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?
Be generally available, coordinate with your team to be most effective, realize that working remotely means overcommunicating.
Yes. Employees must respond to communications within an hour.
Not at all. Everybody should balance his needs with that of the company and act accordingly. As we don’t have working hours, people are not…
Do you organize remote team retreats?
Yes – see my blog where I wrote the definitive guide to planning an offsite.
TIP 1: think about the most important thing you want to accomplish and let that lead your decisions about who attends, what you talk about,…
We meetup as an entire team at least twice per year. We call them JarFests. We work hard to plan them in a fun city…
Do your remote team members meet in person?
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…
Yes. This is essential. The whole team meets once per year. Then we have small hit teams with 5-10 people or so throughout the year.
We don’t require it, but we certainly encourage it. We just initiated a new exciting program to incentivize our employees to get together socially. One…
How do you measure the productivity of remote workers?
Productivity is easily measured by the output each day. Our platform provides metrics which will show the productivity of individuals and the company. We also…
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,…
We focus more on priorities than on numeric goals. We set then frequently adjust those priorities. Productivity is measured by how much progress we make…
What elements are key to successful working relationships with remote teams?
Clear tasks, responsibilities, and deliverables.
Communication is key to building strong remote work relationships. So is company culture. Whenever we get the chance, our employees cowork together. That gives us…
Trust and transparency. In order for our team to work together effectively across locations and time zones there must be a very high level of…
What is the hardest part about managing a remote workforce?
Developing and maintaining culture as we grow. The larger Mokriya becomes the more important it is to stay true to our values and hold onto…
It used to be finding reliable, productive places to get work done—but we nailed that problem 🙂
For me, it’s to do with setting the pace. When you’re in an office, the fastest person often sets the pace and lifts the energy…
How do you keep remote employees engaged and feeling part of the bigger picture?
XWP includes every XWPerson in a regional “Homebase” with monthly meetings. We also host regular XWP Live town halls, open to everyone at XWP. XWP…
It’s really all about creating intentional communication to ensure everyone is “in the loop.” We also have a Director of Employee Happiness whose job it…
We have done three company retreats so far, and plan on doing at least two a year. Every time we do them, Nick, our CEO,…
What is your BYOD policy for remote workers?
Because of the type of work our customer care professionals do, they must be logged into a secured workstation to address Card Members’ inquiries. Many…
We offer employees a notable equipment stipend to be used for purchasing company assets when they start ($2,000 for technical production like designers and engineers,…
Every person in the company is responsible for their own laptop and phone. This hasn’t been a hinderance on hiring at all.
What is your time off policy for remote workers?
Take whatever time you need. We’re a ROWE environment.
Our full-time employees receive four weeks of vacation a year. One of our most prominent core values is work-life balance, so we encourage our teams…
Melewi has an unlimited leave policy. As long as it’s within reason, of course. Surprisingly though, since we’re remote and it’s quite easy to bring…
What were your biggest fears in managing remote workers?
Not many fears that I can think of. Really just accountability and showing up, but I don’t feel that’s any more of an issue than…
My first opportunity to manage a full-time employee came at Fire Engine RED! I had previously supervised contractors and freelancers … but now I was…
We didn’t have any major fears, and fortunately, we haven’t had any major problems!
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