Nicole Miller
Director of People @ Buffer
A collection of 83 posts by Nicole Miller - Page 2
What does a family leave policy look like for the workplace of the future? What if your workplace is remote? And global? What about leave types that aren’t related to having children: like bereavement leave, taking care of parents or aging loved ones… How do these fit into the workplace of the future? These were some of the questions we considered as we dove deeper into our old (and fairly standard for most tech companies) family leave policy of 16 weeks paid time off. Part of our company vi
Here at Buffer, we love to read. A lot. In fact, we gifted 1,366 Kindle books to our team members and their family members this year alone! This is 27% more than our 2015 total of 1074 and 108% more than our 2014 total of 656 ! One of our most avid readers, Amy , is in four book clubs currently, and she cites this Kindle perk as enabling her to do so and also set n
How do you work best throughout the day? For some of us on the Buffer team, it’s about the right morning routine to set the day right. For others, the right evening routine is what it takes to get ahead for the next day. We’ve found there’s no one way to organize your work day — and that the best fit looks different for every person. Here are a few examples from our team to help inspire some different ideas to arrange your workday for optimal productivity and creativity. Structure doesn’t h
One of the most difficult parts about interviewing with a new company can be negotiating salary. There are tons of tips out there, and one of the most helpful is to know what someone in that position might earn before going into the negotiation. It may seem like a small detail, but negotiating on the front end can have an exponential effect on your earnings over time. One calculation shows that with an average annual pay increase of five percent, an employee whose starting annual salary was $5
The remote work movement is a growing global phenomenon. 79 percent of knowledge workers worldwide said they work from home, and 80-90% of the U.S. workforce would like to work remotely at least part time. And while no two remote work situations are identical, there are some common themes when it comes to the tools and accessories for success. Of course, the most crucial element is wifi. But after that, there’s still plenty to consider: the desk setup, the commuter bag, the headphones, the tr
A business is nothing without its customers. And yet as businesses grow and team members become more specialized, it’s easy to get further and further from the customer. Buffer is no exception – in the course of our journey, there have been multiple times when we’ve felt a much larger distance than we’d like between us and our customers. What’s interesting is that every time that distance starts to make itself felt, something amazing happens to close the gap. Sometimes it’s a deliberate chang
Hi there! This is an older post that we’ve kept around for transparency but that means that sometimes the information is no longer accurate. When I joined the Buffer team, I was employee number 23 or 24, and back then it wasn’t too hard to keep connected to everyone on the team. On top of our go-to communication tools for video conferencing (the now-defunct Sqwiggle) and group instant messaging (HipChat), we had a few systems in place to get to know each other better – including mastermi
We call members of our customer support team “Happiness Heroes,” and positivity is one of our core values. Smiley faces are a key element of our communication. And like many tech companies, we have lots of swag items, like T-shirts, water bottles, stickers, socks and more. So it’s long been our policy to give out lots of swag . We send goodies to anyone, (pretty much) anywhere! Free stuff makes people happy, right? We ask for a mailing address anyti
Have you ever received a compliment that brightened your day? Your week? As Mother Theresa said, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” Creating a culture of praise, positivity and recognition has been a pivotal cornerstone of our Buffer culture. Here’s a bit more about why praise is so important, how we deliver praise and recognition across our remote team of 80 employees, and a few lessons we’ve learned.
