You’ve probably heard about the newest trend among remote employees and companies – workation. For those unfamiliar with the term, workation (work + vacation) describes the practice of combining working remotely and vacation. This is not a completely new notion. However, it became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when remote work became ‘a new normal’. The pandemic changed how we work for the better, and now it’s changing how we vacation. Now, with the advancement in remote work tools and technologies, it is easier for employees to work on projects from remote locations while enjoying a break from the regular daily routine.

The possibility of working and vacationing at the same time may sound unbelievable, but we can assure you it’s reality. We are one of the few companies that adopted this hybrid work model that allowed working remotely even before the pandemic. Our people are free to create a work schedule that suits them best. They are able work from wherever they want, as long as that doesn’t interfere with their tasks and duties. The well-being of our people is vital to our company culture. For that reason, along with the flexible work schedules and relaxed working atmosphere, we introduced remote work options long before it became a trend.  

In this article, we’ll share with you how our Cosmic citizens enjoyed their summer while working from various locations and why embracing a remote work policy and flexible working hours is the way to go. 

The Benefits of Summer Workations 

Why work from one place when you can take your work anywhere? Why not?

Workations come with huge benefits that are difficult to ignore. When you are not tied to your working desks all day and don’t waste time commuting, you have more freedom and flexibility to explore other options while performing your professional responsibilities and earning money. And, if you are working from home most of the time, you know that it can become quite tedious and leave you feeling stuck after a while.

Workations are an excellent opportunity to enjoy a much-needed change in scenery while you work. And you can use your spare time to relax and explore new places,. This is a great motivator and it promotes well-being. It can also enhance your productivity and creativity, give you a different perspective and encourage new ideas.

Waking up by the sea or in the mountains, drinking your coffee with a panoramic view of nature, and working online with your work desk pointing towards your favorite mountains or beaches, is definitely far better than spending eight hours in the office staring at a blank wall or working in a busy, stressful environment. However, workations shouldn’t be regarded as a substitute for actual holidays because you still need time to shut off from work completely.

How Cosmic Citizens Enjoyed Remote Work Perks This Summer

The Cosmic team took full advantage of their freedom and flexibility this summer and combined work and lovely summer sceneries. Besides working from the comfort of their gardens and balconies, our employees enjoyed the benefit of working from their hometowns and different distant getaway locations in nature while still getting the work done. 

Here’s how some of our employees spend the summer and the beautiful sights they visit.

Are Summer Workations Good for Companies?

Yes! It’s not only the employees that reap the benefits from the workations; it’s the company too. Business success, job performance, and employee well-being are closely connected. 

When companies invest in their people’s mental and physical well-being and trust them to work from anywhere, they have happier employees. And happy employees work harder and better than those who aren’t. 

The benefits of flexible work schedules and workations include better productivity and creativity. It also boosts employee satisfaction, motivation, and morale. Moreover, it is a great way to build employee loyalty and retention because the new generation of workers puts great value on flexibility. 

However, companies should establish a clear remote work policy and outline expectations that everyone in the company can rely on. With a solid work-from-home policy, teams are more likely to achieve their goals, keep productivity, and be satisfied with their work. This includes performance expectations, availability expectations, working hours, expected response time for each communication channel, client confidentiality, cybersecurity, and equipment requirements. 

In our company, summer benefits are a way to reward hard work and give people a break they need. But, remote work and summer workations come with a responsibility to deliver high-quality work to benefit our clients. Our employees have the flexibility to work from home. However, we still sometimes require that they are available during certain core hours that overlap with their team members. That way, we ensure that everyone is available for team meetings or clients in certain time zones. 

Join Cosmic Development and enjoy the freedom of choosing your workspace.

Freedom and flexibility are perks at the core of our company culture, and we are really proud of having them.

We at Cosmic believe that personal well-being is essential for top job performance. Which is why we have the option to let our employees choose their work locations. However, we are still keeping our offices open for those that want to work from an office setting.

Your work setting is irrelevant as long as you are an engaged and productive team member. You’ll have the freedom and tools to get the job done regardless of your position or location.

Cosmic Development may be the answer if you are looking for a place where you can take advantage of countless benefits like combining work and travel. You can check our current job offers here.

The post The Perks of Remote Work: Summer Workations at Cosmic Development appeared first on Cosmic Development.

What a year, right? It’s been over ten months since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. We lived through lockdowns; we learned how to function with social isolation; we disinfected almost anything that could be disinfected; and most important of all, we made the abrupt shift to working from home. We did all that we can to embrace the ‘new normal.’ However, leading an IT outsourcing company through one of the most challenging years in the 21 century was anything but ‘normal.’ This year brought economies worldwide to their knees. Millions of people lost their jobs. And for so many industries, the future still looks uncertain.

So, what did this mean for the successful functioning of Cosmic Development? What did we, as an IT outsourcing provider, achieve despite the new reality? What were the main things that marked 2020 for us? 

