This is a follow up to our first post about how Tidepool makes remote work work. Last time, we took a deep dive into the technical logistics of how we get things done as a completely remote and distributed team. In this post, we’re digging into the emotional logistics of supporting a completely remote and distributed team, and how this forms part of the foundation of Tidepool’s culture.
For all the technology that makes remote work a possibility for the Tidepool team, there are just some things that digital tools cannot replace. We put a lot of effort into building and maintaining the culture of Tidepool and looking after the well-being of each team member. Here are some things that we focus on to help our remote and distributed team thrive on and off the clock.
This directly relates to the tools and technology we use to communicate with each other. Interpreting tone from text alone can be tricky. It’s easy to jump to radical conclusions about the intent of a message, read into a sentence, or even a particular word choice if you’re not careful. We have a policy of assuming best intent with all communication.
We’re all adults, and we’re all on the same team. If someone is hurt by something that was said (or typed), team members are encouraged to reach out directly and have an open and honest conversation about what was said. This is the only way we can learn and grow as a team.
Twice a year, we get everyone together in person. This is a really, really important part of being a remote team. Why is it really important? Here’s a bit from an internal narrative prior to one of our get-togethers:
From my perspective, the single biggest goal of this offsite is this: We need to get to know each other really well, and have shared experiences that continue to build camaraderie and trust. That trust will lead to ongoing presumption of good intent, which leads to more efficient alignment, decision-making, and productivity.
We’ve previously blogged about our onsites and why they are so important, so I won’t rehash it all here. I’ll just leave it at this: If you are going to be a 100% remote and distributed team, you still need to meet each other in person from time to time. We do it twice per year, and it’s well worth the time, effort, and money.
Since folks are working from home all day, everyday, we also don’t get into the business of buying people office furniture, or home networking equipment, for example. Instead, we offer an annual “Wellness and Productivity stipend.” Last year, it was $1,875 (gross), and allowed folks to make sure they had what they needed to be healthy and productive at home. We ask folks to document and share what they use the stipend for, which encourages other folks to think creatively about their office set up.
Most of the stuff that people get is exactly what you might expect. Stuff like:
But also some non-obvious stuff like:
This is the home office of Dave Cintron from the Tidepool Support team. It's excellent.
As one Tidepool team member put it: “The Wellness and Productivity stipend allows you to be able to create your own productive space in your home office that works with you and your workflow rather than some generic cubicle.”
Some folks also use part of their stipend to help fund time at a co-working space. Sometimes, you just need to get out of the house/apartment and be around other humans.
Here are some of the other things we do to make remote working more engaging.
If you really want to hear an absolutely awful rendition of happy birthday, ask 20 or more people to sing at the same time with non-deterministic internet latency. It’s really, really bad (but it’s really fun).
We host a virtual book club, typically every other month or so. It’s totally optional, and just like any book club, we rotate who runs it and vigorously debate what book to pick next. A few recent books were: It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work, Dare to Lead, and Technically Wrong.
We love our Slack channels at Tidepool. When you work from home, sometimes you just need to share with others. A couple of favorites are #pets, #makers, and #coffee. The #pets channel is always good to share updates about our Employees of the Month. And the coffee fanatics at work will often orchestrate locally roasted coffee swaps.
Having the occasional guest attend our Zoom meetings is part of the remote work experience at Tidepool. Of course there are times when we need to focus or have tough conversations, but we also try to lean into the moments of levity that originate from a human or fur-child saying hello. Our visitors are a part of bringing our whole self to work, and we welcome the opportunity to get to know each other through these life moments.
It turns out there are some things you just can’t avoid or overcome when you’re dealing with a team that is entirely remote and distributed.
You are going to sign contracts that say "with a principal place of business at…" or "address for the purpose of legal notice."
For us, it's this mailbox at the UPS store at 555 Bryant St. in Palo Alto. Why did I choose this location? Because it was just the right distance from my house for a round trip walk with our dog, Bailey. And the owner Ira always has dog treats for Bailey when we arrive.
Why a UPS store and not a PO Box? Legal notice cannot be served at a PO box. But the UPS store can (and does) sign for receipt of packages and legal documents on our behalf.
I’m sure you’re asking, "Doesn’t having a UPS store sign on your behalf mean that a subpoena or other legal document could be served or you couldn’t avoid acknowledging a receipt?" Yes, it does. But you have that problem at a physical office, too. If you are trying to avoid having legal notice served by not answering the front door, you have much bigger problems.
PO Boxes (or in our case, UPS boxes) don't always cut it. Fortunately, one of our board members (Bryan Roberts at Venrock) also has a real office in Palo Alto. So we use that as our physical address for the purposes of the government.
Why does Apple care? Well, they may not, but in order to have a business developer account with Apple, you need to have a DUNS number, issued by Dun & Bradstreet, and in order to get a DUNS number, you need a physical location.
I don't know if the FDA will ever show up at the Venrock building for a surprise in-person audit. I doubt they will, but if they do, the receptionist there knows to serve them coffee, put them in a conference room, call me, and I'll be there with my laptop in 15 minutes.
Having folks in different time zones can be tricky. If your backend team (like ours) has folks in Australia, Bulgaria and the US, it means there are really only a few hours per day when everyone is awake. On the other hand, it means that there are folks awake at all times, which can be handy if a random outage happens.
Overall, time zones haven’t been too big an issue for us. Lennart and Anja (in Australia) and Jamie (in New Zealand) are totally cool getting up early a couple times per week for meetings, and Gerrit (in the UK) and Todd (in Bulgaria) don’t mind staying up late for 1 or 2 meetings per week. Those of us in North America's times zones are appreciative of their flexibility.
Working from home can be isolating, and not everyone loves it. I always try to schedule one lunch or coffee meeting every week just to get me out of the apartment. And I go play basketball three or four times a week (exercise and social interaction all at once!). And I find myself saying “Hi” to perfect strangers on dog walks.
As mentioned above, some Tidepoolers use part of the Wellness and Productivity stipend to rent time at a co-working space a few days per week. Our friend Scott Hanselman has a great thread on this topic. We encourage sharing creative ways to navigate the complexity of working from home with each other, so we can learn and grow as a team.
Folks bring their beverage of choice, people leave their microphones open to encourage more chatting, and we just shoot the breeze.
Here are some of the resources that are mentioned across both of our remote work blog posts:
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