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 do not. There has not been a need in our environment.
No.
We let each other know when we are going to be hard to reach by email or phone and may pass on key responsibilities. When we…
Do you organize remote team retreats?
Once a year we converge on a tropical location for our annual company retreat. (You can find a recap of our 2016 team trip here.)…
Yes – see my blog where I wrote the definitive guide to planning an offsite.
In the earlier days when the team was ~15 people, we would gather the whole company together for week-long (Mon-Fri) retreats in different locations 4…
Do your remote team members meet in person?
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…
We are proponents of team projects so no one person is out there working on their own. With onsite Customer engagements, we’re afforded great opportunities…
We have an annual, weeklong meeting where we all gather to work and play together. We also have occasional mini conferences, during which individual teams…
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
Depends on the roll, but in most cases it becomes very clear who is productive and who isn’t. For engineers github is key.
As a fully remote company, we’re results-oriented by necessity. We’ve identified key metrics for most of our team that allow us to see results, and…
Here, we might distinguish ourselves from other remote companies. We pay everyone by the hour. Everyone is using a time tracker. Unfortunately, we experience that…
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
Well, we only have remote workers, including me. For a 100% distributed team, I’d point to a few key resources: A flexible, instant “virtual office…
There’s the obvious ones like trust, transparency and regular communication. One of the things I’d also add is structure. This doesn’t get talked about much…
Communication is key. I’ve found in a remote environment people actually work harder at communicating because they have to. Especially if you’re dealing with an…
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
Growing larger than 50 people seems hard. It’s hard because you need a layer of managers in there if everyone is going to get individual…
Making sure everybody has the same access to information, which is a matter of making information both available and easy to find. We manage this…
Always the communication. This is this the hardest part for any workforce; remote just amplifies the stakes.
How do you keep remote employees engaged and feeling part of the bigger picture?
We invite them on a trip and do fun things together! We also have online events such as “best teaching moments,” contests, etc. to keep…
Each team that is working for a client takes responsibility for all the issues: financial stuff, agreements, customer relations, etc. Thanks to our policy, people…
Our team communicates regularly on Yammer, FlowDock, GitHub, and via email. We have Google Hangouts daily, and often have company-wide updates or individual “Ask Me…
What is your BYOD policy for remote workers?
Our teachers have to use their own equipment. We have a team of hard-working IT support employees called “Firemen” who are ready 24/7 to jump…
Our company provides all the necessary equipment for our employees. Plus, everyone at LiquidSpace gets a stipend for booking workspace through LiquidSpace and the LiquidSpace…
We buy people computers but expect them to use their own phones and make sure they have a quiet, comfortable space in which to work…
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
We have a minimum vacation policy at Buffer where we ask employees to take at least 15 days off every year, in addition to whichever…
We ask that everyone let their team members know about any planned time off with as much advance notice as possible. There’s not limit, but…
We have a few set major holidays as company holidays and instead give more PTO days for team members to use as they please. Funnily…
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
I think my biggest fears are when we lose touch with someone. Every once in a while, someone will just “disappear” – they don’t answer…
As is the trend with other remote companies, we worry about workplace culture. It’s a bit harder to foster when you only see one another…
Not many fears that I can think of. Really just accountability and showing up, but I don’t feel that’s any more of an issue than…