Remote Work At DVMelite

100%

Remote

50+

Team Members

Halifax, Canada

Headquarters

* As of February 2020

DVMelite Remote Company Q&A

Sally Van Dyke, Team Builder Manager - Interview with Remote.co

What does your remote-friendly company do?

We work in business development for veterinary offices all over North America – we help clients become even more successful through business development, staffing, training and we help them be able to give back to their communities.

How important is remote work to your business model?

Remote work is essential in our business model, we would not be able to do what we do without remote. With clients all over North America and Team members to match, the remote model allows for greater flexibility in meeting the time constraints of our clients.   This flexibility also means we are able to attract highly qualified Team Members who can flex their day around personal commitments.

What do you consider the biggest benefits of a remote workforce?

We are able to tap into all of the great talent of people who cannot work out of the home.  There is an amazing talent pool of people who have something to share who are at home, for whatever reason.

What were the main reasons to integrate remote work into your workforce?

The main reason is that we wanted to give opportunities to people who cannot or do not want to work out of the home but still want to work and give back to the world.

What traits do you look for in candidates for a remote job?

The remote worker is unique as they have to have initiative and discipline to work from home successfully.

How do you conduct interviews for remote jobs?

We are quite unique in how we hire.  We have many steps in our process, but that helps make sure we hire the right people for the right positions.  

Do you have remote communication protocols for your remote workers?

We have short daily meetings for many of the departments so that everyone is knowledgeable about what is going on in the company and then we have weekly company-wide meetings which help deliver all of the up to date information about clients and the operations.  

What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?

It is critical to have open communication and no silos.  Everyone should be able to communicate with anyone and be open to reply quickly.

What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?

The biggest challenge is to find people who will fit into our culture and are ready to work hard for a great cause.  

What is your time off policy for remote workers?

You can take off whatever days/weeks needed and as long as you have someone covering for your clients, we are fine.  

How did you implement a remote work policy?

It was the beginning model.  Our model has grown organically into a formal model while maintaining flexibility and autonomy for our contractors.

Can a remote-friendly company have a healthy culture?

We LOVE our culture!  We work very hard to promote open communication through a company-wide platform.  We also have daily and weekly meetings to further bring people together.

How do you nurture your company’s culture in a remote work environment?

We have a place for business communication, but also places where silly notes and “bonding” is encouraged.  We can share baby pictures, recipes, have fun contests to promote getting to know each other.

What advice would you give to a team considering to go remote?

People have more efficiency at home when they have the flexibility to work when they can.

What challenges have you encountered building a remote team?

Keeping the culture strong as we quickly grow.  We are committed to our culture and make sure it is number one for everyone joining our group.  We are a big family and want to continue to grow that family.

What has changed about how your remote team operates?

We have gotten closer as a team as we grow.  We have new technology that connects us instantly and we have grown more as a team than ever before.

Where is the best or worst place you’ve worked remotely?

My “worst” was also the funniest for me:  Jury Duty.  They had free Wi-Fi and there is always a lot of waiting around, so I used it to work.  I even joined some conference calls on “listen only” mode so I would not miss any team news.  The best place is on a snowy cold day in the house.  It reminds me how great my situation is that I do not have to fight ice and snow and bad traffic, I can instead concentrate on doing a good job!