“Remote employees lack connection and purpose!” “Productivity and collaborative efforts are going to suffer!” “There goes any semblance of company culture!”
We’ve all heard the arguments against remote work.
While it’s probably somewhat safe to say we’re collectively tired of being on camera for video calls — and sure, that meeting definitely could have been an email — these arguments are also tired. Instead, let’s ask: Which companies are seeing their businesses and employees thrive through remote work?
It’s time we celebrate companies for the thoughtfulness they’ve put into making the experience comfortable, productive and connected.
The team at Duo Security is proud of how they’ve listened and adapted to a hybrid work model. According to Whitney Tellache, employer brand manager, an employee’s location is second to what they bring to their role.
“We recognize that team members don’t need to be in a specific city or office to make an impact,” she said.
Whether you’re a working parent or a fiend for travel, StructionSite has always prioritized remote work. But for their team, senior recruiter Pete Johnston said that remote work is not just about the flexibility of an employee’s home base or schedule. “It’s about efficiency and providing our teams with communication architecture for effective collaboration regardless of location.”
Without adapting to remote work, these companies might not have found the same opportunities to collaborate, build connections and redefine company culture. Built In Austin sat down with leaders from Duo Security, StructionSite, Eventus Systems, Pinata, and Crowdstreet to talk about the qualities that make their remote workforces stand out, and to share how they maintain engagement and offer support to remote employees. And the best news is that they’re all hiring.
Tell us about Duo Security’s current remote workforce. What plans do you have to expand it?
Duo and Cisco have successfully adopted a hybrid work model that includes many full-time remote employees. As we’ve seen the world shift and the workplace adapt, we’ve listened. Cisco leadership has emphasized that work isn’t a place where you go, it’s what you do — and to foster a working environment that’s more flexible, innovative and inclusive, we’ve moved to a hybrid model.
We recognize that team members don’t need to be in a specific city or office to make an impact and be successful at Duo, and we’ve embraced that mindset wholeheartedly. While we still have offices in Austin, Ann Arbor and the Bay Area, candidates don’t need to relocate to join the team. Our priority is what someone brings to the role, not where they’re located. We’re focused on scaling our engineering organization, specifically our site reliability engineering teams.
Work isn’t a place where you go, it’s what you do.”
What does your remote work culture look like? How do you help remote employees feel connected, engaged and supported?
Feeling connected, engaged and supported are three things that Duo teams are actively working on. Teams are constantly in collaboration on video calls, which helps eliminate silos and fosters a sense of belonging both personally and professionally. And on the opposite end, we do monthly “focus days,” which have proven to help employees reset and, well, stay focused by giving them a break from meetings and allowing them to dedicate uninterrupted time to projects. If that means getting your oil changed in the morning and staying heads-down the rest of the afternoon, so be it!
Cisco also periodically provides employees a “day for me,” inviting us to step away from work and screens, and instead do what we find personally fulfilling. In addition to these special days, we have a robust calendar of activities and events not related to worklike virtual dance parties, guest speakers and mindfulness sessions in the middle of the workday. One of my favorite rituals that we practice is giving appreciation in meetings. It’s simply part of our meeting culture, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Tell us about StructionSite’s current remote workforce. What plans do you have to expand it?
Remote work is in the fabric of StructionSite; we’ve been a fully distributed team since our inception in 2016. Our founders understood that people can do their best work where they’re most comfortable. In 2021, we nearly doubled in size across the organization, with our engineering and sales teams having the most substantial growth.
As we enter the new year, our goal remains the same: strategically grow our fully remote workforce at a steady and sustainable pace, ensuring each new hire has a phenomenal onboarding experience and feels equipped to make an impact from day one.
In the first part of 2022, we have a few focus areas, which include scaling our product organization with experienced product management professionals, as well as continuing to grow our artificial intelligenceI pipeline team with a handful of key roles. On the go-to-market side, we’ll continue to expand our sales team by adding several account development representatives and account executives.
You can’t put geographical limits on great talent or customers.”
What does your remote work culture look like? How do you help remote employees feel connected, engaged and supported?
For us, the decision to be remote first was simple. You can’t put geographical limits on great talent or customers. We’ve learned a lot over the years when it comes to being remote and strive to continually improve the ways in which we connect, engage and support each other.
