Working Remotely
140 companies answer 6 questions
Working remotely comes with unique day-to-day challenges. From the initial step of implementing remote policy to nurturing company culture while operating remotely, we ask leading remote companies to share how they approach running their distributed teams from an operational level.
How did you implement a remote work policy?
From day 1 we made the decision that renting an office was a waste of money. We’ve never looked back.
Remote work has been in Trello’s DNA since day one- we build a tool that helps people collaborate and get projects done, so our team…
We use Slack to communicate throughout the day; Google Hangouts and Skype for group calls and demos; Jira for spring planning, executing, and bug tracking;…
Can a remote-friendly company have a healthy culture?
Absolutely. In fact, in order to have a successful remote force, it’s vital to have a healthy company culture to keep employees inspired and working…
Yes, absolutely, but this includes a lot of work. You have to agree on values and hire for attitude, not (only) for skills. An in-depth…
Of course. Culture isn’t only a product of proximity, it’s a product of how you treat your staff. We know from studies that remote companies…
How do you nurture your company’s culture in a remote work environment?
I think adopting Slack has been the biggest improvement to our remote culture. It’s a lot more informal than Asana which lets us have more…
We make sure to all get together as a company on a regular basis. For example, we have two team members that live out of…
We have a place for business communication, but also places where silly notes and “bonding” is encouraged. We can share baby pictures, recipes, have fun…
What advice would you give to a team considering to go remote?
Jump in, but don’t lose your lifeline. You need to start somewhere, and many of the skills that remote workers need to succeed can only…
The key to a successful remote workforce is in the hiring. You must recruit highly skilled, professional team members who have demonstrated that they can…
Plan ahead. Get the right communication tools in place. Also consider that working from home might not be right for everyone. For that reason I’ve…
What challenges have you encountered building a remote team?
Getting everyone on the same page! Since we don’t “see” each other on a consistent basis every day, we have to constantly be thinking about…
You have to be very deliberate about how you communicate. You have to communicate more and clearer. That takes some getting used to, but in…
Empathy occurs much less naturally, even with lots of video chat and long phone conversations. This is a double edged sword; decisions are less charged…
What are the most effective tools for remote team communication?
Communication is key on our teams. We use Slack as a central hub for daily communication, with clear channels to help team members know what…
We add issues in GitLab for everything. Everybody comments, we work on the issues and then we link to the Merge Request where the issue…
We use email and the phone a lot. Email to share our plans, give feedback on each other’s work, share interesting articles and be in…
What has changed about how your remote team operates?
We are more organized now. You have to be extremely organized if you want to go remote because it’s easy to get lost in emails,…
We have implemented OKRs because at the beginning everyone just “worked hard” when we were a startup. But as we got older, people burned out,…
The communication has gotten better between the team. We are a very tight-knit “travel family” and our goal is to service our clients in the…
How does your team address different time zone challenges?
Time zone differences can cause confusion within a remote team. Luckily, while the overall workflow has to be coordinated, the specific tasks for providing our…
First, establishing ahead of time when team members will be available. Second, hiring individuals who are willing to be flexible when necessary to coordinate with team members…
We generally work on East Coast time (8am to 5pm) but have early birds on the East Coast and night owls on the West Coast,…