Do you remember the last time you focused solely on one project — a big personal or work-related task — until it was finished? Recently, our data team tried this with a stretch of two full work days they called “hack days.” Four projects came about as a result, as well as a host of other benefits for the data team (and entire company!) Read on to learn more about the experiment, the process and how you could try an event like this for your business or team. In need of focus time, an idea A ha
What is it that the customer wants? What is the problem they face each day? What services are they hiring out for that we could meet with a bit of software? What if we could help people create better social media ads? What if that isn’t quite the problem, but rather tracking and spending ad dollars wisely? What if…? What if….? What if…? Sometimes a series of “what ifs” or “whys” can lead to new and exciting places. For three Buffer teammates, an exploration of “what ifs” created a whole new
I’ve “leaned back.” And I’m okay with it. Sort of. As the first teammate to have a baby while working at Buffer, I was able to create our initial family leave policy before I used it. Even that wasn’t enough to prepare me for the reality of being a working mom. Going into motherhood , I had a lot of grandiose ideas, preconceived notions and expectations. The biggest of which was that I’d be able to jump back into m
It’s perhaps a daily occurrence for a cat, dog, child or significant other to appear in a meeting between Buffer team members. And we’re okay with that. More than okay. We love these moments and we encourage them. Here is my son, Anthony’s, appearance at his first Buffer all-hands meeting when he was three months old (we’re towards the top left): As a fully distributed team, many of us work from home. For the parents of Buffer, this allows for the opportunity to work from home with their kids
If the Buffer team wasn’t fully remote, here’s how I’d picture our office looking: wide-open spaces with big tables for collaborating, children and babies hanging out on their parent’s laps; cats and dogs running around merrily with a scattering of pet toys littering the floor. We believe in bringing our whole selves to work, and that means family and furry friends alike! Thus, we all strive to know and celebrate each other’s pets, kids, signific
Hometown. Siblings. Childhood memories. High school activities. Travel, spouses, friends. Life goals. These are things you might know about your significant other, close friends. How about your coworkers? At Buffer, we’ve discovered that sharing more of ourselves — our whole selves — is a key component in bringing team members closer together. At our past in-person retreats, we’ve called these exercises “personal stories,” and it’s become one of our favorite ways to connect. Now, we’re scaling
How many goals have you achieved today? Setting goals is key to making progress in any area. We know that those who write down their goals are 95% more likely to achieve them and that two best practices for goal-setting include making them measurable and giving them a deadline. We’ve even explored a variety of formats for setting goals on the blog before. One format that has particularly intrigued us at Buffer is the practice of OKRs, which stands for Objectives and Key Results. A system that
We believe in bringing your whole selves to work. Many times, that might mean stepping away from work for a bit to celebrate and wholly focus on your family. This is a foundational pillar here at Buffer and we’re committed to supporting our team members in many different ways: perks, flexible time off and a fully-paid family leave. In our experiences as a growing startup, no two individual’s experience is quite the same—especially with family leave. So Buffer has a loose policy that recommends
At Buffer, our journey has been full of experiments, pivot points, reflection and transitions, and it is our privilege to share them all with you here. Today, we’re excited to update you on a few changes here on the Open blog! For a while now, Courtney has been the incredible shepherd and heart of the Open blog, reporting on the lessons we’re learning at Buffer and sharing insights on happier, more productive, more creative work from all kinds of smart folks
Around 8 weeks after giving birth, I began to panic. It was a rough time for us — our little one wasn’t too keen on sleeping at night and endured colic that left him crying for hours at a time. With my return-to-work date only two weeks away, I wondered how it would even be possible — especially because we hoped for me to continue as the baby’s primary caregiver while working full-time. Doubts crept into my mind: * Would I even be capable in my new role? * The team had functioned so well w
The Buffer community shared their favorite productivity tools, tips and books in #bufferchat! Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, every week on Wednesdays, 9 am PT/Noon ET/4 pm GMT, for valuable industry insights and networking with nearly 400 other smart marketers and community managers. What are your top three essential productivity apps? Resources shared by the community: * Evernote * Todoist * Feedly *
One of Buffer’s values is working smarter, not harder, and the #bufferchat community gathered to offer tips and ideas on living smarter. How do you manage your energy throughout the day? What are your go-to productivity tips? Are there certain times of the day you produce your best work? Our community shared their thoughts with us! Catch the full recap here. What does “working smarter, not harder” mean to you? * “”Work smarter, not harder” for me means maximizing efficiency. W/ high levels
Brian Fanzo is a speaker, podcaster and expert in all things social. He’s been a long-time supporter of #bufferchat and joined us as a special guest to share his thoughts on the rising trend of video and it’s role in social engagement. Catch the full recap here and view a replay of his Meerkat recording here! Why is video’s role in social engagement increasing? From Br
What does it mean to bring your whole self to work? As part of Buffer’s evolution into self-management, we’ve been exploring this question a lot. We’ve long considered the Buffer team a family all its own. Because we’re a small, distributed team, we form a close bond through shared experiences and values, digital tools and our regular company retreats. But the entirety of the Buffer family goes beyond the team members we see on Sqwiggle every day—it also includes spouses, partners, parents, c
Having the ability to work from anywhere in the world has led to lots of travel adventures for members of the Buffer team. Niel toured Asia while working remotely. Rodolphe sailed across the Atlantic. Joel recently toured 11 cities in 3 months, and Octa is on a month-long cruise (with wifi!) as I write this. And the beauty of a remote team spread around the world where you make your own schedule is that you don’t even have to travel the world to reap the benefits. Remote work can mean spendin