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 operate more like a regular office, where we are all here during EST/CST business hours. We are trusting of our team where if they…
We do not have specific communication norms. We focus on results and work, not the management of people. If a project is immediate and requires…
We are starting to implement this a little more as we grow. We have a lot of de-facto standards just from having done this for…
Do you organize remote team retreats?
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…
For a remote team, the main focus is actually just to spend time together face-to-face, so plan everything around that. We find a yearly all-team…
In the earlier days when the team was ~15 people, we would gather the whole company together for week-long (Mon-Fri) retreats in different locations 4…
Do your remote team members meet in person?
Yes! Every fall, we gather for our annual “All Hands” meetup with our entire team. We started doing these meetups in 2013, and they have…
Not yet. Skype and Google hangouts are what we use.
Yes, we aim for once a year meetings in person.
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
We monitor both hours worked and hours billed to clients. Virtual assistants describe the work they do each day, which allows us to assess productivity.
We’re a very results oriented company, but for client services work depending upon the contract type we do track hours and do things that are…
We have a host of metrics that we ingest from several sources and make visible to our team using a Periscope Data dashboard. Each team…
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
It is critical to have open communication and no silos. Everyone should be able to communicate with anyone and be open to reply quickly.
Trust is a key element; you have to ensure that every member of the team trusts each other to do what they have agreed to.…
Constant communication is a necessary element in maintaining working relationships between all of our employees. Because we work remotely, we’re all in constant communication whether…
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
Making sure people are consistently aligned with the mission. People can start to lose track as they get heads down on the day to day…
Our team members span the globe, from Mexico to South Carolina, from California to Indonesia. Our biggest challenge is accommodating the different time zones and…
Scheduling meetings can be tricky because we cover a lot of timezones and some people may choose to work very early or very late, depending…
How do you keep remote employees engaged and feeling part of the bigger picture?
Our weekly video standups really help here. However, we also do company-wide retreats twice a year to get everyone together face to face.
We have a whole team in charge of teacher community in China and the U.S. that keeps our teachers informed through the portal. Emails from…
In addition to promoting local outings and events, our CEO leads biweekly company-wide meetings with the team virtually. During these calls he and other executive…
What is your BYOD policy for remote workers?
We have all of our team members use their own computers, but we provide all the apps necessary.
We provide equipment to our remote employees.
Given the nature of our business, we require all of our remote workers to have their own secure PC in order to avoid compatibility issues…
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
Unlimited paid vacation. Many team members travel and work on the go, mixing the two. But we wholeheartedly encourage and support all team members to…
Our PTO/VTO is generous and flexible. Our full-time employees get five VTO days/year (Volunteer Time Off), as well as 15 days PTO (personal time off),…
We have a MANDATORY vacation policy. We realized that an unlimited vacation policy was having the opposite effect – team members weren’t taking the 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…
Trust is a big fear and challenge. At the end of the day, as a business owner of a remote team, you aren’t there to…
We were not afraid.