Why Remote Work Was the Best Decision We Could Have Made

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From the very beginning, we knew we wanted to do things differently. Our goal was – and is – to create a work environment that allows everyone in our company to become the best version of themselves. This is what creates success and makes our vision come to life.

Remote work allows us to do exactly that.

How is that, you ask?

Let me share our experience with building Intao as a remote company.

Being a remote company is all about connection

Let’s take a quick look at what it means to be a remote company.

Naturally, it means everyone can work wherever they want. Our team is distributed around the globe. We have people working in Germany and Hungary. One of us is spending the cold and grey winter months in Thailand. One of our freelancers went to explore the Peruvian jungle. And one of us is travelling Europe in a van in the summertime. There are no limits.

That’s what’s on the surface. On a deeper level, it means, the connection we have as a team cannot derive from mere geographical proximity. And therein lies the biggest challenge.

There are no run-ins at the coffee machine. Feeling connected – something that supposedly just happens in a co-located company – is something we have to plan for.

As an example, we begin every single morning together in our check-in via Google Hangout. And at the end of that, there is always a short motivation, a share, a personal note or an inspiration that reminds us that we are on a journey together as people, not just as our job titles. Our check-in creates a sense of connection.

We meet three times per year for at least four days to connect and re-focus. We estimated that last year we spent about 20 days on our team, our culture and our productivity. That’s about 10% of the entire year. Too much? Too little? I don’t know. I do know that I am more connected to this remote team than I have ever been to any other I have ever worked in.

Every aspect needs its place

Taking care of the feeling of the team is just one aspect – there are others we explicitly plan for. Routines, structures, guidelines, processes, documentation, and tools. They are absolutely crucial.

Our first year was spent finding rhythm. There is research that shows, remote companies grow slower than co-located ones, especially at the beginning. I believe that. Especially when you set it up for the first time. There were a lot of insecurities and growing pains.

Organisation, documentation, and structure

You cannot have a thriving remote company if you neglect organisation, documentation and structure.

Remote work forces you to be committed to documentation. As this is not the most appealing thing to do, it’s extremely valuable to have that extra push, because there is just no other way to do it.

Lucky, if you have someone on your team who is a stickler for it anyways. They are immensely valuable.

Moreover, it is important to focus on being organised and have a keen eye on your structures – especially when you start growing. Some things might just work without thinking about it when you are only three or four people. But what about ten? What about twenty? That just won’t do anymore.

As we started growing we realised we have to be aware of what kind of structures we need. A different frequency in our meetings? A new Slack channel? A new tool to organise our content management? A new Asana board?

We try to be constantly aware of how well we are working together as a company and team and what we can improve about it. And remote work pushes us to never neglect that.

Leadership

For us as leaders, being a remote company works a little bit like having a leadership mirror so to speak. How well the team works is a direct reflection of how you show up as a leader.

In an office space, you are there physically. That can, of course, be an opportunity, but it can also cover up quite well, how you show up on another level. And that’s the kind of showing up, that matters. Carrying the vision of the company, connecting to your employees, being clear on where to go – all of that happens within. If you don’t do that when leading a remote company, you notice it very, very fast because people feel disconnected. And that is the important part. Because naturally, that can happen to the best of us. The faster you notice it, the faster you can do something about it. So, in that sense, remote work accelerates that process.

Communication and trust

The same goes for the whole team. How well are you communicating? Do you trust each other? Do you help each other out? Are you going in the same direction?

Trust and communication are what makes you strong as a team and as a company. Some might argue being physically close makes it easier to build trust. That might be the case. But it can also conceal slight tensions or issues in communication. If you work remotely, it absolutely has to work. And the sooner you notice something is wrong, the sooner you can fix it.

I believe radical transparency is needed in order to make sure that the small things, that aren’t working well, never have the chance to grow so big as to derail what you are trying to do.

How we also benefit as individuals from remote work

Additionally, every one of us gains so much on an individual level. We can work wherever we want and shape our own work environment. We probably don’t have to tell you why we love that, just have a look at this.

Working as a remote company also helps us grow on a personal level. You have to be much more aware of how you show up and what kind of attitude you bring to the team because it matters even more. You have to constantly evaluate how you communicate because misunderstandings or losing touch happens will influence productivity immediately.

As we constantly give each other feedback and are super open about how we feel the team is doing, we can see where we as individuals have to grow and develop new skills.

Remote is not for everyone

A remote team requires energy and ownership. Every single person on our team is fully there. There are no slackers.

But it took a year and a few people had to leave before we found the core team we are currently working in. Not because of the skills but because of the personal maturity it needs to work remotely. Remote work asks everyone to be able to communicate openly and constructively and to structure and organise your day independently. There is no boss who checks if you spend your time on facebook.

Now, we are a small startup with three very dedicated founders who give everything to build what they dream of. If the leaders of the team, the department and the company are not in it, remote work will probably result in less productivity.

And we love it

The essence boils down to this: Being a remote company has unveiled time and time again if the way we work is successful and enabled us to become better and better.

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