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?
Remote work has been part of Collage.com’s company culture since starting the company in 2007 as a college hobby project with my friend and co-founder/co-CEO…
Organically
It started organically. We didn’t know how it was going to be, but every week we add important information to our GitLab Handbook. We like…
Can a remote-friendly company have a healthy culture?
It absolutely can. Just like a company located in an office can have a dysfunctional culture. The key to any healthy culture is having everyone…
Absolutely. I think being remote defines our culture. It demands self-discipline of all parties, which yields top performers. In our case we leverage a management…
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?
Broadly speaking, our culture is based on the Relationship Care approach to servicing, an ethos that says service is a people business driven by the…
We do very regular team calls, and we have a “virtual water cooler” room in Slack where we talk about anything not related to work;…
Having fun is a really essential part of the Formstack culture. We rely pretty heavily on weekly team meetings, fun IM chats and, of course,…
What advice would you give to a team considering to go remote?
Stop considering and take the leap! We started out as a remote team and we didn’t look back. We think the numbers speak for themselves:…
If I had to pick one piece of advice, it’s to be ready for trust issues and to know that it’s OK that you have…
Ensure that developing a strong remote culture is at the heart of everything you do and lead by example. Always be encouraging and open when…
What challenges have you encountered building a remote team?
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…
The hardest part of managing a remote workforce is creating and maintaining a dynamic culture. You must be intentional about setting expectations and over communicating.…
Sometimes I take things for granted, that everyone is working happily along. That’s why weekly check-ins are useful so that things are NOT taken for…
What are the most effective tools for remote team communication?
A combination of online tools such as email, video conferencing, and real-time messaging apps such as Slack brings everyone together at The Cheat Sheet.
Remote workers are always in a chat room with coworkers and supervisors who are available for support or just general conversation. That is the most effective way…
We use Slack as our primary communication tool, both within our team and with outsiders. This gives us a way of alerting people quickly on…
What has changed about how your remote team operates?
The most noticeable change for me has been the size of the company and the effect that has on team (and inter-team) dynamics. When I…
Automation. As the company has grown we have discovered and created new automation processes so our GobySavvy UX experts can stick to designing, and we…
We are constantly looking for new and better tools for sharing and communicating information, which is great because the technology supporting virtual work is only…
How does your team address different time zone challenges?
Slack and JIRA—the platform we use to track development tasks—are asynchronous tools, allowing us to manage communication even with different time zones. Of course, sometimes…
We are very conscious of the times that different teammates work and ask them to include it in their Slack profile so that everyone can…
Everyone adds their working hours to company calendar, then each team leader knows very well when everyone is on working time. This allows us to…
Sign Up for Our Weekly Fresh Jobs Newsletter
