Remote Work At Qkids
50%
Remote
500+
Team Members
Xiamen, China
Headquarters
* As of February 2020
Qkids Team
Qkids Remote Company Q&A
Aaron Mao, Growth - Interview with Remote.co
What does your remote-friendly company do?
We’re an e-learning, K-12 English education company.
Did you switch to remote or start out that way?
Some of our most senior full-time employees started as remote because their creative work needed no physical restriction. In our company, we only care for results, not where one works.
How important is remote work to your business model?
All of our teachers in North America work from home at their chosen availability. This is the most important factor for most of our current teachers who stay with us. And it is this that enables us to provide an authentic English learning experience for our students in China.
What do you consider the biggest benefits of a remote workforce?
It allows us to access the top teacher talent pool anywhere around the world!
What were the main reasons to integrate remote work into your workforce?
We wanted to match our students with the best language educators around the world without having them physically traveling anywhere. A remote work setup helps us achieve this goal.
How do you conduct interviews for remote jobs?
- Via our teaching platform
- On WeChat (video interview)
- Sometime Skype video calls
How do you convey your remote culture in the recruiting process?
We respect each applicant and provide whatever information they need to make them feel comfortable. It’s all transparent.
What is your hiring process for remote workers?
Hiring remote workers can be very different than on-site since the interviews happen off-site. We are using technology to overcome the shortage of not being able to meet in person. And as always, communication is the key.
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
- Effective communication
- Understanding
- Accommodation
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 teachers engaged as a community.
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
It’s really flexible! As long as we get a timely notice and it’s a reasonable request, there is no problem!
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
We were a bit worried about our teachers not feeling a sense of belonging. But it turned out most of our teachers just love us too much—we are a big family! This is no joke, we respect and treasure each of our teachers.
How did you implement a remote work policy?
Organically. It is a very natural work style for both our teachers and internal staff. We also provide the most flexibility compared to the other companies in the ed-tech industry.
What advice would you give to a team considering to go remote?
Be accommodating and flexible. You will receive their dedication in return.
What challenges have you encountered building a remote team?
- Communication can be tricky when having overseas talks.
- Technologies can sometimes be difficult too.
What are the most effective tools for remote team communication?
We have an online community for our teachers and rarely intervene.
What has changed about how your remote team operates?
We are always adapting to new technologies, as they help us better communicate with our teachers. For example, our hiring process has been gradually optimized with the implementation of our teaching platform. Meanwhile, our teaching platform is also perfected over the years with an easy-to-operate system.
How do you personally manage work-life balance?
I love my work—in fact, this is not a job, it’s become part of my life, and I’m enjoying it.
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