STAYING CONNECTED IN A MODERN COMPANY

Companies now don't follow a traditional style of communicating within an organization. You no longer need to be confined to a desk to stay connected. Although we're given more options of how we communicate, it's important to have the right tools to maintain the experience of staying connected.

It's difficult to replicate the in-person interactions using devices. But, with the proper set of tools, companies can mimic the experience to create effective communicators.

PLATFORMS TO ADD TO YOUR COMMUNICATION TOOLBAG

We use several platforms to make sure we stay transparent and connected. This isn't a one-size-fits-all model. Rather, it's an example of how utilizing different platforms together can help your company streamline the communication process.

SLACK

Our day-to-day platform is Slack, a digital workspace that brings all our communication together in one place.

The platform has become an integrated part of Twisted Rope. It's a place where most of our collaboration and group communication happens. Everything happens in real-time and is accessible to anyone.

GOTOMEETING

Although Slack is great for our day-to-day communicating, we also like seeing who's on the other side of the screen. For that, we use GoToMeeting.

The GoToMeeting experience allows multiple users around the world to be together and see one another eye-to-eye.

ASANA

Without a proper project management system, it's easy for tasks to slip through the cracks. We are able to function as a team because of Asana.

With our company scattered across various time zones, Asana has become a staple to maintaining order within Twisted Rope. The transparency keeps all team members aware of who's responsible for what and when. There is no grey area and it keeps the expectations honest.

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These are examples of what works best for us. To find the right platforms, we focused on what could help us function as a single entity despite being in multiple places. With that in mind, we shaped the technology around our organization's needs.

Our way of communicating has evolved, but it doesn't mean we don't miss the in-person interactions. If anything, these platforms help ensure that we maintain the feeling of in-person interactions.

When the clock strikes 9 a.m. in an east coast city in the United States and most people are just settling in at the office, grabbing a cup of coffee, checking their morning email and seeing what's on tap for a particular day at work, our team in Europe already has a 6-and-a-half-hour head start. When 5 p.m. rolls around in these same cities and people are winding down, our business day continues from our west coast office in the Silicon Beach corridor in Los Angeles.

Our agency continues to grow and grow. Our main production headquarters is in Buffalo, N.Y., in the Tri-Main Center, but our staff is all over.

To better serve our clients, we realized a few years back we needed to be in locales around the world, comfortably situated in time zones where we could always be available. We first expanded to Europe and Canada and, earlier this year, opened our Los Angeles office in the WeWork Manhattan Beach Towers.

Aside from Buffalo and Los Angeles, our staff around the world can be found in Paris, France; Barcelona, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; and Toronto, Ontario.

It was through this idea of a global staff working together as one we formed our new identity as our company rebranded in 2016 as Twisted Rope. We were a diverse team from a lot of different backgrounds and a lot of different parts of the world all intertwined. We wanted our name to reflect who we are as we continued to grow.

We "twist" the fibers of all the different facets of digital development to work as one collective unit to bring ideas for clients from an original concept through to completion. Our graphic designers, motion graphic artists, developers, digital strategists, UX/UI specialists, project managers and management staff all work together in a unique way and on the same wavelength.

It's fun to be a part of this each and every day, particularly as we are beginning to delve into how we can use augmented reality and virtual reality in digital marketing campaigns for clients. Learn more on how to get started with augmented reality and what it can do for your brand.

Follow along today as we bring you this glimpse inside Twisted Rope on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twine, our creative space and blog.