Co-founder and CEO @remote Making it easy for companies to find, hire, pay, and manage their teams globally. Job is really my first name.
Remote
- Tweets 10,374
- Following 4,116
- Followers 27,135
- Likes 18,312
Pinned Tweet
Low drama, amazing support, compliance first: @remote for payroll anywhere in the planet, and everything else your HR team needs
(like recruiting from 800 million profiles, or device management, or performance management, or compensation benchmarking)
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1/ I've been managing people remotely for 8 years. Here's how to be a better manager in a remote (distributed) team:
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1/ I've been managing people remotely for 8 years. Here's how to be a better manager in a remote (distributed) team:
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1/ I've been managing people remotely for 8 years. Here's how to be a better manager in a remote (distributed) team:
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.@gitlab just filed for IPO
In 2015 the entire GitLab team drove (me) in a single car to a surprise bachelor party for me in Las Vegas.
Wow.
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4/ You spend the 1:1 time coaching, unblocking, helping them grow, providing feedback, discussing plans and doubts, etc.
Feedback first, then strategic, then tactical. Many managers make the mistake of doing this the other direction.
Do 1:1 meetings weekly. 30-60 minutes.
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1/ I've been managing people remotely for 8 years. Here's how to be a better manager in a remote (distributed) team:
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Yesterday I complained to SVP of software at Apple, Craig Federighi about my Mac Pro being slow post-upgrade. He emailed me back asking for ~300mb of diagnostics.
Today, he got back, having analyzed it and with steps to improve.
What an incredible company.
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3/ One-on-one calls:
Have regularly 1:1 calls with all your reports. The point of these calls is to check in with the person, not the work.
What that means in practice is that you don't spend that time reviewing work - you can do that async.
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The cursor + clause hype is real. I had an idea for a cool app that solves a problem I have myself and I built it in 45 minutes, using a fun new to me language.
I already bought the domain :)
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9/ Document things yourself. Don't delegate minor documentation tasks if you're directly involved. No one is too big to write documentation.
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2/ First off: being a great manager and being a great remote manager are nearly identical.
Most of these tips would directly translate to an office. If you are a good manager in the office, transition shouldn't be hard.
I.e. you don't need to smell people to manage them.
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13/ A good manager is available to their team. That means they can make time for everyone.
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Phone calls, unplanned, are not of this time anymore.
I can't remember the last time I answered a phone call that wasn't expected.
I don't even like to call unannounced myself, even if asked. What are the chances they're not busy?
Unplanned phone calls are over.
📞💥
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Super excited to announce @remote’s Series B of $150M!
We’ve partnered with @Accel and existing investors @IndexVentures, @sequoia, @gcvp, and @TwoSigmaVC to build the infrastructure that modern companies need to find, hire, and pay people in every single country in the world.
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11/ When you find that people are overtired, overworked or just need a break - give them that break.
Take their work/worries away and let them take off. Don't postpone this, do it right away. Rest is essential.
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1/ I've been managing people remotely for 8 years. Here's how to be a better manager in a remote (distributed) team:
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4/ You spend the 1:1 time coaching, unblocking, helping them grow, providing feedback, discussing plans and doubts, etc.
Feedback first, then strategic, then tactical. Many managers make the mistake of doing this the other direction.
Do 1:1 meetings weekly. 30-60 minutes.
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We’re building @remote so people can live better lives, in part by giving them financial stability and safety. We can only do this by building a rock-solid business.
We will run March payroll for all employees where it is impossible for customers to pay us the full amounts owed due to the SVB situation. We’re able to do this, because we have a very healthy balance sheet, a strong network of banking partners, and we’re not directly exposed to SVB.
That means if your employer that is employing you through @remote is not able to pay for March payroll immediately, because they don’t have access to their SVB funds, @remote will still pay your salary.
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By the end of Q1, @remote will allow you to employ people with full benefits in 10 countries.
By the end of 2020 that will be more than 30 countries (🤞)
It will likely cost us over $2 million in legal fees to get there.
We go through this so you won’t have to.
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How to start working better async through using @loom:
1. Cancel that meeting
2. Record a loom for a simple message in less than 20s. Max 2 min for more complex messages. Max 5 for demos
3. NEVER LOOK AT YOUR OWN RECORDING
4. Share it!
Step 3 will save you hours.
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10/ Regularly check in on workload and working hours of all your reports.
Working remotely makes it much easier to overwork, and not everyone will naturally bring this up or even make it visible.
You have to ask.
