Trello Embrace Remote Work Ultimate Guide

How To Embrace Remote Work The ultimate guide of tried and tested stategies, from the world’s leading companies for remote work.

Click the chapter to jump to a section: Dispelling Myths & Providing Tips 03Remote work gets a bad rep. But is it deseved? Communication & Collaboation 08Best pactices for vitual discussions and meetings. Digital Tools 15 The best software for effective remote work. Company Culture 20How to build a thriving team across many time zones. Jobs & Hiring 24Places to source remote jobs, and tips for inteviews and hiring. Click on the logo to jump to that company's remote work advice: 1

A message from Michael Pyor, Trello’s co-founder: Adding ‘embace remote’ to our list of team values was easy because it relects the larger effot we are putting into Trello evey day: We want to improve the way “ people work. There are many great theories about why remote work is woth it, but even more exciting are the outcomes we’ve experienced: Our product is better. By dogfooding Trello as a remote team, we bring a ton of 01 different perspectives to the table and push the limits of its collaboative features. Our talent is stronger. 02We’ve been able to source and accommodate some of the best people in the industy because we can suppot them in more than one location. Our purpose is clearer. We have a distinct band because we have a close team. By 03pursuing the best standards of communication and collaboation, we keep our silos down and our creative effots shared across the organization. Oh, and we all get to eat cake. Eveyone gets a cake delivered to their place on their bithday.” - Michael Pyor, co-founder of Trello 2

Dispelling myths providing tips When the topic of remote work comes up, it’s not uncommon for people to become immediately skeptical. Common naratives include: & “That could never “In theoy it sounds good, but remote people work with our can’t come to meetings system.” and they never have all the information.” “How do you know Yeah, we tried that, people but it didn’t really aren’t work and the remote slacking people ended up off?” “ getting fired.” Yikes. All of these statements are working off of either wrong assumptions or process failures. Remote work is getting a bad name when in fact there are easily identifiable behaviors and policies that are causing the problems. Effective remote work stats at the top. When company culture leaders correct non-remote friendly behaviors and put inclusive processes in place, the effects trickle down into a successful experience for eveyone. 3

MYTH #1: “Remote workers are slackers” There is a perception that if you can’t physically see someone sitting at their desk doing work, then they’re not getting anything done. Any worker, regardless of location, can slack off if managers are not properly communicating expectations and deadlines. If someone understands what work they are responsible for (goals) and when it needs to be done (deadlines), and they work accordingly (with regular status updates), then they surely won’t warant a “slacker” title, no matter where they’re located. Teams that reward results will attact and retain people that will be productive anywhere. Tip: In addition to a chat tool for quick conversation, managers should also be having weekly check-ins via video call with their direct repots to answer questions and learn of any setbacks. Never work from bed. When I stated working 100% remotely at Buffer, I set the rule for myself that I would never work from bed, and “here’s why: - It becomes more difficult to fall asleep because working from bed weakens the mental association between your bedroom and sleep. - You may stat to feel like you’re always at work and lose a place to come home to. - Your quality of sleep will decrease because using electronics before bed reduces the melatonin you need to fall asleep.” - Hailley Griffis, Future of Work Marketer, Buffer 4

A lot of remote workers feel like they constantly need to be “visible” in their MYTH #2: “It is digital workspaces to “prove” that up to the they are working. They feel they need to be present for evey discussion in remote worker chat, or can’t let a notification go unanswered for more than a few to constantly minutes. This pressure adds unnecessay prove they are anxiety. Instead of being able to do working” their deep work, they are constantly worying about how their contributions are perceived. Implicit in these beliefs is the concept that remote workers are “other” or somehow different than their other colleagues. If remote workers are feeling this pressure to be visible, then it likely stems from the idea that they’re not being valued at the same level as in-office workers. Tip: These anxieties are amelioated when remote work is normalized company-wide. These colleagues aren’t different or lacking (they may even experience fewer distactions). Eveyone should indicate “deep work” times on their calendar, or use a status update in their chat tool to indicate their availability. Remote workers are getting up and going to work evey day just like eveyone else, except they probably have a shoter commute! 5

