In this conversation with Allocations team members, James Whelchel, Mary Helen Rowell, and Julia Telfer, they talk about facilitating connections and fun in remote work environments.

Today, you’ll hear about:

• The famous Trivia Series and some of the interesting trivia topics
• The various types of virtual events at Allocations
• The pros and cons of virtual events
• The infamous Allocations birthday ritual
• Other ways team members can connect
• Some interesting upcoming events

James is an Angel Investor and the Director of People Operations at Allocations. Prior to joining Allocations, James worked as an Accounting Lead and Finance Manager in a remote setting since the start of the pandemic.

Mary Helen is an Executive Assistant at Allocations. Prior to joining Allocations, she served in various roles in companies including MyEA.now, KAVAL Inc., and O.N.S. Clothing. Mary holds a BSc in Fashion and Merchandising from the University of South Carolina.

Julia is an Executive Assistant at Allocations. Julia holds a Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University - New Brunswick.

Episode Outline

[00:54] The Trivia Series

[03:13] Mary’s favourite trivia topics

[04:14] Favourite virtual events

[07:45] Choosing external facilitators

[10:35] Large teams vs smaller team events

[11:20] Virtual escape games

[13:28] Do virtual events facilitate enough connection for teams to bond together?

[14:59] Interesting events coming up

[17:53] Allocations birthday ritual

[19:39] Other ways to connect with team members

[21:46] Q&A

[22:20] Event inclusivity for an international team

[24:27] How often should events take place?

[29:49] Making up for in-person experiences

[33:26] Words of wisdom

Connect with James, Mary Helen, and Julia

James’ LinkedIn

Mary Helen’s LinkedIn

Julia’s LinkedIn

Website

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Allocations team members, Deja Tate, Bryana Kitchen, and Rachael Bickford, they talk about how companies design, implement, and support remote work tools.

Today, you’ll hear about: 

• Configuring Slack
• Building company culture
• Dealing with all the noise
• Using the User Groups feature
• Getting the team’s advice for companies using Slack

Deja is a Senior IT Admin Specialist at Allocations. Deja holds an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science Information Technology from Year Up.

Bryana is a Software Engineer at Allocations. Her passion for finding workflow efficiencies and human-centered solutions allows her to thrive in collaborative environments. Bryana holds a Degree in Psychology from Southern Adventist University, Office Management from Chattanooga State Community College, Business Management from Belhaven University, and a Certificate of Training in Full Stack JavaScript from Alchemy Code Lab.

Rachael is the Director of Communications at Allocations. 

Episode Outline

[00:53] The principles that Deja thinks about when evaluating and configuring internal tools

[02:11] Configuring Slack

[04:16] Bryana as Chief Slack Trainer

[05:18] Building a company culture with Rachael

[09:52] Advice to companies using Slack

[13:14] Controlling and balancing the noise

[17:57] User Groups

[19:52] Notifications

[21:34] Advice for companies thinking about implementing Slack

[24:37] Q&A

[24:57] Drawing boundaries on Slack

[30:01] Reminding yourself to check other Slack channels

[34:01] Slack vs Teams

[36:49] Rules of the road on Slack

[41:54] Slack tips and tricks

Connect with Deja, Bryana, and Rachael 

Deja’s LinkedIn

Bryana’s LinkedIn

Rachael’s LinkedIn

Website

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Rubén Muñoz Aguilera, Procurement Risk & Compliance Senior Manager - Global Procurement at Xylem, Inc, he talks about remote work and parenting. 

Today, you’ll hear about:

• Rubén’s experience shifting to remote work
• How he maintains a balance between remote working and being a parent
• His daily routines
• Prioritizing interactions with his daughter
• His passion for the Wim Hof Method and cold exposure
• His advice for anyone taking their first steps in the same direction

With over 17 years of experience, Rubén has been successful in leading all facets of procurement and supplier management operations. He has been recognized for his problem-solving abilities and strong leadership.

Rubén holds a Master’s Degree in Mining Engineering from the Polytechnical University of Madrid, a Master’s Degree in Project Management from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mines de Saint-Etienne, an MBA in International Business Administration from EOI Business School, and an Executive MBA from ESADE Business School.

