How to organize remote work

The Gearheart team has been working remotely for over eight years, and we are distributed across six countries in different time zones. This format gives us the opportunity to independently customize schedules and choose convenient workplaces. We travel freely, devote a lot of time to training and hobbies, attract professionals from all over the world, and earn interesting international projects. And this is just a short list of advantages that remote work offers with well-established processes.

Transparency and awareness

These are two basic principles inherent in effective remote work.

When a team works in an office, many issues are resolved on the go. There is always the opportunity to bridge gaps in processes through personal contact and discussion. If there is a misunderstanding or lack of information, you can go to a colleague and solve the situation. At the same time, any organizational shortcomings are, as it were, smoothed out. The distance takes away this opportunity or makes it as uncomfortable as possible, immediately showing weaknesses. Therefore, the remote format obliges us to organize clear and transparent processes so everyone understands where to get tasks, how to transfer them along the chain, where to get the necessary data, how to record the results, and so on.

In addition, many procedures in the office are formed spontaneously. But remote work does not imply that some things will happen by themselves. So a conscious approach and thoughtful rules are needed here. Thanks to this, processes often line up better, unlike automatic organization. For example, when working in the same department, colleagues can orally schedule appointments, if necessary asking each other for details and the agenda. But the participants of a distributed team must definitely make appointments in the calendar. In terms of time optimization, the second option is much better.

Remote work aspects

Here we have gathered tips that will help organize remote work, increase personal effectiveness, and create a psychologically healthy climate in the team. All of them are grouped in separate areas, which we will describe in detail. If you decide to implement the remote format in your team, share this information with all its participants; understanding and involving each colleague in the essence and processes of remote work is very important. Next, we will explain in more detail why this is so important and also share our principles and examples.

Organizing the workplace and timetable

How to strike a balance between work and personal life. What you need to consider when choosing and creating a workplace.

Organizing communication

The principles of virtual communication and video meetings. How to use the calendar and organize calls and correspondence in order to interact effectively.

Project management and goal setting

Planning, setting, and completing tasks. How to describe correctly and where it is better to store tasks.

Document management

Who creates the documents and why. Organization of a knowledge base and rules for storing documentation.

Time tracking

How we use the time tracking software.

Remote work tools

Overview of software and applications that help in daily work.

Working with clients

How to build relationships with clients and manage projects.

Building a culture

Values as guidelines in work. Why create and how to maintain a team culture.

Recruiting & onboarding

What is important to consider when hiring remote employees and how to organize the process of their adaptation to the team.

Legal issues of work

Laws and regulations in the legal support of the remote company.