How to Build a Fully Remote Company that Works

Last week’s podcast episode was all about building a remote company in today’s modern working environment.

Here are the main learning points from Episode 6 - How to Build a Fully Remote Company that Works.

The Rise of Remote Work

Remote work isn’t simply a fleeting trend—it’s a fundamental shift in how businesses operate globally.

To illustrate: In January 2020, only 6.6% of Americans worked fully remotely. By January 2023, this number surged to 16.1%!

Despite recent initiatives by major companies to bring employees back to the office, the remote work model continues to gain momentum.

So what hinders seamless remote work adoption? It ultimately boils down to refining ‘how’ we work, not just ‘where’ we work, as we transition to this new paradigm.

Key Strategies for Remote Work Success

While remote work presents distinct challenges, the strategic application of several key principles can revolutionize your company’s operations:

1. Embrace Asynchronous Work: Facilitate collaboration through documents instead of relying solely on meetings. Reserve meetings for complex issues that are challenging to resolve through written communication. This shift not only reduces meeting fatigue but empowers employees to work productively at their convenience.
2. Document Everything: Transparency stands as a pillar of effective remote work. Thoroughly documenting processes, roles, and decisions ensures clarity, reduces confusion, and significantly decreases ramp-up time for new employees. A culture of comprehensive documentation fosters an environment where everyone remains informed and aligned.
3. Standardize Operations: Establish clear templates and define decision-making processes to standardize operations across your organization. By empowering individuals to make informed decisions without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, you can cultivate an agile and responsive working environment that adjusts quickly to the needs of a fast-growing company.
4. Invest in Technology: Leverage technology as a backbone to enforce standard processes and workflows, ensuring consistency and adaptability within your remote teams. Tools that facilitate seamless communication, project management, and data sharing become indispensable in maintaining operational cohesion.
5. Bias for Action: Decentralize decision-making to empower your team. Trust in the hires you make, and streamline processes to expedite actions. A bias for action encourages team members to take initiative, fostering a dynamic and forward-thinking organizational culture.
6. Champion Flexibility: Shift focus from input to output. Allow employees the autonomy to determine their work patterns, as long as they consistently deliver quality results. Flexibility not only enhances job satisfaction but also leverages the diverse working styles of a multicultural, global workforce.
7. Prioritize Key Goals: Identify and concentrate on critical business objectives. With so many distractions that can pop up everyday, it is crucial to stay aligned with your primary goals, avoiding the pitfall of getting bogged down by day-to-day tasks that do not align with overarching targets.
8. Hire for Remote Success: Seek disciplined, self-motivated individuals who thrive in a remote setting. During the hiring process, prioritize candidates who demonstrate both the capability to work independently and the ability to contribute to a strong, cohesive remote culture that supports your company’s values.

Remote Success Stories

Consider companies like 37Signals and Zapier, which have been trailblazers in fully embracing remote work, showcasing its immense potential when executed effectively.

37Signals, the creators of Basecamp, have not just survived but thrived as a remote company for over two decades, proving their model’s resilience over time.

Simultaneously, Zapier has rapidly grown to a $5 billion valuation, employing more than 800 remote employees across 40 countries.

This demonstrates their successful scaling while maintaining an effective and expansive remote infrastructure.

The Path Forward

As we look toward the future, the discussion has moved beyond questioning the viability of remote work.

Instead, the focus now lies in understanding how to optimize and implement this model to best suit your organization’s unique needs.

By concentrating on refining ‘how’ we work and adopting these robust strategies, you can unlock the transformative potential of remote work for your startup, setting a strong foundation for sustained growth and innovation in your industry.

References from this Episode

• ​The Modern Work Crisis​
• ​Remote: Office Not Required​
• ​Why Zapier has Always Been 100% Remote

Looking Ahead

In the next episode, I’m going to discuss strategies for increasing your workforce’s productivity, with a focus on fast growing companies.

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