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?
I’d definitely say it came about organically as a result of both the way the company grew and the nature of our product. We’ve always…
The remote work policy was implemented when we started the company, on day zero. Almost all the people at TOK.tv have previously worked remotely or…
It started day 1. We were an early company to be fully remote (6 years ago), so it is just so natural for us now.…
Can a remote-friendly company have a healthy culture?
Absolutely, one great way to have a healthy remote culture is through work retreats: We are all social people; team members who work remotely still…
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…
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…
How do you nurture your company’s culture in a remote work environment?
We have Slack channels dedicated to all sorts of interests, from fitness to cooking to travel. Our teams meet anywhere from daily to weekly by…
We encourage people to bring their whole selves to their work. We have channels in Slack for people to share their love of games, literature,…
We have a “take-your-birthday-off” policy that every team member takes advantage of. On a team member’s birthday, our office manager will send out an email…
What advice would you give to a team considering to go remote?
The remote environment is not for everyone. If a company wants to implement a 100% remote environment, I would highly recommend speaking to an operations…
Believe that remote work can be more effective than in the office. On the other hand…sometimes people who start to work remotely expect to be…
Start by working on your company culture and having a good look at your founding or executive team’s values. It’s harder to build a remote…
What challenges have you encountered building a remote team?
Onboarding – It can be challenging to onboard new hires who have never worked remotely before. Day one looks quite different being remote vs. being…
This is true for any hire, but particularly true for remote hires: hiring the right person is critical to success. We have added many steps…
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?
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…
We meet in person every three or four months for an all-company meeting where we strategize and work on big projects together in person. Otherwise,…
We use Skype, Gchat, and Slack.
What has changed about how your remote team operates?
Being remote, we spent a lot of time perfecting the best way to convey information so that content remained clear and intact. Our current tools…
Our planning process used to be off the cuff, and mostly done in the meeting with the whole team. We’ve moved to a planning process…
As Trello has grown, we’ve had to implement various other communication tools. For example, we have a weekly “Company Overview” board, where we update projects…
How does your team address different time zone challenges?
This is likely the largest challenge we face as a remote company. I don’t like making people stay up late or get up super early…
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…
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…
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