Tech:NYC Digest: November 11

Tech:NYC Digest: November 11

November 11, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Thursday, November 11, 2021

In today’s digest, NYC leads the state with lowest level of new cases, NYCCoin mining officially begins, and why you should be re-onboarded to your job.

  • And a round of Veterans Day thanks to all who have served and their families.

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  • NYC now has the lowest COVID-19 positivity rate of any region in the state, according to state Dept. of Health data. The city’s current seven-day average rate is 1.2 percent — less than half the statewide average of 2.8 percent. (New York Post)

  • Since the dedicated bike lane was opened across the Brooklyn Bridge in September, cycling use has almost doubled. The Dept. of Transportation counted an average of more than 4,200 daily bike crossings on the bridge, an 88 percent increase from a year ago. (Gothamist)

  • Mining has begun for the first dedicated NYCCoin, programmable tokens aimed at bringing additional revenue to local governments through residents’ mining. No official collaboration between the CityCoin project and the City has taken place, but Mayor-elect Eric Adams has signaled his support for it. (CoinDesk)

  • And for the first time in two years, the NYC Veterans Day Parade returned, with 200 marching units, bands, and floats marching up Fifth Avenue. (CBS New York) Mayor de Blasio also today announced the launch of VetConnect Pro, a new employment tool to help veterans find jobs and advance their careers.

In other reading:

  • Perfecting the New York Street (Curbed)

  • The Pandemic Holiday Rules Have Changed (The Atlantic)

  • The Weirdness of Pandemic NYC Takes Center Stage in How To With John Wilson (Gothamist)

For tech employees starting new jobs during the pandemic (and there are a lot of them), it can be challenging — most are relying on alternative ways to accomplish those “first day” rituals like meeting new team members and getting oriented to the office.

But existing employees have been transitioning through a grand remote experiment for almost two years, and for them too, the post-pandemic workplace won’t look the same.

The takeaway: everyone needs to be re-onboarded.

Culture Amp director of people science Kenneth Matos spoke with Protocol about the extra steps companies should be taking to reacclimate new and tenured employees alike to their new work environments: 

  • "There's a lot of just general political and social turmoil around do I wear a mask or not wear a mask? How close can I get? And many of those things are tied to the sense of culture and experience that they had [in the office]. And so there can be a lot of awkwardness and discomfort when they just don't know what is considered OK now and what's the standard.”

Matos’ tips: centralize the messaging and write it down.

  • “For some of them it is taking time to actually welcome people back … but most importantly, [explaining] where they should go to get things clarified as the onboarding experience unfolds."

  • "The best procedures are written procedures. So the more you can say, 'Here's a single source of truth, we can all read this and discuss this,' the better off they're going to be than if it's just word-of-mouth spreading to the organization."

In other reading:

  • Podcast: A World Without Email author Cal Newport on if the office will survive the pandemic (The New Yorker)

  • Dreading going back to the office? Therapists share tips on how to readjust (CNBC)

  • How to Create a Veteran-Friendly Workplace Year-Round (Kanarys)

  • Novata, a New York City-based provider of ESG reporting metrics for PE firms and private companies, raised $21 million in Series A funding. Investors include the Ford Foundation, S&P Global, Hamilton Lane, and Omidyar Network. (Bloomberg)

  • Payitoff, a New York City-based student loan management startup, raised $8.5 million in seed funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Sound Ventures, Struck Capital, and Social Leverage. (PitchBook)

  • Wrapbook, a New York City-based provider of tech to the entertainment industry, raised $100 million in Series B funding. Tiger Global Management led the round and was joined by Andreessen Horowitz, A* Partners, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo, Uncork Capital, and Equal Ventures. (Bloomberg)

  • November 12: Virtual: Future of Work: Leading and the New Balance, with Kickstarter CEO Aziz Hasan and Edelman US CEO Lisa Osborne Ross. Hosted by the Washington Post. Register here.

  • November 16: Virtual: The Electrified Future, with Verizon senior vice president Elise Neel, Fermata Energy co-founder John Wheeler, and others. Hosted by Newlab. Register here.

  • November 18: Virtual: The Hunt for Talent Post-COVID, with Schmidt Futures head of talent Tony Woods, Eden Health chief people officer Chloe Drew, and The RealReal chief people officer Zaina Orbai. Hosted  by Savills. Register here.

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