Although it was tough to pick, here are our favorite speeches/sessions from this year’s conference.

Impact of Building The Most Successful Remote Work Relocation Program in the World.

Speaker: Justin Harlan, Managing Director @ Tulsa Remote

Considering our personal and professional background, this was one of our most anticipated speeches at this year’s Running Remote conference. We already mentioned in our “preparing for the conference” article that we were eagerly awaiting this talk and we’re glad to say that it lived up to the expectations (and beyond).

Justin Harlan, the managing director at Tulsa Remote, shared with the audience some valuable insights on how Tulsa Remote became one of the most globally successful remote work relocation programs.

Over the last four years, they have attracted over 3000 remote workers and retained almost 90% of them, who extended their stays beyond the obligatory 12 months stipulated by the Tulsa Remote program. 

Justin spoke extensively about the environment they’ve created in Tulsa, which is conducive to up-and-coming entrepreneurs due to the abundance of resources available. He highlighted that 1 out of 5 individuals enrolled in the program ended up starting a business as a result of how well they assimilated.

He emphasized that none of this would be possible without the proper structure of the program, which was supported by investments, and thoughtfully laid out.

Particularly interesting to us was his discussion on scaling the community, highlighting the differences in managing 70 versus 3000 people and the need for a more structured approach.

Justin also touched on how these developments are impacting Tulsa’s economy in a bigger picture, with over $560 million brought in through remote workers’ salaries and more than 1300 local jobs created to meet the demands of the city’s new demographic. 

Finally, Justin introduced us to the launch of a new Digital Nomad Program that we can expect later this year, which will be meant to cater to those interested in shorter trial periods. This news left everybody excited, as it will make it much easier for many others to experience Tulsa in the future!

Tulsa Remote is only one of the relocation programs currently happening in the world, and it’s very interesting to see how governments and cities can leverage a more global talent for their economic and urban development.

How to Design Your Business on Your Own Term

Speaker: Mrs. Ilma Tikki – Co-founder & President @ Mailerlite

As we mentioned in the introduction of this article, the Deep Dive stage really made an impression on us this year. 

There is nothing as valuable as hearing a personal, raw, and transparent experience of a successful business owner or a professional, directly from them, almost as if you invited them for a coffee. 

All success stories are painted in challenges and struggles and we rarely get a chance to hear about them. Having the opportunity to look inside the brain of the decision-maker who takes you back on a journey when they made the decision is an incomparable insight and inspiration. 

This year, one of the stories we liked the most was that from Mrs. Ilma Tikki, the Co-founder and President of Mailerlite, who took us inside her mind to tell us a story of how she grew a business on her own terms that ultimately became a global success story. 

Not only did Mrs. Ilma share some of her personal and professional challenges along the way, but she emphasized that you can achieve anything if you dare to dream and step out of your comfort zone. 

The key takeaway from her speech was the idea that a successful business often reflects the extent of a person’s determination, and adjusting a business journey to your own life and personal story can only make it stronger. 

People often think that behind every successful business is a perfect business idea, but the truth is that more often there is determination, hard work, flexibility, and an unmatched motivation to make it happen. In that sense, tailoring a business to our terms helps us stay on that motivation track and helps us make sense of what we’re doing even in the toughest times. 

This is exactly what we take from Ilma’s story, as it is something that can be applied to any business and any industry.

Balancing Work Culture, Global Mobility, and Legal Responsibility

Panel: Masha Sutherlin – Director @ Deel, Mrs. Crystal Gaskin – Former CPO @ Mailchimp, Howard Wu – CEO @ Whereby  moderated by Gonçalo Hall – CEO @ NomadX

The RR conference is well-known for its insightful panels that gather global leaders in one place, always moderated by a hand-picked industry professional who knows how to engage the panelists. 

Like every year, there were many interesting panels at this year’s RR in Lisbon, with many amazing panelists and discussions, but this one especially stuck with us. 

It’s needless to say it gathered some very insightful individuals, but the main reason we loved it so much is how natural the flow of the conversation was.

Everything from the honest stories and experiences of participating panelists to the amazing moderation skills of Goncalo Hall who always knew how to shift the conversation in the right direction with his take on some of the topics, made this panel a top-notch listening experience. 

