Remote Work Culture Worth Writing Home About: 5 Essential Values
We’ve been fully remote since we hatched in 2011, and have built our business around the amazing flexibility this set-up gives our team, both professionally and personally. What was once considered an anomaly is now becoming the norm. According to Forbes, “By 2025, an estimated 70% of the workforce will be working remotely at least five days a month”.
As WFH and hybrid work arrangements continue to trend upwards, and remote work becomes a very real opportunity for so many more smart and talented people, we thought we’d share a little wisdom from the flock.
Our team recently had a lively discussion on Slack (GIFs aplenty, of course) about what makes for great remote company culture. Drawing on our own experiences of success, failure, and ultimately, growth, we’ve come up with 5 pillars that are essential to making a virtual workplace feel like home.
Here are some of the ways we make a distributed team work (and well!):
TRUST IN THE TEAM IS A MUST
Like any great relationship, this makes for a solid foundation.
- “I know it's a bit cliché, but I think above all, what makes a great remote company is trust. There is absolutely no way one can run a remote company if they're too busy worrying about why their employee's Slack dot isn't Green at 9:04am.”
- “Trusting employees - it’s just gotta be said again because it’s so important, and I love the trust we have here. It makes the day to day so much less stressful!”
- “We have extremely supportive team members. We recognize when someone may have a ton on their plate and are there to help in any way possible - and we trust that support will be extended to us, too!”
CULTIVATE CONNECTIONS
A “Welcome to the Flock” Goosechase is part of every onboarding process, which helps demystify our product, tools, culture, and gets us engaging with each other right away. Of course, we’re also known to get competitive over a Goosechase or game of Among Us every now and then...
- “Providing opportunities to connect with colleagues is something we do really well. Remote work can feel isolating, but we have so many Slack channels that encourage us to connect outside of work (#food, #travel, and #pets are big favorites!), and initiatives like the Donut chats & team socials are awesome for this.”
PUT PEOPLE FIRST
A happy, fulfilled team means happy customers.
- “Working remotely and in charge of our own schedules and environments, we all have the opportunity to strike a work/life balance that is personally fulfilling and ultimately makes us more productive.”
- “Owning our schedules and having the time to recharge as we need is so conducive to being our best, most energetic, productive selves!”
USE FLEXIBILITY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
Not tying the team down to a time zone or location is freeing in so many ways - take advantage of the flexibility it provides and don’t be afraid to experiment!
- “This may not be true of all remote teams, but it certainly is about Goosechase! Because we can be so flexible, we aren't afraid to experiment and try new things. Being able to push the boundaries of our roles is absolutely amazing—being encouraged to forge our own path is a very rare gem that sadly, too many companies shy away from. It pays off in so many ways: not being shy to innovate has led us to the Flock Friday experiment!”
CRYSTAL CLEAR COMMUNICATION
Every person on our team - whether they work in Product Development, Sales, or Marketing - is an A+ communicator. When you’re spread across continents and time zones, you have to be!
- “Clear written communication and project handover between teams is huge - everyone on the team is cognizant that members are in different time zones and may have other priorities on the go. We are very intentional about being clear and concise when communicating, linking to the right resources, being empathetic when communicating with each other asynchronously, and documenting our discussions and notes from meetings.”
- “Especially on long-term projects, we make an effort to get everyone up to speed, even in areas they might not directly work on. This helps ensure we all understand the “why” of a project, and that everyone feels comfortable asking questions. We have a great ‘no bad questions’ mentality!”
All this to say, logging on is something we look forward to, and we’re proud of all the heart and hard work that got us here and keeps us going.
Does this sound like a team you’d play well on? Check out our Careers page to see open positions. Drop us a hi (or a honk) if anything feels like a cozy fit.
What is Goosechase?
Goosechase is an online platform that helps organizers create and run digital scavenger hunt experiences for team building, learning, public engagement, or a variety of other events. Sign up and try creating a free recreational game, or contact us to learn more about our enterprise solutions!