MYTH #3: Remote Work Means Company Culture Suffers Some people are way of remote teams because they fear a lack of team camaaderie. It’s true that there are no silly inteactions in the kitchen or casual hallway “stop and chats” on remote teams, however, with effective planning, these social moments can be baked into a remote dynamic. Tip: Seeing as up to 10,000 non-verbal cues can be exchanged in one minute of face-to-face inteaction, video meeting tools are essential for building relationships with others. You can set up team-building activities over video that play into the strengths of remote work, like sharing your office view or introducing your cat to your coworker’s cat and watching the fury friendship unfold. In fact, we’ve written an entire chapter on remote work company culture tips for this ebook. Read more here. 6

MYTH #4: “Remote workers are available all times of day” It’s easy to assume that because someone is always at home that they are available to answer a quick work question at any time. This is unequivocally false. One of the most espoused remote work best pactices is to set strict working hours, just as one would if they worked in an office. Remote workers are encouaged to decide on (and communicate) available hours, take proper lunch breaks, and to physically turn off and exit their work space when they are engaging in their home life. Work-life sepaation is still vey possible, even if your office is inside your house! Tip: Tack workday availability on a team board where other impotant information is housed. If it’s unclear whether someone is currently available, you can double-check the card to know for sure! Pace yourself. Working remotely means you get a ton of quiet, heads-down time to do deep work. But deep work is exhausting! Build 5-minute breaks into your day: walk around the block, call your mom, pet your cat. Take care of yourself “ so you still have gas left in the tank on Friday to enjoy your personal time.” - Saah Goff-Dupont, Principal Writer, Atlassian, remote from Minnesota 7

Communication Collaboration & Remote team communication requires two basic things: thoughtful consideation and some adaptations for the vitual office. As more teams go digital and turn to remote work, it’s impotant to remember that the kinds of nuanced communication you get in an office setting don’t necessarily tanslate online. Setting some ground rules for team communication goes a long way in making sure your team is productive and happy. It is impotant to establish communication rules in a joint team-code-conduct manner that includes teams and their wishes directly in the creation. When do we use chats? Why do we write emails? At what point do we “ pick up the phone? These answers should be a joint effot and one that is relective of the team’s effots versus that of one person.” - Beat Buhmann, Geneal Manager EMEA, Evernote 8

CONTEXT IS KING When you’re communicating digitally, you never quite know what the other person is doing at that moment. They might be at their desk just like you are, or they may be fantically rushing to a sales meeting, only responding “Yes” to your question and not elaboating because they don’t have time. Without understanding the other person’s context, you might think that person doesn’t care about the issue you brought up, when they’re really just running to catch a cab in San Fancisco (good luck with that). With the information on that person’s context, all of a sudden, the cut answers make sense: It’s not that your coworker doesn’t care, they are just indisposed at the moment. Prefacing communication with your context can really help to prevent any miscommunication when things are out of the ordinay. Let team members know when you are heads down on a project and can’t respond to questions right away. Over communicating is always better than making assumptions. Tools can mask the ” intention and humanity of the “ people involved. 10 ”

STABLISH gROUND EruLES If you’re already working in a remote team, chances are your team has its roster of favorite tools. The impotant question to ask yourself is how and when to use these tools to convey the right information. All of these consideations can be boiled down to a simple question that saves you a lot of time and mental energy: Is the information time sensitive? If yes, go to chat. If no, go to Trello. “ ” For example, if you have a project update that is not time sensitive, pinging people in chat may be distacting and take them away from the brilliant state of concentational zen they’ve been tying to reach all day. 9

ChatVSvideo TOols calls Let these 4 truths sink in: Tools can mask intention and humanity: Keep in mind that at the end of the chat is a human 01 being with feelings and reactions. If you have constructive feedback to give, do it 02 over a video call so your intentions come across. Due to a lack of verbal and emotional cues: One person may perceive a chat convo as an 03argument when the other person perceives it as a discussion. Resentment builds over time due to underlying issues not being addressed. 04Digital communication gone rogue can breed misunderstandings and hut feelings. The easiest way to nip this in the bud is by recognizing the humanity in team members via seeing their face on a video call. It’s a game changer. 11

