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?
Everyone is expected to respond to both internal and client communications within half of a business day. For working with clients on long-term projects, 2…
No.
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…
Do you organize remote team retreats?
Yes, we go to a company off-site twice a year. The off-site is a mixture of team sessions, presentations, working together, team activities, and hanging…
Our best teachers are invited to an all-expenses paid trip to Shanghai every year! This is the best way to allow the teachers to experience…
We currently don’t, but I hear they are awesome 🙂
Do your remote team members meet in person?
We fly our entire team out for a conference once each year. This is our opportunity to spend time together, get to know new team…
We try to set a regular team meet up once or twice a year. So far, in 2016, the entire team has met up four…
There are many different ways that our team members ultimately meet some of each other in person: At conferences that we send them to At…
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
It’s not a perfect science; we have had situations where employees were “skating” for a month or so and we did not notice. But, eventually…
We’re only five people, so we’re not yet in a position where we have to measure everyone’s productivity. We estimate how long projects take. Sometimes…
When looking at developers the code quality is essential. We focus on output, not on working hours.
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
Weekly calls are important, as is setting and communicating realistic and exciting goals.
Open and frequent communication: It is so important to over-communicate and follow up with team members afterwards to ensure the message was perceived as intended…
Communication is key. We are all completely available to one another during our work hours, meaning we can connect via video conferencing or chat on…
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
It’s about making sure there is enough time to actually support staff, and that there are effective processes around what we expect our managers to…
Different laws in various states and keeping on top of that while trying to be fair to the masses. 2. Keeping everyone motivated and energized,…
Working with less experienced people, communicating properly online with other team members, following company policy and standards, understanding goals and vision, nurturing motivation outside of…
How do you keep remote employees engaged and feeling part of the bigger picture?
We talk all the time. A short, daily all-hands meeting allows everyone to understand the what and the why. We make a point of being…
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…
All of our staff are shareholders and that was very important to us. On top of that we have a transparent culture where all staff…
What is your BYOD policy for remote workers?
Our employees get a laptop for administration work, as well as a display, keyboard, and mouse. The software developers and QA team may have different…
Our company provides computer hardware and software to all our team members.
We offer employees a notable equipment stipend to be used for purchasing company assets when they start ($2,000 for technical production like designers and engineers,…
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
In short, “take some”. We used to not track days off, but it resulted in some people (mostly US employees) not taking enough time off.…
Everyone has a set amount of days per year that they can use as they like.
4 weeks paid vacation
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
People being dishonest about the amount of time they are spending working on your project and doing things on the side. There are big brother…
We did so much research before going remote that we were not too worried about making the change. Once we made the switch, we never…
Our biggest fear with regards to having a remote workforce was that individuals would feel left out, not engaged, or like they were missing out…