
I worked for a long time to make my business fully sustainable and stable so that I could work remotely/abroad. I’ve been able to travel and work on and off for the past few years, and am loving every minute of it. There’s challenges with timezones for meetings, and challenges with meeting productivity goals at times.. (it’s harder to sit down and design a logo when you have a little day adventure or an afternoon aperol spritz calling your name,) but I’ve built that into my business model. I find there’s about a 30% reduction in output, but I balance those hours out before/after trips. I’ll typically work early in the morning, and late at night, and give myself the daytime to explore and enjoy my surroundings. I’ve found myself inspired and motivated by seeing new places and meeting new people. Art and design is everywhere, and seeing what different cities and cultures have to offer is a huge benefit for my creative process. I am very lucky to live this life, and to be able to control my workload and set myself up for success. Read more>>
Rajendra Thakurathi
Filmmaking is largely a collaborative work where you need dozens, sometimes hundreds of people to make one creative work. While some of the stages of filmmaking can be remote, some of them warrant physical presence, like the actors on set or the cinematographer or the make-up artist. But at the peak of the pandemic, there were a couple of productions that we did — completely remote. It was August 2020 and we had to make a short film for Hooked TV, a mobile app where you can watch and read shorts and video content on your phone. Being in the middle of the pandemic, I didn’t want to pass on the opportunity, so took up the challenge. We were able to combine creativity and technology and kind of achieve something that astounded ourselves. It needed a little bit more prep than usual. But we were able to find a way to send feed from the cameras (which we sent at the two actors’ houses in two separate locations) directly to the monitors of our crew (who were all in separate locations). We did lighting, gaffing, sound setup, rehearsal all remote, without ever having to physical meet. It was new and innovative and an unusual thing and we were proud of what we were able to achieve. It made me think how at every stage of filmmaking, you need creative problem solving. Ever since then, the way I work has definitely evolved. Meetings, collaborative work that can be done remotely, I definitely prefer that. That not only is convenient and efficient where you are able to take multiple meetings like auditions and crew meetings back to back, it’s also cost efficient and minimizes the carbon footprint. Some of the pitfalls include the lack of spontaneity of working in person where you can see the body languages of each other more, which communicates much more than words. Having someone there in-person also adds to the bonding and camaraderie. Non obvious benefit include not getting stuck in LA traffic. And also you can’t ever say “Sorry, running late. Stuck in traffic.” Read more>>
Carlos Noriega
Yes, our team at LEAP Interactive Media Group has successfully embraced remote work. We have implemented a flexible work environment that prioritizes project goals and deadlines rather than rigid schedules or specific hours worked. This approach has had a profound positive impact on our creativity and productivity. Read more>>
Kaguya
Starting May of this year, I had to close down my physical space of Rice Studios after running it for a year and half. It was my first time ever opening or running a studio, so that came with a lot of challenges as it was all self funded. After moving my main base to Los Angeles, CA in July of 2022 and the studio being in Bushwick (Brooklyn, NY) I had to close. Read more>>