MEEtINGs Meetings get a bad rep, but nothing is more efficient than a meeting where all stakeholders know what is being discussed, how long it will last, and what to prepare. How do you accomplish this? if... then why? You want evey person in the Do not gather co-located folks It’s hard to tack conversations meeting to feel like their around a conference room both visually (tying to see input is on equal footing... screen and pipe the remote who’s talking) and audibly people in as giant chat heads. (with vaying distances from the microphone). To make collaboation work for eveyone, there is one key rule: Unless evey person is in the same room, all meetings are held over video conference. We’ve all been that one person dialing into a call only to hear a room full of noise, echo, and side conversations on the other end. It’s a terrible experience. So when one person is “remote” for a meeting, eveyone is. We follow a few guidelines to minimize disruptions and ensure productive, high-quality calls: Provide evey employee with great headphones to prevent bad audio quality. Make a reliable internet connection a priority for both local offices and remote setups. Develop video call etiquette (and follow it!). Mute when you’re not speaking, keep your video on to stay engaged, and avoid taking calls when in a noisy coffeeshop.” - Justine Jordan, VP Marketing, Litmus 12

Each person should feel equally represented and present in the meeting. “ ” Catching up with remote teammates at Trello HQ if... You want to help your remote team bond... Allocate potions of the meeting for chatting about non-work activities, ice-breaker games, and catching up on company then gossip. - Keeping things positive by including a “Team Bavos” section why is a great time for members to highlight each other’s contributions. 13 - “Gossip” section helps eveyone feel connected to the company.

Video conferencing is not ‘Big Brother,’ it’s an avenue for personal, “ face-to-face connection.” if... then why? You want to avoid Use a Trello board to - Team members need to meetings where people create both democatized know the structure, cadence, drone on in seemingly paticipation and and expectations of team endless monologues... structure. meetings. - Anyone can add a card to the “Discuss During Meeting” list at any time. 14

9 time zones. 17 people. 190 countries. See how UNICEF is pushing remote work to its futhest borders in this exclusive stoy of humanitarian aid and hurricane relief. Read more © UNICEF/UN056164/Sokhin

Tools matter more in remote work because they are the foundation for ALL THE communication. You cannot walk up to someone’s desk to talk to them; you TOOLS TO need to adapt tools to become your “vitual office.” After all, if technology MAKE hadn’t advanced to what it is today, remote work wouldn’t even be possible. REMOTE Here’s a roundup of the most WORK impotant types of tools you need to consider for remote work, as well as COOLsome specific recommendations: 15

Chat At Zapier, we realize that “ Tools tansparent communication is key to successful remote work. Nearly all of our conversations happen in public Slack channels, so anyone can chime in and Slack is the reigning powerhouse read up on what’s happening in the chat tools field, and has proven to be an engaging and across teams and fun-to-use tool for team depatments. That’s communication, especially for especially helpful when remote teams. working as a team across different time zones. When “Social” features like emoji reactions and GIPHY team members wake up, integrations are a positive way they can easily gain context for remote companies to and pick up where others left communicate more naturally. off instead of not knowing what went on while they Communicating via Slack channels is also an important were sleeping.” way to ensure no decisions are ever lost. Remote - Wade Foster, CEO, Zapier communication is asynchronous: which means keeping a record in Slack channels removes the frustrating effect of desk stop- and-chats. It also means everyone can stay informed, and even contribute to decision making (in their own time!). 16

Video call software Zoom has proven to be the most reliable video conferencing software across all forms of internet connections, especially when handling hundreds of participants in company-wide meetings. The “gallery view” feature is a must for remote meetings with many attendees. You can also use the chat tool within meetings to establish a "peanut gallery" of running commentary and reactions while When communication stats to get information is being presented. nuanced, confusing, or even heated, hop into video chat. The same way that There are even fun custom you’d seek out a coworker in an office backgrounds you can add as green setting to discuss an impotant issue, screens that are great conversation video chat makes it much easier to mimic this inteaction starters for remote teams! Good video conferencing is one of the cornerstones of an effective remote company, and we’ve tried them all. Here are our recommendations: 17

