Dumb Phones Are Cool Again — But Can You Run a Business with One?

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This edition is about exploring the dumb phone trend, after action reviews, and returning to the office.

Returnships: New Programs to Help Rejoin the Workforce After a Gap

Returnships are typically short-term, paid positions that provide training, mentoring, and real-world experience in a specific field. They're designed to help workers refresh their skills, update their knowledge, and regain their confidence in the workplace.

?For example, Grubhub 's four-month Reconnect Returnship Program helped returning workers join its software engineer team. About 80% of Grubhub 's first Reconnect cohort converted to full-time employees afterward.

Should your business offer a return-to-work program? Consider these benefits:

• Access to overlooked talent: People who have taken career breaks often bring unique perspectives and expertise to the table, which can be helpful for companies looking to diversify their workforce .
• "Try before you buy": Similar to an internship or apprenticeship, a returnship gives companies the opportunity to evaluate potential employees before committing to a full-time hire. This allows you to assess an individual's skills, work ethic, and cultural fit before making a long-term commitment.
• Addressing talent shortages: Many industries are facing recruitment difficulties, and returnships can be an effective way to address this issue with a win-win approach.

After Action Reviews Promote Team Learning

It’s imperative for a leader to gather their team members together periodically to reflect and learn from decisions and projects that go well and those that don’t go so well. A great tool to help facilitate this is the After Action Review (AAR).

AARs are typically done in a meeting at the conclusion of a project (although can be done midstream if needed) and short in duration (15-20 minutes but can be longer if needed). In the AAR, the team works together to answer the following questions:

• “What happened?”: Let’s get the facts on the table.
• “What went well?”: Where did we hit the target or do better than intended and why?
• “What did not go so well?”: Where did we fall down or not achieve desired outcomes and why?
• “What can we take from all of this?”: What are our key learnings from this effort?
• “What will we do differently next time?”: Prepare to be confronted with a similar situation or problem.

Dumb Phones Are Cool Again — But Can You Run a Business with One?

It’s becoming a movement — led by Gen Z, who barely remember the flip phone era — away from the forever-connected, endlessly-accessible, attention-draining smartphone back to something a little simpler and, just maybe, a little easier on our brains. But in the modern business world, which requires every company to have a steady digital presence, is it possible for entrepreneurs to ditch their iPhone?

For those curious to dumb down, you can try it out by swapping your SIM card from your smartphone to a feature phone (some of which have email and GPS). Perhaps you’ll find you need Apple or Android’s latest to keep things humming … or perhaps without endless connection and distraction, you’ll suddenly feel as recharged as your phone’s battery in the morning.

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