Managing Remotely

No, we don’t have any rules or communication norms. Certain teams like to do regular calls while others do not. Personally, I dislike scheduled meetings…

We do not have explicit communication norms set for our team. In terms of responding to communications, it depends on a number of factors and…

We do not.  There has not been a need in our environment.

Twice a year we organize a team work retreat. We just returned from a week in Lake Tahoe, CA. Our retreats aren’t really “vacations for…

We had our first company retreat less than a year ago in the Catskills when we were 12 people. I wouldn’t want to have a…

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 we have regular company retreats because we understand that nothing beats face-to-face contact for getting to know people and helping to build trust and…

Yes! Every fall, we gather for our annual “All Hands” meetup with our entire team. We started doing these meetups in 2013, and they have…

Twice a year, the entire company gathers for a week-long retreat where we laugh, learn, review and plan. Even though we haven’t seen each other…

Through project management and time tracking tools.

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…

We measure all workers- by what they produce.

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

Trust is absolutely essential. We are a team of colleagues and hire some of the best talent in the world. If you don’t trust the…

The principles of a successful working relationship with remote teammates do not differ that much from any other relationship. You have to be responsive, goal-oriented,…

The toughest part about managing a remote workforce is making sure everyone feels connected to the team and culture of Appirio. We work very hard…

Finding the balance between asynchronous and synchronous communication. It is tempting to try to do everything possible with asynchronous communication (e.g. email, etc.) but there…

Knowing what to do with all the awesome.

We set OKRs for each team that are talked about in every all-hands meeting. We also have a #winning Slack channel where teams post a…

We make sure all of our employees understand our strategy and core beliefs, so we all know what we’re working to achieve. We also have…

One of our company core values is to make meaningful relationships, and another is to own your own experience. This means everyone in the company…

We provide equipment to our remote employees.

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…

We tend to equip people with a strong Mac so they can be effective wherever they are.

Everyone has a set amount of days per year that they can use as they like.

We have an open time off policy, which translates to take the time off that you need. We ask each person to discuss time off…

We offer time-off to our employees with 24-hour notice. We’re an incredibly collaborative and connected team, so this is important mostly to give your co-workers…

Trust is a big fear and challenge. At the end of the day, as a business owner of a remote team, you aren’t there to…

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…

There is always fear that collaboration is based on face to face contact but it turns out it is not! People can work on things…