Episode Outline

[00:46] Shifting to remote work

[02:57] Finding balance

[04:01] Important elements of the morning routine

[07:27] Knowing when to stop

[09:17] Intentional key parental interactions

[10:19] Helpful insights

[13:29] Work and family sharing a space

[14:42] Things that Rubén tried out but didn’t continue doing

[17:03] The Wim Hof Method, cold exposure, and cold therapy

[21:20] Taking the first step towards balancing work and parenthood

[22:26] Starting with breathing exercises and cold exposure

[25:27] Q&A

[25:42] How the shift of going remote has impacted Ruben’s personal wellness

[28:07] Going back into the office after shifting to remote work

Connect with Rubén 

LinkedIn

Website

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Olivier L'Abbé, President of metadata.io, he talks about growth and leadership in a remote company. 

Today, you’ll hear about:

• Metadata’s team structure
• Becoming a remote-first company
• The importance of keeping remote teams connected
• The morning meetings that Olivier started
• His changing leadership philosophy 
• Emphasizing non-traditional qualities in teams
• How he maintains meet-ups as the company grows

Olivier has over 20 years of experience in advertising, data science, marketing technology, transportation, and recruiting. In addition to his role as President of metadata.io, Olivier is also the Co-Founder of PROP, and serves as a Limited Partner at GTMfund.

Episode Outline

[00:42] Has metadata.io always been a remote company?

[05:11] The importance of connections as a remote-first company

[08:31] Key tools to help stay connected

[16:47] Short morning meetings

[19:55] How has Olivier’s leadership philosophy changed?

[24:30] Non-traditional qualities in teams

[28:56] Areas where Olivier is still firm

[30:39] Q&A

[30:55] Maintaining in-person meet-ups as the company grows

Connect with Olivier

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Allocations team members, Emily Adams, James Whelchel, and Olia Golinder, they talk about how remote work impacts their parenting. As remote working parents, Emily, James, and Olia share insights on:

• How to balance remote work and parenting demands
• Creating a schedule that works
• Setting healthy boundaries and expectations
• Learning from mistakes
• Parenting advice in the Q&A

Emily Adams is the Client Experience Coordinator at Allocations. Prior to joining Allocations, her jobs were mainly contract work and part-time work in an office setting.

James Whelchel is an Angel Investor and the Director of People Operations at Allocations. Prior to joining Allocations, James worked as an Accounting Lead and Finance Manager in a remote setting since the start of the pandemic. 

Olia Golinder is the Director of Operations at Allocations. Working previously in a law firm, she had experience with long times away from home, and she has since made remote work a requirement for all her roles. 

Episode Outline

[00:48] James’ remote work and parenting

[02:47] Olia’s remote work priority

[04:47] Emily’s remote work experience

[05:49] Olia balancing work and parenting demands

[08:56] James setting his remote work schedule

[10:21] Emily’s full-time schedule

[15:08] Adjustments that didn’t work

[18:26] Q&A

[18:56] How do you set boundaries with kids when you’re working?

[23:19] When your kid needs their attention cup filled

[28:49] Fun activities to do in the time saved due to working remotely

[32:42] Tackling bedtime

[25:52] Preventing burnout between Zoom calls

[36:54] Decompressing

[39:20] Schedule meetings away from Zoom

[41:02] James’ final thoughts

Connect with Emily, James and Olia

Allocations

Emily’s LinkedIn

James’ LinkedIn

Olia’s LinkedIn

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Allocations team members, Lindsay Goldstein, Maurice Dongar, and Chesley McLeary, they talk about the fun side of remote work. Today, you’ll hear about their shifts from various industries into remote work, how remote work has helped support their passions, their advice for people who don’t buy into remote work, and they answer some team questions in the Q&A.

Lindsay Goldstein works in Operations at Allocations. Prior to joining Allocations, she had worked in the restaurant industry. Lindsay holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University, an International Business degree from SAIIE, and a Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

Maurice Dongar is a System/Support Manager at Allocations. Prior to joining Allocations, he worked in the oil and gas industry for over 12 years. He has a passion for motorcycles and racing. Maurice holds an AA degree in IT from the University of Phoenix.

Chesley McLeary is an Account Manager at Allocations. Prior to joining Allocations, she served as the Senior Preferred Banker, Corporate Relations for Startups and VCs, at First Republic Bank. Chesley holds a BSc in Finance/Marketing from Florida State University.

