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 implemented a remote work policy formally. After our founders, our first two employees were remote—one in Wisconsin and another in Ukraine—and since then we’ve…
We knew that in order for it to work, everybody in the team had to become “remote” workers and adopt the new mindset. So the…
Early on it was very organic, but as we’ve scaled we’ve experimented with just enough formal policy to ensure we’re retaining the remote culture we…
Can a remote-friendly company have a healthy culture?
Absolutely. Maintaining a healthy culture is an important challenge for any organization, and probably less dependent on being in one place than one might think.…
Absolutely! Our teams tend to focus on communication because we do have so many remote members. We hold Town Halls quarterly so everyone hears the…
This all comes down to hiring. It’s critical to hire like-minded folks who genuinely want to work together. For us, we have way too much…
How do you nurture your company’s culture in a remote work environment?
Annual company retreats, weekly Google hangouts (non-work related), and gif battles on Slack.
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…
The best thing we do, I think, is our yearly meetup. It’s a very democratic meetup, meaning that we vote on everything—where we want to…
What advice would you give to a team considering to go remote?
Remote work isn’t right for every company, but we think it could work for more companies than many people think. Online tools and in-person meetings…
Know why you want to go remote, and make sure there are defined rules and a general structure in place. In our experience, the nebulous…
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…
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…
It’s hard to have visitors. People feel weird about coming to your home. Now that we have an office, it feels like a good place…
At first, we there was a definite shift we needed to make to ensure that our virtual employees were always part of our thinking as…
What are the most effective tools for remote team communication?
We communicate via telecommunication, specifically text messaging and email, we embraced cloud technology, and we have occasional in-person team meetings. In addition, we videoconference with…
We use several tools to maintain constant communication throughout the day. Sqwiggle is our on-demand video platform, Attentiv.com offers us a constant stream to communicate…
Our internal wiki is at the top of the list. We use it as a virtual watercooler (think sports smack talk and podcast reviews) and…
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…
There have been many positive changes to how we operate by enabling our front line to work remotely. We have more flexibility in scheduling, it…
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…
How does your team address different time zone challenges?
We have a very social and collaborative culture, where we talk about what we’re doing and what we’re up to personally. This tends to solidify…
We work in EST/CST business hours for the most part. Certain roles that are not client facing have more flexibility, but we still require at…
Mostly that’s a challenge for our teachers. Class schedules have to revolve around Chinese kids’ lives. In New York time, class slots are open starting…
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