During the hour-long session, the panel covered a variety of topics, primarily focusing on the complexities of providing work flexibility at scale. This included tracking employee locations, managing political ramifications, and balancing legal responsibilities while nurturing an empowered company culture. 

The panelists shared their personal experiences, offering both humorous and insightful anecdotes, but mostly, the audience was able to take some crucial aspects of employing remotely that we often forget about.

It is not an easy task for companies to maintain the same culture, happiness, and legal implications when operating remotely. It is a big conversation to unpack and we were glad we had a chance to hear it and develop a better understanding of the challenges.

The post Running Remote 2024 Recap: Exploring Growth, Connections, and Communities Through our Favorite Sessions appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

These days, we are preparing for what is now becoming an annual detour to Portugal – can you guess the reason?

Well, of course, it’s that time of the year—Running Remote is once again coming to Lisbon, and My Coliving Space: Spain (T&T) is joining as a media partner. 

After another year working in the coliving sector, we have witnessed many changes in 2023-2024 on the remote-work front ourselves.

We are living in a historical moment in which such a wide variety of professionals are able to be location-independent. With such a shift that happened over the past 5 years in how we look at work and what we value, the world is still only paving the path that will later become a standard—or to put it another way—this is still only the beginning of the new working culture. 

And like with many other beginnings, changes and shifts are happening quickly, and it is not any different when it comes to remote work. 

What we have been noticing through the coliving sector is also a shift in tendencies and a change of personas. We have been seeing a new wave of coliving visitors with not fully remote or flexibile jobs, such as those with 2-3 weeks/year WFA models. 

During the past 2 years many companies have experimented with work models and a lot of them chose hybrid as the best option. Surprisingly, many professionals did as well. 

After a few trial years of many people working fully remotely, it seems that there is an increased need for stability, routine, and team connection in the workplace—something that most of us were willing to give up on for more flexibility and independence just a few years ago. 

However, many still believe that the shift we experienced is permanent. It’s been almost 100 years since humanity was introduced with the 9-5 model; is the remote era going to be the end of it and show how productivity and human innovation thrive with more flexibility (time and location wise), or will the history books remember it as a only as a trend or an experiment?

Well, all these questions are the reason we’re excited about this year’s Running Remote. 

As professionals from the sector that is highly dependent on location flexibility, we’re curious to see how it can be shaped into the future to answer the newly emerging (and sometimes even conflicted) needs of the new work-life culture.

What will the future of work be – Remote, Hybrid, or In-office? 

As previously mentioned—this is the biggest question. The truth probably lies somewhere in between – in some type of hybrid model that we might not even have in our minds at this moment.

Flexibility is not something that can be taken back, but stability and in-person connections are something that we’ll want to have back. 

On the other hand, a big part of this tendecy comes from productivity. Where are we more productive and where do we set the best work-life balances?

We’ll explore all these questions and many other on RR 2024, and here are some speeches on this topic we’re especially interested in hearing:

Office at the Offsite – Future of All-Remote Organizations

Speaker: Mr. Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury, Professor @ Harvard Business School

On April 23rd, from 10:20 – 11:00 local time, on Radical stage, Mr. Raj Choudhury, a professor at Harvard Business School, will share his thoughts on what hybrid work could mean in the future. 

When we say hybrid, what most of us think is “a few days from the office and a few days from home”. However, Professor Choudhury proposes the idea of a hybrid work that meets the in-person connection needs in a third location. As he says himself, “his research suggests that teams are innovating on both where to meet and when to meet”. 

Companies are increasingly exploring team retreats as one of the offsite community outlets for their employees, but we are also interested to hear if there are more possibilities other than an annual company retreat? Dr. Choudhury will talk about different locations and situations where and when remote teams can meet. 

Once again mentioning Dr. Raj’s own words, his research “shows that even brief periods of being in-person together help individuals innovate, especially when they meet team members from different time zones or different cultures”.

For us, this speech seems very interesting as it shows us that the future will birth new solutions to meet the needs of this new wave of hybrid work. Downtown offices and coworking solutions will not suffice, and this definitely gives space for new models of coliving spaces specialized for remote teams.

