<aside> 👋 This is a guide to help your company going remote. If you have ideas or resources to be added, feel free to drop me a message on Linkedin. I will update it regularly in the coming weeks. Cheers!

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⛑The Ten Commandments

  1. Remote working is the future of work.
  2. It's super hard to build a remote first company overnight.
  3. "Managing a remote company is much like managing any company. It comes down to trust, communication, and company-wide support of shared goals." (GitLab)
  4. It will require numerous iterations before finding the right set up for your business. ****Going remote is a process and not a binary switch. Day 1 will not be perfect. Start with establishing a wiki handbook on how the key principles you want to set up to operate remotely (how to communicate? how to use the tools? how to work on a project?). Communicate this wiki with all your employees and then update it regularly with the feedbacks collected.
  5. Remote implies you to set up a lot more process than what you may be used to.
  6. Don't assume that your employees will have the right set up to work from home. ****Your employees have to build their home office. Companies should help their employees in finding the right set up to work from home in terms of office design and ergonomics (chairs, webcams, headphones, desks, lights, external keyboards etc.). Some companies are even supporting financially their employees in this transition. For instance, Shopify (♥️) is giving $1,000 to buy any office equipment to set up their work space for remote work.
  7. Minimize your toolstack. Start simple with the minimum set of tools. Using tools is important to set up a remote culture but (i) you have to choose the right tools depending on your business, (ii) you don't need to be overstacked and (iii) you should be explicit on how the tools should be used. In my opinion, here is the minimal and sufficient set up to start with remote working:
  8. Asynchronity is king. People have to be able to communicate without the requirement of being present at the exact same time. Don't expect your collaborators to answer in the next 30 seconds to all your mails and Slack messages. Over-communicate not only in term of quantity but also in terms of quality. For instance, when you are delegating a task, be extremely clear about the deadline, why are you delegating the task and what you are expecting. It's better to take 5 more minutes to document your request than make your colleague loose hours because he is not working on what you want.
  9. Fight loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness is a key concern for remote workers. In these times, it's even more important to make sure that your employees are feeling good. Human interactions must be at the core of your new remote culture. You have to be intentional about fostering this culture of informal communications because it cannot happen organically like in an office. Numerous initiatives can be implemented to foster these interactions:
  10. It's a great timing to take a step back and think about how you have operated so far both at a personal level and at a company level. Of course, you have to set up a routine close to what you were used to before going remote but also take the time won by working from home to experiment new things for your personal life (cooking, reading, exercising) and your professional life (asynchronity, over-communication, regular one-on-ones). You have a unique opportunity to take the time to enhance how you work and how your company operates. Be voluntary slow during this period to implement the pillars of your future growth.

🛠The Perfect Toolbox

The Usual Suspects to Start With

The Underdogs