Managing Remotely
140 companies answer 6 questions
Managing a remote or distributed team successfully requires good support, planning, and communication. Whether deciding if and how to get the team to meet in person or defining the line between vacation and flexible work, the management of a remote team has differences from managing traditional on-site teams. In our Managing Remotely section we ask top remote companies how they keep their teams running smoothly from thousands of miles away.
Do you have remote communication protocols for your remote workers?
No, we don’t have any directives for this as we operate on a largely asynchronous basis – people are used to working with or needing…
There are very tight guidelines for communication around classes, and we expect immediate communication if there’s any reason a teacher needs to cancel a class—we…
We don’t set communication rules for the team, but we rely on a collaborative approach to accomplish the company’s goals. Rarely is one team member…
Do you organize remote team retreats?
Yes, in-person time is important. For us, the most important part of the retreat is all of the non-work time. We plan a fun activity,…
I’d say that it’s important to organize the retreats with time in advance to make sure the team works smartly together (discuss ideas and works…
Yes, we do. This is critical for us. First of all, you need to have a clear agenda with what you want to achieve during the…
Do your remote team members meet in person?
We have an annual, weeklong meeting where we all gather to work and play together. We also have occasional mini conferences, during which individual teams…
Some of our team members happen to live nearby, so we meet up once a month or so for lunch or coffee. Many of our…
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…
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
Through project management and time tracking tools.
We’re lucky to be in the development industry where there is a plethora of tools one can use for tracking, such as project management tools…
We focus on output rather than time spent. We track our weekly goals closely to ensure that we’re doing what we set out to do.…
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
Effective communication Understanding Accommodation
Communication, communication, communication. Because we must forego some of the natural conversations and interactions that happen when a team is co-located, we emphasize clear and…
Trust. Trust. Trust. It needs to be given freely and earned daily. When it works, it is a thing of beauty.
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
Getting everyone to not use their mute buttons on group calls. It can be difficult to have meetings that require brainstorming and input from many…
Working with the changing priorities of remote workers as the economy changes. As the economy evolves, workers prioritize new and different demands on their attention.…
The hardest thing for me is that the tools we use to communicate can contribute and enable an organization-wide urgency addiction that makes it hard…
How do you keep remote employees engaged and feeling part of the bigger picture?
Our leaders are continual learners in what good leadership truly is. Ultimately, we keep ourselves moored in our mission, the continual development of a warm…
We make our communication better by having daily calls and hangouts between team members. We get the entire team together at the GitLab summit once…
XWP includes every XWPerson in a regional “Homebase” with monthly meetings. We also host regular XWP Live town halls, open to everyone at XWP. XWP…
What is your BYOD policy for remote workers?
Given the nature of our business, we require all of our remote workers to have their own secure PC in order to avoid compatibility issues…
Team members can use any hardware that they please. After you’ve worked with Doist for six months, you are granted a generous hardware and software…
We provide all equipment people need to do their jobs. If someone wants to use their own device, that’s fine too.
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
We have a MANDATORY vacation policy. We realized that an unlimited vacation policy was having the opposite effect – team members weren’t taking the time…
We do not have a time off limit. However, for it to be worth my while to manage our resources, they have to contribute a minimum…
Aha! currently offers 15 days of paid time off to all teammates in their first year and 20 days in the following years, as well…
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
We very naively started all being remote, so there were no fears. Here’s a challenge that surprised me: on the same day, I had a…
Never really had a fear, if you fail in managing remote workers, it is not the system causing the failure, it is you.
My biggest fear is that I do not always know what employees feel. When I make an update, what do they think? Sure, they give…