Panel – Productivity Measurement of Co-located vs Remote Teams

Panelists: Jenny He, Founder & CEO @ Ergeon; Dart Lindsley, Strategic Advisor, People Experience @ Google; Michael Cockburn, CEO & Co-Founder @ Desena; & Rosie Sargeant, Project Leader @ Boston Consulting Group

April 23rd, from 11:40 to 12:20 local time, after the first break and networking while refueling with coffee and sandwiches, we will be back at the Radical stage to attend a panel discussing a crucial point of the future of work—productivity.

We are looking forward to this systematic discussion among global leaders on how they measure productivity and whether remote work shows more positive or negative results on productivity. 

Opinions have been changing throughout the years, but many think that productivity is actually increased with remote work. A typical struggle seem to be more on the side of the leaders and companies, who need to adapt by setting tools and work models that would support and measure productivity in a remote setting. 

With so many years of WFO models, models for measuring work seem to already be set in stone, but can they actually work in remote settings?

For leaders and companies, this might be the biggest challenge yet, as well as the most frequent disinclination towards giving their teams the flexibility to work remotely. However, if with time tools and models for leading, supporting, and measuring the productivity of remote teams become more available, will more companies and leaders feel confident to step their toes into those waters?

There is definitely something to think about there, and where better to dissect it than in a panel discussion made of industry leaders?

How different locations are attracting remote workers?

Another interesting perspective for us is the global trend of countries’ and cities’ goals to attract digital nomads. 

This is a very two-sided topic that can be perceived from both positive and negative perspective. On one hand, globalization and more flexibile borders are definitely a thing of today (and the future), not only from perspectives of knowledge-sharing that happens via international networks of travelers or foreigners in new places but also from the perspective of economic leverage of international talent that countries are tapping into.

However, on the other hand, where the borders open, gentrification comes in. Many countries have rushed to open their borders to generate more economic value only to pose economic challenges to their own people.

The idea of bringing (wealthier) people to countries that are facing economic challenges is a double-edged sword and the best approach on how countries can do it is something that is being tested in real-time and will take shape only in the future.

In general, if done carefully and by protecting the local habitants, bringing remote workers to the countries or cities that face challenges and low population, or just a decrease in popularity, definitely has a lot of benefits to it. 

With that said, we are glad to see a few topics close to this on this year’s RR, and here are the discussions we’ll definetly look into:

Impact of building the most successful remote work relocation program in the world

Speaker: Justin Harlan, Managing Director @ Tulsa Remote

At 12:20 – 12:50 on April 23rd, on the Deep Dive Stage, we will hear from Justin Harlan, the Managing Director of Tulsa Remote, a relocation program to Tulsa aimed at remote workers. 

This is a very interesting concept and definitely something that we will see more in the future—cities or countries creating special programs aimed at remote workers to enhance the local economy and reshape and modernize the local environment. 

In the past years, we have already been seeing countries such as Greece, Italy, and Switzerland, offering these programs aimed at populating rural areas with the decline of population, but we definitely expect to see more of these programs aimed at professionals and remote workers, such as Tulsa Remote. 

What is especially interesting is not the program itself but the infrastructure and the community of remote workers that will reshape the city. It will be very interesting to see what Tulsa Remote is offering beyond the 10000 USD incentive and how this is expected to change the city in the future. 

The program has already attracted around 3000 remote workers who moved to Tulsa and contributed more than $560 million to the local economy.

We’re very excited to hear Justin speak about this program and the impact that is already being generated from it.

How to enable your next remote experience in Buenos Aires?

Speaker: Mauro Alejo Guevara, Director of Int’l Relations @ Visit Buenos Aires

From 16:10 – 16:40 on April 24th, on the Radical Stage, we will join the speech from Mauro Alejo Guevara, Director of International Relations at Visit Buenos Aires. 

Last year, we also tuned it for the speech from Visit Buenos Aires and learned some things about the city and what makes it attractive for digital nomads. 

This year, we expect the focus to be more on the possibilities for remote workers and companies to visit or settle in Buenos Aires, as well as the infrastructure that makes this city a true hub for remote workers. 