Overcoming the challenges imposed by the new reality:

Introducing work from home policy

Since we are an IT outsourcing company with an employees-first policy and offices in three countries across four different locations, we took the prevention measures recommended by the WHO very seriously. After the first cases appeared in Canada, Serbia, and North Macedonia, we immediately shifted to working from home for the foreseeable future. 

As the situation with the virus escalated and it was clear that remote work was here to say, we made sure all our colleagues are safe and have all the essentials to do their work at their best. And having in mind that working from home was available for us even before the pandemic, we adopted this new way of functioning with ease. You can read more about introducing remote work and the useful tools we used here.

However, a huge role in the successful implementation of remote work as a permanent way of functioning had the HR department with representatives in each office location.

Keeping employees engaged during a worldwide pandemic

As we have all witnessed, this whole crisis happened overnight, and it majorly struck our social life. Within a short time-span, the entire world adopted a “new normal” where people practiced social distancing and avoided public gatherings. The bars were shut-down, the restaurants became take-outs, schools and day-care centers were closed, and we forgot what theaters look like. And, to top it all out, there is the global economic crisis and recession.

This harsh reality affected us all. Employers had little time to adapt and provide all the required conditions for successful operation. Whereas employees had to make sure they stay proficient and effective in a whole new scenario. And with the kids staying at home, caring for family members, and psychological pressure from the lockdowns, it became very stressful. 

Being the link between employers and employees, HR teams worldwide had to rethink their role as they had to adjust whole companies to social distancing practices and a new work environment. More than ever, they played a crucial role in keeping their teams productive, motivated, engaged, and connected.

Cosmic Development’s HR manager spoke thoroughly about measures that need to be taken in order to ensure employees’ wellbeing during these, well, let’s say, unprecedented times. She pointed out holistic and agile people management as best practices because every individual is different and unique in their own way. “To do so, our department has been in touch with all employees on a regular basis. Personal coaching in the form of one-on-one sessions were introduced for the most affected employees. While for the outgoing, we organized online contests and events where people could spend time with each other.”

The name we gave to these activities was “Cosmic Beats Isolation”, and we gotta say, it was fun being part of them.

Cosmic Development’s small wins during disruptive 2020:

1. High-quality work has never been at stake

From leadership to newbies, our offices (including the ‘virtual’ ones) have been a place where a bunch of skilled and dedicated professionals work together and achieve tangible results. Having these like-minded people gathered together and adding the nurturing company culture that Cosmic promotes resulted in one compact and very productive team.  

We talked with our team members on their experiences on several subjects, including: how our content editor keeps up with the ever-changing viral video market, overcoming stressful situations from a PHP Developer’s point of view, the technical challenges that video editors face, and how do they overcome them, and how to manage an agile team in these remote times.

Do you want to join our growing Cosmic family? We are hiring! Check out the most recent vacancies here! 

2. Events worth mentioning

In early March, two Rumblers, Marija and Natasha, attended the Digiday Publishing Summit for a good reason. As Business Development representatives and one of the first people to join the Rumble team at Cosmic, they had an excellent opportunity to mingle with the most prominent names in the publishing industry. An event where media leaders talked about the latest trends and useful tools. There were interactive workshops, speed networking sessions, and cocktail hours.   

Another event of no less importance was the Virtual HR Transformation Summit. Cosmic Development’s HR Manager Biljana took the stage and shared her valuable insights on contemporary HR practices and retention strategies. She joined a distinguished list of HR professionals to discuss Human Resources management’s most critical aspects of the new reality.

3. Constant growth has been maintained 

Thanks to our diligent Cosmic crew, we continued to grow even when the whole world stopped. Looking back, we can see incredible growth of some of our loyal clients and on-going scale-up of those who have joined us recently.

This year we have been working with clients worldwide and kept our presence in North America, Western Europe, Western Asia, and Australia. As more and more companies had no other choice but to go remote, our dedicated-team talent solution became an attractive option globally. 

Now let’s get back to our loyal clients. Rumble is winning the battle against Youtube, and here is why it became the obvious choice for video creators. If eager to learn more about Rumble, read how video content brought success to the platform. 

Another platform that saw incredible success this year was the AI-powered website builder Bookmark. What lies behind Bookmark’s success its combination of outstanding leadership and dedicated-team talent solution. Bookmark’s success story is now available, and you can become a part of it, especially if you are a full-stack developer.  

Let us help you scale up with the best IT outsourcing solution. We build dedicated teams for brands! Schedule a free consultation today! 

Watch Video: Cosmic Development 2020 Rewind – A Year in Pictures

With the vaccines rolling out slowly, we can say that we are looking to a brighter future in 2021. Our team is generally thankful for making it to 2021 with all employees being well and sound, bigger in size and experience, and ready for new challenges. What can be more valuable than walking out as a winner from one of the most challenging years in modern times?

The post Cosmic Development, an International IT Outsourcing Provider, is Looking Back at 2020 appeared first on Cosmic Development.