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 have clear, written guidance for our team members with regard to how quickly and thoroughly they need to respond to prospective business clients and…
We operate more like a regular office, where we are all here during EST/CST business hours. We are trusting of our team where if they…
We are generally very flexible with working hours and sensitive to everyone working in different time zones. People need to collaborate on which working hours…
Do you organize remote team retreats?
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.)…
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…
The biggest thing is to understand what you want to get from the trip. On some trips, we’ve focused more on team-bonding and relaxing together,…
Do your remote team members meet in person?
We are proponents of team projects so no one person is out there working on their own. With onsite Customer engagements, we’re afforded great opportunities…
Absolutely. We have some very structured events such as week-long annual engineering team meetups. Many of our remote team members also come by headquarters in…
We don’t require it, but we do have hubs of team members in New York and Florida, and try to get together and cowork as…
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
At Toggl, we have a result oriented culture and everyone’s productivity is measured by their results. We have small teams working together: back end team,…
I am very fortunate to have an incredible team of consultants. They are self-starters who work until the job is done. This type of work…
We’re a very results oriented company, but for client services work depending upon the contract type we do track hours and do things that are…
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
Trust is a key element; you have to ensure that every member of the team trusts each other to do what they have agreed to.…
Frequent communication, appropriate resources, a culture of support, and the use of technology.
An empathetic understanding of one another’s roles, expertise, and workflow. Over-communication in Slack or on video chat. Honesty, vulnerability, coaching, and feedback.
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
Making sure people are consistently aligned with the mission. People can start to lose track as they get heads down on the day to day…
Not being able to have regular face-to-face one-on-one meetings with people is a bummer. Nothing beats grabbing a lunch, beer or coffee with someone and…
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?
Informal water-cooler style conversations about company goals and vision. People want to work for a company where they like the product, trust the management, and…
We are all very communicative. We have on-the-fly Google Hangout video calls when needed, and we have weekly meetings set up to go over project…
In addition to daily standups and monthly company-wide video calls, we also have annual company meetups. Once a year the entire company has a meetup…
What is your BYOD policy for remote workers?
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…
All our team members are welcome to use their own laptops and phones. There are some cases where we provide additional equipment that belongs to…
XWPeople use their own devices.
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
At this time we allow three weeks of paid time off, as well as many of the major holidays where we typically see families gathering…
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…
We have an unlimited paid time off policy. As long as people coordinate any leave they take with their teams to make sure the schedule…
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
As is the trend with other remote companies, we worry about workplace culture. It’s a bit harder to foster when you only see one another…
My biggest fears were around not being able to manage work output, and not having clarity into someone’s projects. For the first 6 months this…
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…
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