Can We Ever Feel More Connected Online than In Person?

Is it possible that an all-in-one app for collaboration could make you feel more connected at work than in person? Well if you’re working across languages, maybe yes.

Bree had never met her colleague Mo from their Indonesian office in person before but they had been communicating every day without a hitch, even though Bree couldn’t speak a word of Bahasa Indonesian.

They used Lark which allowed them to speak on virtual calls with live translation, nuanced emojis and a very human centric interface. Months later Bree flew to Jakarta for a project and found herself in-person with Mo, without the emojis and language translation.

It was actually harder for them to connect off the system. What was really interesting to Bree however, was that Mo's in-person demeanour was similar to what she’d seen in his communication style online.

Despite the language barrier, he was the same light-hearted and sometimes introverted Mo she’d been chatting to for months. Beyond the infusion of connection tools in Lark, at the heart of it, it was created by the demand for a tool that could put all the productivity needs of an HR department in one place.

Imagine workflow management, onboarding and offboarding, employee engagement and processes for leave approval etc being streamlined in one place and accessible on mobile. The central focus, however, is always on people and not on processes, so much so that the team invited me to their office for a tour and to learn more as someone who studies human connection.

Try Lark for free HERE today to revolutionize how you engage with your international colleagues!

Simone Heng is a human connection specialist and award-winning author. Her mission is to inspire people to connect in a world thirsty for connection. She has spoken to thousands, and for organizations like Harvard University, Google, Meta, Amazon, ByteDance, Lucasfilm, the United Nations, and many more. Simone and her work have been featured on CNN and Al Jazeera and in Forbes, Harvard Business Review, BBCRadio, and many others.

Simone is based and was born in Singapore but has also studied in Switzerland, was raised in Australia, and worked in the United Arab Emirate.

Her book “Let’s Talk About Loneliness” is the winner of the 2024 silver Nautilus Book Award in the social change and social justice category. The gold E-lit award for best audio book in the Self-Help category. It is also a finalist in 4 categories at the 2024 International Book Awards. Simone also sits on the advisory board for the Foundation for Social Connection in the United States.