There are many other speeches we are looking forward to but we’ll leave those for real-time reactions and a post-conference summary. 

What speeches have you written down in your schedule and what are you looking to get from this year’s Running Remote?

The post Getting ready for Running Remote 2024: Sessions We’re Most Excited About appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

The 6th edition of Running Remote will take place at Pestana Palace Lisbon and SUD Lisboa over 2 and a half days. Starting with the expo and networking on the 24th, the first live sessions and panel discussions will happen on the 25th and the 26th.

Even though it’s the 6th edition, the excitement is the same as if it’s the first one simply because the insights we have on remote work have been changing rapidly since the pandemic. Every year, we’re presented with a whole new perspective and a fresh set of valuable insights.

This year, we expect the focus to be on employee well-being and satisfaction, balancing flexibility and productivity, and on the quality of the processes when it comes to managing remote teams.

As an official Media Partner, My Coliving Space will be on-site to cover the event and bring you a closer look at some of our top picks for must-see sessions at the Running Remote 2023 conference.

With a primary focus on coliving as a product that was indirectly derived from remote work, and Spain as one of the top destinations for foreign remote workers and digital nomads, we will join in the sessions that will help us understand how countries and governments address and support remote work, as well as sessions that will address the new needs and challenges of workers in a remotely-focused culture.

Let’s dive into our top picks then!

Welcoming International Remote Workers: Programs, Incentives, and Approaches

Although the main perspective of Running Remote is from the corporate level, it’s also crucial to speak about the remote work implications from the government or country level.

While more companies open their doors to fully remote employees, we will be seeing a much higher movement on the international level. We are already seeing this in the last couple of years, with some of the more popular countries for remote workers or corporate nomads needing to take steps to create new laws and programs to support the incoming foreigners under new circumstances but also protect its existing laws and residents.

Here are the top sessions on this year’s Running Remote that we think might allow us a closer look at the steps and tools certain places take to attract and support remote workers in a multi-beneficial way.

How Portugal welcomes remote work

Speaker: Ana Mendes Godinho, the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security of Portugal

On the 26th, from 8:55 AM – 9:05 AM local time, at the Radical stage, we will join a short speech from Portugal’s Minister of Labour, Solidarity, and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, who will share how Portugal approaches and welcomes remote work.

We will see if Ana will focus mostly on the Portuguese residents working remotely or international remote workers coming to Portugal, but either way, we’re very excited to hear a short breakdown of it, especially since Portugal is one of the European hubs for remote workers.

How Buenos Aires became the most popular global destination for remote workers and digital nomads

Speakers: Alina Gonzalez, MICE Manager at Visit Buenos Aires & Mauro Guevala, the General Director of International Relations at Visit Buenos Aires

On the 25th, from 11:40 AM to 12:10 PM local time, at the Deep Dive stage, the attendees will have the opportunity to learn from Alina Gonzalez and Mauro Guevala of Visit Buenos Aires, who will share insights on how Buenos Aires has become the most popular global destination for remote workers and digital nomads.

Alina Gonzalez is a certified public accountant with a Master’s degree in Public Policy and the General Manager of the Buenos Aires Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Mauro Guevala is the General Director of International Relations at Visit Buenos Aires.

Together, they will cover key aspects of the city, including information digital nomads might find interesting and the international projection strategy of BA frames of the digital nomad program. They will dive deeper into the Nomads BA program and provide information regarding the immigration process (visa).

Buenos Aires has indeed become a very desirable destination for remote workers and digital nomads, so we’re very curious to hear more about the programs and what the city does that makes it so attractive.

Alina and Mauro will also invite attendees to share their thoughts and enrich the policy together.

Why certain government remote work programs work better than others

Speaker: Gonçalo Hall, the CEO at NomadX

On the 26th, from 10:00 AM to 10:40 AM local time, on the Deep Dive stage, we will have the opportunity to dive deeper into the topic of remote work on the governmental level with Gonçalo Hall, the CEO at NomadX, an international community of slow traveling remote workers, and the creator of the Digital Nomad Villages in Ponta do Sol, Madeira, and Cape Verde.

