Managing Remotely
140 companies answer 6 questions
Managing a remote or distributed team successfully requires good support, planning, and communication. Whether deciding if and how to get the team to meet in person or defining the line between vacation and flexible work, the management of a remote team has differences from managing traditional on-site teams. In our Managing Remotely section we ask top remote companies how they keep their teams running smoothly from thousands of miles away.
Do you have remote communication protocols for your remote workers?
We have an overlap policy where we expect everyone to be generally available for conversations and video chats. Remote does not by definition mean time…
Yes. Here’s a direct quote from the handout we use: “Sometimes a quick response is needed to a question. When this is required, please either…
Yes. Employees must respond to communications within an hour.
Do you organize remote team retreats?
Socializing and team building is important when we all get together. It isn’t all about productivity and getting work done (which we do throughout the…
No we have not organized retreats and it is likely that we would not do so for at least another year. This partly is explained…
Yes. We find one place that can host us all. Make sure it’s not in a city, you want everyone to be huddled up together…
Do your remote team members meet in person?
Absolutely. We have some very structured events such as week-long annual engineering team meetups. Many of our remote team members also come by headquarters in…
Some of our team members happen to live nearby, so we meet up once a month or so for lunch or coffee. Many of our…
Not yet. Skype and Google hangouts are what we use.
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
We’re pretty hands off here. We still have a startup culture and everyone is working very hard. It hasn’t really been necessary to get too…
Nobody works alone at Scrapinghub. Everybody reports to a manager that keeps track of their work and this feedback moves up the chain, as it…
In our line of business, our team’s productivity is measured by our clients’ satisfaction, and so it’s a relatively easy gauge of performance! We have…
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
Clearly defined feedback mechanisms, high levels of daily contact, use of communication tools such as Skype, Fuze, or GotoMeeting to create face to face exchanges.…
Weekly calls are important, as is setting and communicating realistic and exciting goals.
Andrew Montalenti, Parse.ly co-founder and CTO, has said: “The biggest thing missing from fully distributed teams is true face-to-face communication. There are a lot of…
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
Surprisingly, one of the hardest parts of managing a remote workforce is that as the company grows, working across teams becomes a challenge. For instance,…
Managing outgoing sales efforts.
The hardest thing for me is that the tools we use to communicate can contribute and enable an organization-wide urgency addiction that makes it hard…
How do you keep remote employees engaged and feeling part of the bigger picture?
XWP includes every XWPerson in a regional “Homebase” with monthly meetings. We also host regular XWP Live town halls, open to everyone at XWP. XWP…
We strongly believe that face-time is critical to keeping our remote team happy, engaged and productive. Many of our team members are in sales roles,…
All of our staff are shareholders and that was very important to us. On top of that we have a transparent culture where all staff…
What is your BYOD policy for remote workers?
We have all of our team members use their own computers, but we provide all the apps necessary.
Not having a physical office doesn’t mean skimping on essential equipment. Our team can use whatever equipment they are most comfortable and productive using, and…
We provide all equipment people need to do their jobs. If someone wants to use their own device, that’s fine too.
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
Unlimited paid vacation. Many team members travel and work on the go, mixing the two. But we wholeheartedly encourage and support all team members to…
20+ vacation days, with unlimited sick days. We also have generous parental leave and benefits.
You take it when you need it. The responsibility that everything you promised gets shipped when promised is still yours. And you are the one…
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
I used to worry about things not getting done or people not feeling responsible. But so far, our people care and everything gets done.
I had no real fears of managing remote workers, but I always am cautious to ensure I communicate regularly and that my virtual door is…
Never really had a fear, if you fail in managing remote workers, it is not the system causing the failure, it is you.
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