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?
We did not implement a remote work policy. Building a distributed company was our intention from the start. Dr. Chris Waters (my co-founder) and I…
Our work policies are more organic than formal. Part of the reason we love remote work is because we can work whenever and wherever we…
It was our policy from the beginning!
Can a remote-friendly company have a healthy culture?
The company culture is something that exceeds the office boundaries, it should drive what you do and how you do it, at all time. So figure…
Remote companies can have a healthy culture. In one sense, you don’t have the constant interpersonal contact that can sometimes damage relationships which might inadvertently…
We have a strong company culture, and we are 100 percent remote. We do this by making sure our company core values are not aspirational, but…
How do you nurture your company’s culture in a remote work environment?
We train our new employees on our company culture, which is based on Accountability, Visibility and Respect. We have weekly onboarding meetings for all new…
(a) At the start of our weekly one-on-one calls, we take a few minutes to talk about something that we are enjoying being involved with…
No gossip policy Empower employees who know they are trusted Servant leadership—invest in our people (holistically, not just professionally) Live out our core values and…
What advice would you give to a team considering to go remote?
Create a culture where folks track all of their time. I believe that it keeps people focused on delivering value and also helps you see…
There are some things that Appirio has done to maintain a sense of community within our remote workforce. Since most employees don’t go into an…
Running a successful remote company really comes down to trust and accountability. You have to have the right people on your team that you can…
What challenges have you encountered building a remote team?
The early phase of adaptation can definitely be challenging. Finding talent that can enjoy being a part of a distributed team was somewhat of a…
The main challenges are time zones and cultures. You need to make sure projects run smoothly and that nobody is stuck waiting for someone’s reply…
Probably the biggest challenge was hiring extraordinary people…but who had no remote experience yet. This requires you to invest a lot of time, mentoring and…
What are the most effective tools for remote team communication?
Digital tools like Zoom, Miro, Google Docs, Trello, or Slack work great! For more complex issues, Zoom calls can save a lot of time.
Fleep chats, Asana tickets, group Hangouts and 1:1 calls over Speak or Skype. You should also build a Teleport Sundial group to manage the timezones…
Everything is communicated over Slack & Trello.
What has changed about how your remote team operates?
We are always adapting to new technologies, as they help us better communicate with our teachers. For example, our hiring process has been gradually optimized…
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’ve developed a knowledge base that contains core elements everyone needs to know. Not only do new staff need to study the knowledge base, but…
How does your team address different time zone challenges?
Time zones are always a challenge to address, especially in Remote Year with our global presence. We find that making sure our staff on the…
We offer some flexibility in work schedules so that team members can have somewhat of a normal schedule, but we also require work hours to…
Thankfully this isn’t a big issue, but as our team grows, it will become a challenge. More clearly communicating goals and aligning team members will…
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