Remote Work At MomsRising

100%

Remote

26+

Team Members

No

Headquarters

* As of February 2020

MomsRising Team

MomsRising Team

MomsRising Remote Company Q&A

Joan Blades, co-founder - Interview with Remote.co

What does your remote-friendly company do?

We take on the most critical issues facing women, mothers, and families by educating the public and mobilizing massive grassroots actions to:

  • Bring the voices and real world experiences of women and mothers straight to our local, state, and nation’s leaders;
  • Amplify women’s voices and policy issues in the national dialogue & in the media across all platforms (from print, to radio, to blogs, social media, and more);
  • Accelerate grassroots impact on Capitol Hill and at state capitols across the country;
  • Hold corporations accountable for fair treatment of women and mothers & for ensuring the safety of their products

How important is remote work to your business model?

Working remotely has allowed us to hire the best people wherever they live.   This is of huge value.

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

Being able to work with great people that are distributed around the country is a tremendous benefit for MomsRising.   People that are part of our team that can show up in a remarkable number of locations when in person is important.

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

Remote work is not only highly efficient, effective and good for the environment- it is great for mothers.  The flexibility it allows makes taking care of family responsibilities and work responsibilities much simpler.

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

We do want people that are highly motivated and collaborative team members.

How do you conduct interviews for remote jobs?

Largely on the phone with in person meetings for the final candidate

Do you have remote communication protocols for your remote workers?

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 are at a conference and expect to be monitoring email minimally some folks request urgent email use a subject line that draws attention such as PANTS ON FIRE!

Do your remote team members meet in person?

We all meet once a year and when we travel to locations where we have part of the team we may get together one on one or as a small group.

How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?

We measure all workers- by what they produce.

What is your time off policy for remote workers?

As a mom friendly organization we have a generous time off policy that includes paid sick days and paid family leave.

How did you implement a remote work policy?

We have always worked remotely.  In fact as a start-up not having to fund an office was financially very helpful.

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

Remote work naturally leads to results oriented working practices and management.  This is good for everyone.  Make sure your communications are good and improve your communication practices every chance you get.  Also find a time to get together in person at least once a year.  The occasional in person connection is a good addition to the online connection.

What challenges have you encountered building a remote team?

Some people are really happier in an office setting.  There are now shared offices and places like the HUB for this kind of person to be in a more social setting when working.

What are the most effective tools for remote team communication?

We use email and the phone a lot.  Email to share our plans, give feedback on each other’s work, share interesting articles and be in touch as friends.  Phone is good for collective generation of ideas, and some nice real time connection.

How do you personally manage work-life balance?

Working from home it is easy to work when I need to and do other things as I wish. I often combine work and exercise – lots of people really enjoy walking meetings. Truth is human beings were designed to move and many of us think better when we are moving!
Worst location where you’ve worked remotely? Best? Worst location is probably a noisy crowded airport with bad connection. Best- so many great places! On a beach – in my garden – in the mountains!