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I'm super excited to announce that we've raised $300 million for @remote from SoftBank to help anyone, anywhere get access to amazing opportunities, and through that build a better life.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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12/ Limit number of reports:
You should not have many reports. More than 8 is really hard to manage well. Exceptions to this are very experienced people, but everyone needs a coach or someone to help them get unstuck.
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investing in startups has been a very expensive way to confirm that in fact most startups fail
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We're hiring ✨a lot✨ of engineers at @remote! Experience with elixir not required.
You can work from anywhere. Work with awesome people.
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Very proud to announce $11 million seed funding of @remote by an amazing group of investors at @TwoSigmaVC @gcvp @IndexVentures, with @sytses, @jobertabma and @andreasklinger.
blog.remote.com/announcing-o…
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5/ Reduce length and frequency based on preferences of either party and/or a feeling of needing it less.
Always have an agenda, but keep it light. This is the exception to the rule of running tight meetings.
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3/ One-on-one calls:
Have regularly 1:1 calls with all your reports. The point of these calls is to check in with the person, not the work.
What that means in practice is that you don't spend that time reviewing work - you can do that async.
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4/ You spend the 1:1 time coaching, unblocking, helping them grow, providing feedback, discussing plans and doubts, etc.
Feedback first, then strategic, then tactical. Many managers make the mistake of doing this the other direction.
Do 1:1 meetings weekly. 30-60 minutes.
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6/ You want to have the breathing room to discuss more sensitive and/or personal matters (e.g. job performance). Don't rush those.
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9/ Document things yourself. Don't delegate minor documentation tasks if you're directly involved. No one is too big to write documentation.
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2/ First off: being a great manager and being a great remote manager are nearly identical.
Most of these tips would directly translate to an office. If you are a good manager in the office, transition shouldn't be hard.
I.e. you don't need to smell people to manage them.
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8/ This makes you much more accessible, visible, and sets a great example that reinforces async standards.
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18/ Hire great people you can trust. Then once people are onboarded, give them that trust from day one. Always assume good intent. Don't ramp up on this, or wait until you see results. That's a false start for everyone involved. Trust starts day 1.
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Became a dad for the second time today!
As impatient as his big sister and dad, he arrived at 30 weeks, so he still needs to spend a number of weeks in hospital. Mom doing well.
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15/ Document, document, document. No matter your seniority or rank, you should be documenting.
Document how you work, how you expect to work with others. Make changes to documentation that other people wrote proactively. Be the example.
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3/ One-on-one calls:
Have regularly 1:1 calls with all your reports. The point of these calls is to check in with the person, not the work.
What that means in practice is that you don't spend that time reviewing work - you can do that async.
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10/ Regularly check in on workload and working hours of all your reports.
Working remotely makes it much easier to overwork, and not everyone will naturally bring this up or even make it visible.
You have to ask.
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Super excited to announce our series A, which will help us expand @remote globally, and ultimately help create more remote jobs - and enabling people from anywhere to work for amazing companies.
techcrunch.com/2020/11/10/re…
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11/ When you find that people are overtired, overworked or just need a break - give them that break.
Take their work/worries away and let them take off. Don't postpone this, do it right away. Rest is essential.
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20/ Once hired, set expectations. It can be super helpful to create 30/60/90 day plan with targeted goals.
Make feedback highly actionable by linking and documenting.
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9/ Document things yourself. Don't delegate minor documentation tasks if you're directly involved. No one is too big to write documentation.
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You either work fully remotely, or you don't. There is no middle ground.
You might have an office, but if one person is not in it at the same time, everyone must work remote-accessible, or they'll end up isolating the remote workers.
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Quitting a job is the most important move you can make. It’s the decision to take a different path, to go into the unknown.
All my proudest decisions have been moments where I’ve decided to get away from safety, security, and pursue something else.
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After 7 weeks in the hospital, we're finally bringing our son home today! 👶
Because of COVID I've not been able to see him for three weeks now. Very surreal feeling. Extremely excited!
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12/ Limit number of reports:
You should not have many reports. More than 8 is really hard to manage well. Exceptions to this are very experienced people, but everyone needs a coach or someone to help them get unstuck.
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1/ 3 years ago @marcelolebre and I founded @remote
Here is how we grew a company from 2 to 800 employees in 3 years
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18/ Hire great people you can trust. Then once people are onboarded, give them that trust from day one. Always assume good intent. Don't ramp up on this, or wait until you see results. That's a false start for everyone involved. Trust starts day 1.
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2/ First off: being a great manager and being a great remote manager are nearly identical.
Most of these tips would directly translate to an office. If you are a good manager in the office, transition shouldn't be hard.
