Managing Remotely
140 companies answer 6 questions
Managing a remote or distributed team successfully requires good support, planning, and communication. Whether deciding if and how to get the team to meet in person or defining the line between vacation and flexible work, the management of a remote team has differences from managing traditional on-site teams. In our Managing Remotely section we ask top remote companies how they keep their teams running smoothly from thousands of miles away.
Do you have remote communication protocols for your remote workers?
We don’t set specific norms for the sake of creating true flexibility. Once you start putting in rules like this, or even once you start…
We don’t have any policies in place around communication norms for our remote team. We just ask our team to be respectful of others and…
This varies depending on the team. But at minimum, all emails should be returned by the next business day, and chats replied to as soon…
Do you organize remote team retreats?
Once a year we converge on a tropical location for our annual company retreat. (You can find a recap of our 2016 team trip here.)…
No, we did try to do meet-and-greet lunches in various locations. There was little to no interest since those who work remote do this for a…
Yes we do, and they are awesome. My tip would be to keep the work content to a minimum. A brief session on how the…
Do your remote team members meet in person?
We get the whole company together for a summit each year, and various teams within the company meet in person at different times throughout the…
Minimum twice a year for summer and Christmas Event
Yes we have regular company retreats because we understand that nothing beats face-to-face contact for getting to know people and helping to build trust and…
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
It’s not a perfect science; we have had situations where employees were “skating” for a month or so and we did not notice. But, eventually…
At Toggl, we have a result oriented culture and everyone’s productivity is measured by their results. We have small teams working together: back end team,…
Measuring productivity is the same regardless of where someone is located physically. If they are in the cube next to you, they can be as…
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
Face-to-face as much as possible. Our default for meetings is Zoom with video. Recurring public Slack “check-in/standup” updates. Depending on the team, these are daily…
As Skillcrush continues to grow, we make it a priority to stay connected with each other and dedicate time to all of the team-building activities…
Communication – In the absence of face-to-face conversations, communicating thoroughly, effectively and with respect is the key to working well remotely. Trust – We have…
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
Communication and understanding people’s personalities via text and email.
Creating a healthy balance between trusting our team members to manage their work time and monitoring their activity. We have team members use time management…
Growing larger than 50 people seems hard. It’s hard because you need a layer of managers in there if everyone is going to get individual…
How do you keep remote employees engaged and feeling part of the bigger picture?
Our leaders are continual learners in what good leadership truly is. Ultimately, we keep ourselves moored in our mission, the continual development of a warm…
We do a lot of remote fun-time activities to help our remotes enjoy the jovial parts of our office culture. We have remote beer bashes,…
There are no tricks here—you engage with them and make them a part of the bigger picture. This means transparent communication, distributed decision-making, and simply…
What is your BYOD policy for remote workers?
Everyone gets the latest device they need to be as successful in their work as possible, along with any device needed to perform their job…
Canonical requires that all team members (remote or office based) use their own device. Team members have the flexibility to choose their preferred laptop or…
We provide all equipment people need to do their jobs. If someone wants to use their own device, that’s fine too.
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
On top of 10 company-observed holidays, SitePen offers four weeks of paid time off to start which increases with seniority. Very flexible and always provided…
Employees earn paid time off. Consultant level employees begin to accrue PTO after 6 months of employment at the rate of 80 hours per year,…
All employees are offered 18 days a year of paid time off, which is built up over their first year on the job. Over time,…
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
I think my biggest fears are when we lose touch with someone. Every once in a while, someone will just “disappear” – they don’t answer…
I never had any fears. We’ve been told countless times that at some point we need to get an office and have a headquarters so…
In regards to our independent contract remote workers, making sure they have represented themselves honestly and that their credentials are valid is a common source…