Collaboration Status tools & When you need to see progress, at-a-glance status updates, and all relevant resources related to a project or team’s work, Trello is your vitual office. All the information updates in real-time and lives there 24/7, so team members can pick up the context, communications, and status of any request, project, meeting agenda, or other item at their convenience. Trello, by the way, would not be as user-friendly of a product without the constant dogfooding it receives from the remote team that builds it. Sign up: it's free! (No but seriously, what did you think we were going to say? :P) 18

Communication Documentation & (Internal): Whether it’s outlining (External): When it comes to collaboating with people outside of policies, taking meeting notes, or writing the company, like freelance writers or a blog to share with your team, external patners, Google Docs is the Confluence is a fantastic internal industy standard. The ability to communication and collaboration tool. simultaneously edit, comment, and Use it for projects or as an employee chat back and foth is lawless. Also, handbook. It helps teams share ideas, the robust permissions settings make build community, and get work done all sharing private and public information in one open and shared workspace, a breeze. regardless of timezone. 19

creating a remote team culture One of the biggest concerns when considering remote-friendly work is the perceived culture hit. Workplaces have relied on co-location to build corpoate culture for so long that it seems bleak to think of a December without the requisite tinsel-and-punch office holiday paty. The key to building great remote relationships is intention. You need to ty harder to find common interests, have meaningful meetings, and truly understand each person’s perspective. The result can be a lasting network of true friends that you can depend on, no matter where your tavels might take you. Creating a strong remote team culture depends on two things: 1.A clear set of “rules to live by” that have 100% buy-in across the company. 2.A healthy system of meetings, events, and habits that keep people communicating. Oh, and don’t forget to use a lot of and 20

Empathy Is Eveything: remote Always assume positive intent. Tone and nuance can get lost over chat, so assuming your colleague is coming from a positive place helps 01with any potential misunderstandings. culture Treat Others With Tansparency: rules to Keep impotant information accessible for live by eveyone: log side chat decisions, record video 02meetings, and always take notes to share in When you think of a vibant, public spaces. self-sustaining culture, you might not think of rules. But in Asynchronous Is A-OK: this case, rules are social norms Embace communication across distributed that provide paticipants with an time zone work schedules. Plan ahead: No expected experience when they 03decisions are made last minute. It may seem enter the proverbial office. The like exta work, but it’s actually more organized. special thing about norms is that they are collectively agreed upon. With 100% buy-in, these Expect Structure: rules build trust, understanding, Establish a process, structure, and agenda and suppot. around meetings and updates so eveyone can Doesn’t that sound 04follow along no matter their location. Assign a meeting lead and scribe to ensure key decisions like a great place to are captured in writing. work? Different Yet Equal: Accept this fundamental reality: All remote team members are equal, but their experiences 05differ. It’s OK for co-located teammates to get together in person. The key is be consideate. If it is a company-sponsored event, provide an alternate perk for remote folks. For more insight on balancing co-located and remote teams, see Trello’s six commandments of culture between office and remote 21 team members here.

Give both extrovets and introvets alike the chance to chat with their co-workers a system of socializing in meaningful ways. Here are three types of social inteactions that you can easily set up for your remote team: Company-Wide Oh Hey There, Town Hall Mr. Rogers Throw out any notions of the As companies grow, you can’t taditional quaterly update speech. guaantee eveyone knows or talks to This should be an open forum for eveyone else. questions, discussions, and (shot) team presentations occuring at least Enter “Mr. Rogers,” a 15-minute weekly once a month. andom grouping of team members who connect on a video chat to, well, Each Trello Town Hall opens with a just chat. review of the company’s values, priorities, and employee Post-session, a screen capture of the anniversaries. Then new hires get to members and highlights are logged. introduce themselves. The rest of How else could you learn that Bobby the hour is filled with agenda items would ather fight 1 torch-wielding crowdsourced from the company in mob-sized lobster than 700 advance. lobster-sized torch-wielding mobs? Why does the Town Hall work? Why does Mr. Rogers work? It’s cuated, plus it’s It reveals common energized, as well as interests and sparks democatic. It’s on a conversations that set schedule, and you can be picked up at get to see each the annual offsite. It person’s face in their provides a break from own video screen. Ty work talk and builds doing that in a room personal relationships of 100 people! at a reliable cadence. Learn more Learn more 22

