Jan 31, 2024
One of the first things I noticed when joining the Render team was how each team member uses similar, or even the same tools- yet all in unique ways. In many workplaces, individual work habits and routines are tolerated, but not necessarily encouraged out of fear of breaking down the common platforms, rhythms, and systems we’re all accustomed to. Some concern is understandable, if your organization uses Slack but one department refuses to give up Google Chat - things are bound to slip between the cracks. And in recent years, with the wide scale adoption of remote and hybrid work models, making sure teams stay connected has become essential. Some argue that a thriving workplace is one that doesn't throttle individuality but embraces differences in work systems as a way to encourage a resilient office culture.
The Render team uses the same general communications channels: Slack, Asana, Google Calendar - and yet by tailoring these general platforms to individual needs, everyone is set up for success. Render encourages team members to create a workflow that works for them. Prefer to work heads down, headphones on, hours into a playlist? No problem. Work best from home? We embrace a hybrid and remote work model. The best work is accomplished, when a team is at their most supported.
Get in the Work Zone
First, the vibe has to be right. At the office in person or at home, everybody works best when they’re comfortable and can really focus. For this reason our team is a big fan of work playlists. Both the creative team and capital team listen to playlists daily to keep their work flowing. While some listen to the Lo-Fi Girl playlist and Youtube Channel ( a classic amongst everyone from students, workers, and anyone else with long stretches of deep work). Others prefer a Sad Instrumental Playlist that automatically updates daily so you never run out of background music. Either is the perfect way to get in the deep work zone.
The second thing our team can’t live without: snacks. No, seriously. We’re made up of everyone from Diet Coke enthusiasts to pretzel fiends, and they are all taken care of. If we expect people to do their best - why not provide little things like snacks to make them feel supported? For some it’s the headache of having to run to the store, make lists, all the normal reasons to hate grocery shopping outside of work. Trust us, the cheat code for this is Instacart. We Slack anything that’s running low and add it to our weekly Instacart run. Simple, and unbelievably convenient.
Letting Tech do the Heavy Lifting
Something, seemingly obvious but worth mentioning, is our team takes advantage of tech that well makes the job easier. We have many loyal proponents of 1Password, a password keychain solution. Anyone who’s role requires the constant signing in and out from multiple internal, external, and client accounts - this platform is a gamechanger. Rebecca, Render’s Director of Product let’s tech do the heavy lifting whenever possible. Her latest secret weapon is an AI-powered video summary tool called summarize.tech. “Sometimes I don't want to watch the video, I just want to read a summary. You submit a youtube URL, and it summarizes it for you in a shareable text format. Here is the summary for the recent Mulloy / Otts convo.”
As a company who embraces a hybrid / remote work model, it’s important we can all be in the meeting. This means reliable integrations between Google and the video tech in our meeting rooms. Rather than messy external platforms, we use Google Meet that integrates with Joan, our hybrid workplace management system that handles coordinating and scheduling meeting rooms directly from our Google Calendar like magic (seriously, you should definitely check it out).
Using Common Platforms in Unique Ways
Lastly, our team prioritizes finding unique work-arounds within the shared platforms we’re all one. To host all this information we’ve created an internal company wiki on Notion that allows us to easily access information, guides, and transparently check in on goals and projects. Meghan, Project Manager is the unofficial Asana Sage meticulously organizing and documenting in “the spot where I capture thoughts, processes, and collaborate across projects.”
Managing Director, Patrick however prefers to embrace Slack and all the integrations and features possible. “Work life balance is critical in today's "always on" operating environment not only to hire but to retain and keep teammates motivated AND able to do their best work. For our team at Render that means a strict no business related messages on slack outside normal business hours other than emergencies - for those of you out there like me that think of things outside the working hours time block and want to get stuff "out of your brain" or "off of your plate" one of my absolute favorites is the ability to schedule messages in slack…..whether this is an article I read on the weekend watching football that I want to share with the corporate innovation team or an expense / receipt to be filed appropriately while I'm checking into my AirBnB one evening for a work trip or just a simple "you are doing an awesome job!"