As a leading industry expert and with a big understanding of the needs of, those he addresses as, “the corporate nomads”, we are expecting Gonçalo to, once again, share valuable insights into the world of remote work from that unique perspective.

With the rise of this new type of digital nomad, Gonçalo thinks companies are being forced to adapt and find ways to comply with the nomadic lifestyle, meanwhile, governments around the world are competing to attract digital nomads with various visa and program offerings.

We see examples of this being true on every corner, such as countries launching special visas specifically for these personas, with one of the latest big launches like this – the digital nomad visa in Spain.

In his session, Gonçalo will explore the profiles of corporate nomads and share his expertise on how companies can stay relevant in this changing landscape.

Furthermore, and something especially interesting for us, Gonçalo will dive into the specifics of various government programs and visas designed to attract nomads to new locations, examining what makes some programs more successful than others.

Explore the Expo Zone and Virtual Sessions

Except for the live talks and panels happening on the 25th and 26th, the attendees will also be able to explore the Expo Zone and Virtual Session for more insights, information, tools, and much more.

Staying on the topic of receiving/attracting foreign remote workers, we would single out the following exhibitors and virtual sessions:

Tenerife: Working from Paradise, made easy!

By: Tenerife Work and Play

In the past few years, Tenerife has become the ultimate Spanish hub for remote workers. Some might choose it because of its all-year-round summer weather, and others for its tax incentives.

Whichever the reason is, it’s not doubtful that Tenerife is one of the leading destinations for remote workers, digital nomads, and digital immigrants.

Tenerife Work and Play is an all-in-one platform that provides support to foreigners coming to Tenerife and helps remote workers from all over the world have a soft landing on the island.

There are many benefits to choosing Tenerife as a remote worker and this is a great opportunity to learn what they are. Also, Tenerife Work and Play is a good example of a clever initiative that helps regulate remote work while attracting foreigners.

My Coliving Space: Spain spent quite some time in Tenerife and other islands in the Canaries collaborating with coliving operators and surrounded by remote workers, so we’re very eager to visit Tenerife Work and Play and learn more about the newest updates for digital nomads on the island.

In front of this event will be Nacho Rodriguez, the founder of Repeople, an organization that builds ecosystems for remote workers, and a familiar figure to anyone who is in the coliving and coworking industry, so we’re very excited to connect with him and hearing his thoughts on the future of remote work in the Tenerife and beyond.

Costa De Sol: Make the Sun your Workmate

By: Visit Costa De Sol

Once (and still) a popular tourist destination, Costa De Sol in Southern Spain is exploring the opportunities of attracting a new type of tourist – remote workers and digital nomads.

We will definitely be visiting Costa De Sol’s expo because MCS: Spain was born as a media platform about Andalusia. Once we started focusing our efforts on topics related to digital nomads, our focus switched to other parts of Spain simply because the southern part of Spain was still not as popular for this type of visitor. Having that in mind, we’re very excited to hear some new strategies that would make Andalusia attractive for the working nomad as well.

Join us virtually or in the Expo Zone to find out what new approaches Costa De Sol will take to attract remote workers, especially after the digital nomad visa was introduced in Spain this year.

Buenos Aires Your Rock!

By: Visit Buenos Aires

Additionally to the session that will be hosted by Alina Gonzalez, MICE Manager at Visit Buenos Aires & Mauro Guevala, the General Director of International Relations at Visit Buenos Aires, visitors will be able to ask questions and explore some more about Buenos Aires for remote workers and digital nomads on the Expo.

Visit Buenos Aires is the official international tourism marketing organization of Buenos Aires whose mission is to maximize opportunities for international tourism in the city. Working closely with the Buenos Aires Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Visit Buenos Aires team will be happy to share more details about their work and the city.

These are only some of the sessions you will definitely find us at this year’s Running Remote.

We’re also looking forward to exploring some other topics in sessions such as Rowena Hennigan’s “Staying productive when you combine remote work and travel”, “The paradoxical concept of self-management and remote work” by Mr. David Allen and Mike Vardy, the panel “Fostering connection and culture in distributed teams”, and many more.

The post Getting ready for Running Remote 2023: A preview of our top picks for must-see sessions appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.