remote team “offsites” Flying eveyone to an exotic location and having a big company bonding session is amazing, but also expensive. It shouldn’t be your company’s only solution for getting together. You can also share experiences as a remote team with a “choose-your-own” company adventure. At Trello, this tanslates into a summer day off for the whole company during which co-located office members head to the beach, and remotes receive a stipend to expense their own fun adventure. Why does the Choose-Your-Own event work? We bring eveyone together with a hashtag and shared Trello board filled with recaps and pictures that is reviewed at the next Town Hall. Eveyone has an equal (but different) oppotunity to have some fun, and then bond over those stories aftewards. Learn more Remote work, and being able to structure life and live where and how you want is awesome! This lexibility is a strength of this unique workstyle. It’s also super impotant to get face-time with your team. If you have the oppotunity, meet your team members in person, break bread together, and share memoable experiences. Stephen Omstead, VP of Design Patnerships, InVision 23

FIND (AND LAND) THE PERFECT REMOTE JOB In 2016, 43% of employed Americans said they spent at least some time working remotely. That’s a lot of jobs! Remote oppotunities aren’t just becoming easier to source, they are being developed by companies who are purposefully building a remote-friendly work culture (and looking for the right candidates to thrive in it). where to source... It’s a challenge to source out true remote oppotunities amidst vague “work from home!” ads. Here are some places to stat: Your current company: If you feel that your situation could be vastly improved by removing the commute, communicate with your manager. You might lead the charge on remote culture! “Hiring remote workers means that you can get the absolute best person for the job – FlexJobs: not just one who is willing to live in your city. FlexJobs vets remote oppotunities that fit If your company doesn’t include remote your skills, job experience and county of working options now or in the future, you employment for a small fee. could be cutting your possible candidate pool in half and be eliminating the most Remote.com: qualified people from consideation.” Build a profile and let potential - Rachel Ferrigno, Content Marketing Manager, oppotunities come your way thanks Stack Ovelow to AI tech that matches employees and companies. Stack Overflow: Other top remote job boards include Remote If you're a developer looking to level up, OK, We Work Remotely, Remotive, Remote.co, this is your stop. Add criteria like tech and Jobspresso. stack and lex hours to find a great fit. 24

how to prep A remote job inteview can also be a slight depature from the taditional in-office inteview. How you approach and inteact with a remote hiring team during the vetting process can really sepaate you from the pack. Here are some expet tips: Help yourself be yourself: You don’t want to be worying about interruptions while tying to explain your 01 best attributes. Make sure you have a solid internet connection, a quiet place to take the inteview (no coffee shops!). Over-communicate: The foundation of distributed teams is communication. Approach your application 02by providing as many details as needed. This kind of communicative effot shows you’re reliable when working remote. Get into the remote inteviewer mindset: Put yourself in your inteviewer’s shoes and anticipate Are you what will make their lives easier. Provide examples of (really) ready 03your work that shows results, integrity, drive, to go remote? empathy, and how you add value as a trustwothy team member. At the end of the day, choosing remote for remote’s sake won’t keep Know your tools: you satisfied. If the role is You should be comfotable managing all kinds of as much about the work as collaboative tools like chat apps, video conferencing, it is about the lifestyle, 04email, calendars, and project management platforms, you’ll be on the right tack because your inteview will likely require them. to find a fulfilling career. 25

Remote work is an important shift in how our society operates, in that it opens doors for many who weren't able to walk “ through them before. People who cannot afford to move where the work is, people who cannot adhere to a traditional 9-to-5 workday because they care for their families—remote work is already creating new opportunities for them, and this effect will only grow stronger. We're shaping the future of work, and it's on us to make sure that it's getting better for everyone. - Leif Singer, Product Manager, Automattic ” 26

This book was created entirely remotely by two people living 3000 miles away. We also received lots of input from our remote teammates across the county: . . . . . . . We dedicate this book to all remote workers, whose pioneering effots have helped us to learn, evolve, connect, and empathize in a whole new way. And to our remote colleagues at Trello: Thank you. Without your honesty and advice, we would never be where we are today. Writing and editing: Leah Ryder and Lauren Moon Some additional repoting done by Stella Garber Layout: Lauren Moon Illustations: Christopher “Tinypants” Dang Special Thanks: Samantha Gobet 27