Ask HN: If you don't permit telecommuting, why?

Re:Ask HN: If you don't permit telecommuting, why? by up_and_up on Friday July 22, 2016 @01:36PM (#12145166)

I have worked for a 100% remote team for 4 years. Most of the concerns I see being posted here, I believe have more to do with the inability to hire well, the inability to efficiently communicate at the inter and intra team level, and the inability to operate as a remote-first company.

Below I document how to successfully run a remote company. I work for a successful startup receiving regular accolades for our product.

Hiring:

Never hire very junior unless the person shows extreme talent combined with superior communication skills. Generally you are looking for people that are: highly efficient, organized, responsible, disciplined and able to stay on task with limited oversight. They should be self-starters with numerous projects they can point to that they delivered on their own.

Product engineering:

Near all communication happens in Slack/Hipchat/etc. Group meetings, when including remote people, happen in skype / Hangouts. We use shared google docs to brainstorm product and document specs. We use Trello to translate those high level specs into actionable stories. Use github to organize code reviews. You need a results-driven mentality. What did a developer deliver this week? This month? Weekly standups on Google Hangouts + monthly 1-on-1's with each developer can give you a good sense of how well a person is performing.

Culture-building:

Have in-person meetups 2-4 x a year for beneficial face-time and for people to get to know each other better on a personal level. Have monthly video conf/hangouts on non-work technical topics where people rotate presenting. Have a separate monthly book club to discuss technical or nontechnical topics.

Onboarding new people:

First, never hire very junior people. When a new person is hired, have them do 20 min 1-on-1's with all team members to get to know each other and their job role. Pair them up with a another person to work on a shared project. Have them paired for several projects before releasing them on the own.

I am happy to answer any specific questions if you have any.

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Re:Ask HN: If you don't permit telecommuting, why? by TrickedOut on Friday July 22, 2016 @01:44PM (#12145232)

That is all great if your HR department is fine hiring senior workers. My previous HR would rather have a $50/hr rate card and I hire 3 inexperienced workers than 1 experienced one at $120/hr

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Re:Ask HN: If you don't permit telecommuting, why? by mountaineer22 on Friday July 22, 2016 @01:38PM (#12145188)

What is your team size?

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Re:Ask HN: If you don't permit telecommuting, why? by up_and_up on Friday July 22, 2016 @01:44PM (#12145242)

20 people, but the processes we have in place should be scalable to way higher.

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Re:Ask HN: If you don't permit telecommuting, why? by mountaineer22 on Friday July 22, 2016 @02:05PM (#12145417)

I am not doubting that, I was unsure if this would be too "formal" for a small team of 5 or less.

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Re:Ask HN: If you don't permit telecommuting, why? by up_and_up on Friday July 22, 2016 @02:16PM (#12145531)

In that case, I would slowing introduce pieces of this, see how it works etc. If you feel like you need more process or more ways to build team camaraderie act accordingly.

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