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?
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…
We do have set parameters that we ask people to follow. The more numbers you put around what people should be doing the better. Clear…
No.
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,…
We meetup as an entire team at least twice per year. We call them JarFests. We work hard to plan them in a fun city…
We organize retreats and offsites about once per quarter. A couple tips: choose a great venue for your company retreat and, of course, use 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…
Yes, our entire team meets up once every year in the spring in a different part of the world for a week-long retreat. Past retreat…
The full team meets together at least twice a year. There are meetups by various teams based on need and geography throughout the year.
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
Work is seen by the team. We notice output and their work speaks for itself. We all contribute in everything we can besides our regular…
Our main tool for managing work effort is Basecamp. We use that both to schedule out the work that needs to be done as well…
Measuring productivity is the same regardless of where someone is located physically. If they are in the cube next to you, they can be as…
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
Clear communication guidelines are very helpful. Miscommunication happens all the time in person, and happens a lot more over Slack or email. Just recognizing this…
It really isn’t that different than in a traditional office environment. Employees that know expectations and plans, have access to the tools and resources they…
Trust Culture Communication Accountability Self-Motivation
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
One of the hard parts we’re working through now is adding layers of management we didn’t have before. We’ve grown a lot over the past…
Accountability tracking. Time zones.
Creating a healthy balance between trusting our team members to manage their work time and monitoring their activity. We have team members use time management…
How do you keep remote employees engaged and feeling part of the bigger picture?
We have weekly all-hands meetings that we conduct via video chat. This gives everyone a chance to hear what’s going on in the company and…
We connect virtual assistants (VAs) with other VAs to provide training, integrate VAs in team environments, offer performance feedback, monitor workload and availability to take…
Regular communication is key for remote employees to feel a part of the team and remain engaged. We also have recognition programs to recognize compliments…
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…
Everyone does BYOD, mostly because everyone has different preferences and environments that make them most effective, but we will sponsor apps at times.
This varies based on roles. For our customer consultants, they need to provide their own high speed Internet service, headset, and a personal computer for…
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
Unlimited. Take what you need – we don’t count your sick or vacation days.
We don’t track time off but expect people to take roughly 4 weeks vacation. Most of our team doesn’t have set hours so it’s really…
We have an open vacation policy. People typically take around 4 weeks. We don’t track it, but we do ask that employees make sure their…
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
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…
We’ve always been worried that they wouldn’t commit to teaching online in the long run, because most of our teachers are busy with a full-time…
I would say more fear a lack of productivity, lack of communication or engagement, even how to manage potential issues like workers comp claims. In…