Working Remotely
140 companies answer 6 questions
Working remotely comes with unique day-to-day challenges. From the initial step of implementing remote policy to nurturing company culture while operating remotely, we ask leading remote companies to share how they approach running their distributed teams from an operational level.
How did you implement a remote work policy?
I’d definitely say it came about organically as a result of both the way the company grew and the nature of our product. We’ve always…
Organically. We implemented policies where we felt we could do better and from lessons learned over time. Team understanding (why we need it) and buy-in…
Given that remote work is the fundamental underpinning of Omni Interactions, it’s at the core of every business decision and process we undertake. The beauty…
Can a remote-friendly company have a healthy culture?
This takes intention and effort because it is easy to let the days roll by focused on projects and milestones. The team should have a…
Absolutely. In fact, in order to have a successful remote force, it’s vital to have a healthy company culture to keep employees inspired and working…
Yes! It is a different kind of culture, but you can definitely have one. In a lot of ways, you eliminate some of the annoyances…
How do you nurture your company’s culture in a remote work environment?
We have an incredible Director of Culture and Development who is focused on developing a strong culture in a remote work environment. Examples of some…
The best thing we do, I think, is our yearly meetup. It’s a very democratic meetup, meaning that we vote on everything—where we want to…
We focus on the pillars of our culture: Fun, Action, Communication, Transparency, Trust (FACTT). Fun – Meetups, video chats just to make each other laugh.…
What advice would you give to a team considering to go remote?
Jump in, but don’t lose your lifeline. You need to start somewhere, and many of the skills that remote workers need to succeed can only…
Go for it. It’s super unlikely you’ll be disappointed. It makes everything easier. But, be sure to get together in real space here and there…
The key to a successful remote workforce is in the hiring. You must recruit highly skilled, professional team members who have demonstrated that they can…
What challenges have you encountered building a remote team?
At first, we there was a definite shift we needed to make to ensure that our virtual employees were always part of our thinking as…
You have to be very deliberate about how you communicate. You have to communicate more and clearer. That takes some getting used to, but in…
It can sometimes be difficult to accommodate for varying time zones and work schedules within the company. Lots of our employees work as they travel,…
What are the most effective tools for remote team communication?
Communication is key on our teams. We use Slack as a central hub for daily communication, with clear channels to help team members know what…
HipChat is our go-to tool for staying connected throughout the day. We have a ton of chatrooms for different teams and projects and it’s the…
What has changed about how your remote team operates?
As the number of employees has increased, we have increasingly standardized procedures. With a smaller team, communication often occurs organically, but as the size of…
In the past we have had more remote workers, but in recent years our Melbourne team grew so it became necessary to focus more on…
The communication has gotten better between the team. We are a very tight-knit “travel family” and our goal is to service our clients in the…
How does your team address different time zone challenges?
We work in EST/CST business hours for the most part. Certain roles that are not client facing have more flexibility, but we still require at…
We generally work on East Coast time (8am to 5pm) but have early birds on the East Coast and night owls on the West Coast,…
We are very conscious of the times that different teammates work and ask them to include it in their Slack profile so that everyone can…