#231: Rajiv Ayyangar of Tandem on what the Hybrid-flexible workplaces of the future look like

'Almost half of the companies using tandem are either partly in office or contemplating coming back to the office at some point in the future. And I think it's going to be determined by the company size, location and concentration of people.'

The rise of Tandem occurred when Rajiv Ayyangar and his co-founder went from working in person every single day, brainstorming, whiteboarding together, and having those quick yet creative conversations to working from home all of a sudden, because of the pandemic. And they stopped feeling like a team anymore.

We all know that remote work and distributed companies are slightly different from the traditional office setting. There’s always a little bit of magic that’s lost when you don’t have those informal interactions at the office. But in a world that’s becoming increasingly distributed, Tandem is trying to replicate the feeling of being in an office. Tandem is a virtual office app for your remote and hybrid teams that lets you see who's around and talk in one click.

Tandem CEO and co-founder Rajiv Ayyangar is our guest on this episode of The Shape of Work podcast. He talks about the inspiration for Tandem and the importance of collaboration. 

We discuss with Rajiv:

• The story behind Tandem: how it started and how much the app has evolved?
• What percentage of companies that use tandem are hybrid vs remote?
• The nuances of a flexible-hybrid workplace: is it the Future of Work?
• How to embrace asynchronous communication
• Essential tools to create a great hybrid workplace

Follow Rajiv on LinkedIn and Twitter

Produced by: Priya Bhatt
Podcast Host: Abhash Kumar