At StructionSite, we realize our people make us who we are. We want to cultivate an environment where our team feels empowered to do their best work while offering the flexibility to adapt to each individual’s lifestyle. From the working parent needing to do school drop-offs to the digital nomad who wants to work from a teardrop trailer with the mountain range behind their computer screen, we have adopted the tools and practices that make both possible.
Remote work isn’t just about flexibility, it’s about efficiency and providing our teams with communication architecture for effective collaboration regardless of location. From the tools we select to the policies we implement, employee engagement is top of mind.
Looking to the future, our people will remain the focus and we will continue to adapt to ensure they feel connected, engaged and supported.
Tell us about Eventus Systems’ current remote workforce. What plans do you have to expand it?
Eventus currently has more than 80 employees in our remote workforce. We are growing rapidly and have plans to continue expanding our team across all business groups globally.
We strive to implement our core values through our work ethic, performance and support of client needs.”
What does your remote work culture look like? How do you help remote employees feel connected, engaged and supported?
Our employees are empowered to feel like owners. We’ve implemented communication applications and created designated channels for employees to stay in touch. Culture is important to us, and we strive to implement our core values through our work ethic, performance and support of client needs.
With a unique culture and focus on work-life balance, we enable employees to succeed in their professional development, provide world-class service to our clients and ultimately succeed as a company. Our CEO, Travis Schwab, believes people are the company’s most valuable asset, and we continue to invest in every employee who joins.
One of our company’s core pillars is transparency, which reflects the way we build trust with each other and our clients. We have an “open door” policy, encouraging the team to schedule one-on-one meetings with Travis. He also leads global, company-wide meetings bi-weekly to share live updates and encourages monthly activities with colleagues who live within close proximity.
Tell us about Pinata’s current remote workforce. What plans do you have to expand it?
Our team is fully remote with members across North America, Europe and Latin America. We saw incredible growth last year as more and more people gained general interest in NFTs and cryptocurrency. To scale with the growing demand, we’re hiring across all departments. Right now, we’re specifically looking for engineers, designers, marketing and sales experts who want to help build the next big thing.
We’re working on intentionally building out a culture that offers employees opportunities to connect with each other.”
What does your remote work culture look like? How do you help remote employees feel connected, engaged and supported?
At Pinata, we’re working on intentionally building out a culture that offers employees opportunities to connect with each other in day-to-day operations. When a new employee joins the team, we give them a deck that includes short bios from each of our team members and highlights who we are both at Pinata and in our personal lives. On a weekly basis, we have daily syncs that give members the chance to share accomplishments and progress on work. We meet bi-weekly as a company for department presentations and updates from our leaders. We don’t want to overwhelm our employees with meetings though — Zoom burnout is real — so the team uses Slack to check in with each other and communicate regularly.
Tell us about CrowdStreet’s current remote workforce. What plans do you have to expand it?
CrowdStreet has a strong mix of employees who have either worked in an office most of their careers or have embraced remote work, even pre-Covid-19. It’s been a pleasure to see our workforce connect and understand each other quickly, all while working from where they work best.
We’re a fast-growing company with an evolving set of problems. Collaboration is one of our company values, and it’s been great to see people across organizations work together to overcome challenges and solve these problems.
We have big hiring plans for 2022 across the entire company to continue achieving our growth goals. This is obviously a tough market, but we are up for the challenge to attract and retain our talent. My focus is on engineering and making sure we get the hiring process right.
You should be able to work wherever you feel most productive, whether that is in an office or on your couch.”
What does your remote work culture look like?
At CrowdStreet, we coined a new term: W3B, or “work where you work best.” I love it! You should be able to work wherever you feel most productive, whether that is in an office or on your couch. We continue to have office space in Portland, OR, and Austin, TX — and we just had some exciting internal announcements about our future hybrid model that will help people achieve their work and life goals together.
Working from home during a pandemic is quite different from working remotely; I always share this observation with those that may not be enjoying their work experience at home. The option to go work at a coffee shop or a friend’s house without fear of getting sick has a significant impact on happiness with remote work. Personally, I have been working remotely for eight years and I wouldn’t change it. I have a young family and the flexibility it provides is important to me.
W3B is about true flexibility in a work situation which, in turn, leads to great flexibility in your life situation. We have embraced the future of work and are leading the way in showing how it’s done.
