Is working remotely better than spending time in the office? Can co-workers still work well together through a screen only? Is the idea of reporting to an office 40 hours a week outdated?
There are a lot of competing philosophies on remote work right now, but there’s one thing Brittany Jezouit, Chief of Staff at Medium, knows for sure: Connecting face-to-face with colleagues intentionally is always a good idea.
Below, Brittany shares two reasons why every company should prioritize well-crafted, in-person experiences — and how she partners with Marco to create those events.
1. Offsites strengthen virtual working relationships
Medium is committed to being a fully remote company, but there’s no substitute for sitting down in a room, face-to-face with your coworkers, to suss out new ideas and plan for the future. Both ideas can be true, explains Brittany, and she enjoys the challenge of figuring out how to marry them. She explains:
“We look at offsites as a point of convergence to strengthen working relationships. If you see someone on Zoom and then meet them in person, you’re more likely to trust their ideas. Everyone works better together.”
It’s hard to find a substitute for a live brainstorming session, but company offsites structured around meaningful work (and play) do the trick. That’s why Brittany and Medium partner with Marco to set the stage for these important moments.
“Having an offsite that is really specific in its purpose and intended outcomes does a lot to accelerate the overall work and progress that Medium does as a company.”
2. In-person events set the stage for generating big ideas
At their last offsite, Brittany was delighted by how the Marco team facilitated the perfect environment for Medium employees to gather and share big ideas about the future of their industry and digital media. Those conversations still could’ve happened remotely, but the impact is immediate and palpable when you put people in a room and watch the ideas flow naturally.
In fact, a team leader at Medium noted how catalyzing the offsite was for team-wide productivity:
“One of our team leads brought his whole team together for a retreat to outline a project. At first, he worried it’d be inefficient. Later, he said he couldn’t have been more wrong. They got more done in those three hours than they would’ve in three weeks remotely.”
Though day-to-day operations can be done remotely, there’s something so valuable about looking around, seeing your co-workers in the flesh, and sharing energy around the work you’re planning to do together.
When you’ve abandoned your office entirely –as so many have– those moments can only be created through intentionally designed offsites.
“It’s hard to find a substitute for getting everyone in a room and going, ‘This is our big goal. What does everyone think about it?’ When you see how excited everyone gets, you know those meaningful connections matter.”