Episode Outline

[00:48] Lindsay shifting to remote work

[03:19] Chesley’s shift to remote work

[05:00] Maurice’s shift into remote

[06:50] How going remote supports other areas of life

[11:27] Advice for people on the hamster wheel

[13:56] Q&A

[14:18] Renewed happiness from going remote

[15:54] Dealing with distractions

[18:14] The first working trip away from home

[23:50] Advice to people who don’t agree with remote work

Connect with Lindsay, Maurice and Chesley

Allocations

Lindsay's LinkedIn

Maurice’s LinkedIn

Chesley’s LinkedIn

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Shonté Jovan Taylor, Neuroscientist and Success Trainer, she talks about the neuroscience of remote work. 

• Hear about Zoom’s effects on the brain, 
• The 5 dimensions of Zoom fatigue,
• How to reduce the likelihood of Zoom fatigue, 
• How the pandemic has affected the human experience, 
• Shonté’s goal as a neuroscientist, and Shonté answers some great questions in the Q&A.

Shonté is a neuroscientist, author, motivational speaker, coach, multi-generational corporate trainer, and founder of the OptiMind Institute, a neuroscience-based coaching and leadership training organization, where she trains and coaches leaders and employees to improve their effectiveness, resilience, and influence by applying brain-based strategies.

With 15 years of experience in neuroscience and organizational psychology, Shonté helps coaches, influencers, and thought leaders assess and address their development needs.

Shonté holds a BSc in Neuroscience from the University of California, LA, an MSc in neurobiology from the California State University-Dominguez Hills, and is a PhD candidate in Psychology at Walden University.

Episode Outline

[00:53] The impacts of Zoom on the brain

[06:52] 5 dimensions of Zoom fatigue

[13:58] Reducing cognitive load on Zoom

[16:25] The human experience since the pandemic started

[18:39] How individuals can decrease the likelihood of fatigue

[24:42] Mindfulness and engagement

[26:43] Shonté’s goal to elevate human potential

[29:10] Team Q&A

[29:30] If you have something to say on Zoom

[31:40] Zoom fatigue and gender differences

[32:50] The 4-day workweek concept

[35:14] Adapting verbal and non-verbal social cues

Connect with Shonté

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

Website

OptiMind Institute

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

Joe & Emily of The Vantastic Life are on a quest to visit all of our National Parks - and plenty more. Joe is an entrepreneur and fitness coach, while Emily does remote work from the road. Both are athletic outdoor enthusiasts and adventure seekers.

In this conversation with Joe and Emily from The Vantastic Life, they talk about their life working remotely while living and traveling in a van. Hear about their transition into remote work with their full-time jobs, developing an optimal work schedule, maintaining productivity on the road, how to find the best work environment, and they answer a few questions in the Q&A.

Episode Outline

[00:57] Deciding to live in a van

[02:37] Before the van

[03:08] Emily going remote

[06:11] Remote work schedule

[07:57] Joe’s transition

[11:26] Iterating

[12:59] Advice for remote working adventure

[14:35] Surprising insights

[16:27] Team Q&A

[16:49] Are you more productive?

[18:00] Building and maintaining friendships

[20:14] Working with your team to develop a remote schedule

[21:46] Considering different roles

[25:08] Joe and Emily’s advice

Inspirational People

Kendra Kinnison

Dan Andrews

Connect with Joe & Emily

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Allocations team members, J.T. Gyorfy, Steffane Smith, and Chloe Hammett, they talk about their experiences adapting to remote work from traditional office environments. Hear about how to create an effective digital curtain, setting schedules and boundaries, mindfulness techniques, adapting workflows, maintaining energy levels, remote team-building activities, and the importance of disconnecting from the screen.

Episode Outline

[00:52] In-person vs. remote environments

[07:36] Creating a digital curtain

[08:44] Workflow adaptations

[11:34] Scheduling

[13:35] Setting boundaries

[16:31] Commuting experience

[18:05] Rituals and mindfulness techniques

[20:38] Helpful Allocations resources

[24:05] Maintaining energy for remote participation

[27:37] Remote team-building activities

[30:36] How to disconnect from the screen

Connect with J.T., Steffane, and Chloe 

Allocations Website

J.T.'s LinkedIn

Steffane’s LinkedIn

Chloe’s LinkedIn

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Dan Andrews, Co-Founder of Dynamite Jobs, and Taylor Pearson, Principal of The Mutiny Fund, they talk about the future of remote work and their insights as digital nomad pioneers. Hear about the development of remote work and location independence, how technology influences the remote work industry, how to remain structured while working remotely, and dealing with in-house face-time politics.

Episode Outline

[00:57] First connecting with Dan and Taylor

[03:46] Remote work and the history of location independence

[06:18] The End of Work

[08:14] The steam power to electric analogy

[10:30] The Tropical MBA community

[12:28] The Dynamite Circle

[15:20] What’s Taylor up to now?

[17:36] Taylor’s trilemma

[21:55] Thoughts about the Metaverse and VR tech in the remote workspace

[25:13] Maintaining structure with remote work

[28:41] “In-office employees will always have an upper-hand on career progression because they are always seen.”

Connect with Dan 

Dan's LinkedIn

Dynamite Jobs

Tropical MBA Podcast

Dan's Twitter

Connect with Taylor

Taylor’s LinkedIn

Taylorpearson.me

Mutiny Fund

The End of Jobs

Taylor’s Twitter

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Gale Wilkinson, Founder and Managing Director of Vitalize, she talks about VC and future-of-work. Hear about Vitalize’s role in investing in future-of-work, what makes a good startup, the importance of having healthy teams, how business owners should think about volatilities, and Gale answers some questions from the team.

Episode Outline

[00:39] Vitalize and future-of-work

[01:11] Covid’s impact on the trajectory

[01:58] Gale’s start in VC

[03:40] Differentiating Vitalize

[05:58] Evaluating startups

[08:18] What makes a good startup?

[10:52] Founder-market fit

[12:11] The healthiest teams

[13:47] How to think about and navigate volatilities

[16:38] Team questions

[17:04] Exciting trends, changing company cultures

[20:05] What does Gale look for in company culture and leadership team?

[21:23] Communication and Gale’s decision-making process

[23:42] How does Gale think about “failure”?

Connect with Gale

LinkedIn

Website

Gale.vc

Twitter

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Nick Bird, CFO of Allocations, he talks about his decade-long remote journey. Hear about the founding and acquisition of Lumen, using tech to amplify production, when Nick met Kingsley, and Nick answers live audience questions.

Episode Outline

[01:08] Going remote in 2012

[04:56] Managing a practice

[07:03] Lumen’s size

[07:57] Amplifying production with tech

[08:55] Connecting with Kingsley

[10:57] Handing over Lumen

[13:59] Navigating both sides

[15:05] Recommended tools

[17:46] Audience Q&A

[21:00] Which animal is Lumen now?

[21:38] Nick’s personal finance app

[22:48] Transitioning into a larger team

[25:16] Must-haves for a remote workspace

[26:25] The a-ha moment

Recommended tools

Airbase

QuickBooks

Divvy

Ramp

Xero

Connect with Nick

LinkedIn

Website

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Dr. Erica Simon, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Expert in Systemic Change, she talks about remote work challenges and their solutions. Hear about the challenges of working remotely, the importance of setting boundaries, rest and play, deprioritizing, the 8-hour workday, scaling a business remotely, documentation, and Erica answers bonus questions from a live audience.

Episode Outline

[00:56] Getting into remote work

[03:45] Erica and Allocations

[04:44] The challenges of remote work

[08:56] Things to do to improve the environment

[14:39] Improving for individuals

[18:52] Splitting the workday

[24:15] Remote scaling

[27:19] Documentation

[30:30] Bonus Footage

[30:57] Extroverts and introverts working remotely

[34:49] Imposter syndrome

Connect with Erica

LinkedIn

Website 

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)

In this conversation with Kingsley Advani, Founder and CEO of Allocations, we explore how the company was created and the early influences that shaped its values and priorities. Hear about the power of teamwork, the process of building a decentralized company, facilitating diversity, uncovering black boxes, and tools to consider for optimizing the all-in remote experience.

Episode Outline

[00:48] Before Allocations, and building the team

[02:53] Why remote is so powerful

[05:03] Decentralized team structures

[06:26] Defining “remote”

[08:12] Black boxes

[09:12] Business as a team sport

[09:53] Encouraging diversity through writing

[11:19] Recording meetings

[11:58] Important tools

[15:50] Exploring diversity

[18:37] Pulling from different industries

[20:28] Flexibility and timing

[21:48] Should companies give serious thought to remote?

Important tools

Google Drive

Slack

Airtable

Notion

Connect with Kingsley

LinkedIn

Website

Twitter

Connect with Allocations

Website

LinkedIn (Allocations)

Twitter (Allocations)

Facebook (Allocations)

LinkedIn (Kendra Kinnison)