I.e. you don't need to smell people to manage them.
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Super proud to announce Remote Talent! Our first (and definitely not last) steps into helping great people and great companies find each other.
We've built this specifically to help you find remote jobs that actually fit you - no more "specific country only" if you're elsewhere.
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1/ I've been managing people remotely for 8 years. Here's how to be a better manager in a remote (distributed) team:
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This week more people are starting at @remote than we had in total a year ago.
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🍕 We held an opt-in pizza night at @Remote. Company paid for pizza for everyone (+whomever they live with), and we hung out in a zoom call.
Most important outcome was that we established that 🍍 on 🍕 is the best.
Turns out, you can do pizza parties without office!
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15/ Document, document, document. No matter your seniority or rank, you should be documenting.
Document how you work, how you expect to work with others. Make changes to documentation that other people wrote proactively. Be the example.
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19/ To hire great people, focus on shared values.
Don't focus on remote working experience, but look for whether someone can work independently, and is able to communicate effectively. That'll fully determine whether they can do their work remotely.
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Want to hire someone in..
🇦🇹
🇧🇷
🇨🇦
🇨🇴
🇨🇿
🇩🇰
🇫🇷
🇭🇺
🇮🇳
🇮🇪
🇮🇱
🇮🇹
🇲🇽
🇳🇱
🇵🇱
🇵🇹
🇸🇬
🇿🇦
🇪🇸
🇸🇪
🇨🇭
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🇺🇸
You can do so today, through @remote. Employment, payroll, compliance, benefits, taxes, contracts, payments, contractor payments, and everything else you might need.
$599/mo
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5/ Reduce length and frequency based on preferences of either party and/or a feeling of needing it less.
Always have an agenda, but keep it light. This is the exception to the rule of running tight meetings.
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Hire anyone, from anywhere through @remote, starting at $0/month (Nothing! No hidden fees, nothing!).
With our own entities in:
🇦🇷🇦🇲🇦🇺🇦🇹🇧🇾🇧🇪🇧🇴🇧🇷🇧🇬🇨🇦🇨🇱🇨🇴🇨🇷🇭🇷🇨🇾🇨🇿🇩🇰🇪🇨🇪🇪🇫🇮🇫🇷🇬🇪🇩🇪🇬🇷🇭🇳🇭🇰🇭🇺🇮🇸🇮🇳🇮🇩🇮🇪🇮🇱🇮🇹🇰🇪🇱🇹🇱🇺🇲🇾🇲🇹🇲🇽🇲🇦🇳🇱🇳🇿🇳🇴🇵🇦🇵🇾🇵🇪🇵🇭🇵🇱🇵🇹🇷🇴🇸🇬🇸🇰🇿🇦🇪🇸🇸🇪🇨🇭🇹🇼🇹🇷🇺🇦🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇾
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11/ When you find that people are overtired, overworked or just need a break - give them that break.
Take their work/worries away and let them take off. Don't postpone this, do it right away. Rest is essential.
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16/ Connect individually at a deeper level, i.e. don't neglect to bond emotionally with the people you work with. This will make it more fun, and easier to work together - especially when times are tough.
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There are about 1 billion knowledge workers today, out of total ~3.3 billion working people.
I think 1% is extremely low for the potential high mobility of knowledge workers.
Arguably, only the top 25% of knowledge workers would be competitive enough to be remote workers (worth spending money on hiring abroad), but that would put you at 8% of the total working population. And that's international. Not a stretch to say that maybe 50% of all knowledge workers could successfully not go to an office.
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Pro-tip for new remote employers: don't monitor your employees.
Output is the only thing that matters.
And make sure you know what you expect from any given role, and write that down, then hire accordingly.
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10/ Regularly check in on workload and working hours of all your reports.
Working remotely makes it much easier to overwork, and not everyone will naturally bring this up or even make it visible.
You have to ask.
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Good employers give you a nice laptop to work on.
Great employers provide all home office basics: second large screen, (standing) desk, chair, webcam, peripherals.
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1/ 🇦🇲🇦🇹🇧🇷🇧🇬🇨🇦🇨🇴🇨🇿🇩🇰🇪🇨🇪🇪🇫🇷🇩🇪🇭🇰🇭🇺🇮🇳🇮🇪🇮🇱🇮🇹🇲🇹🇲🇽🇳🇱🇳🇿🇵🇱🇵🇹🇷🇴🇸🇬🇿🇦🇪🇸🇸🇪🇨🇭🇬🇧🇺🇸
@remote is your employer of record directly, helps you stay compliant and runs payroll, provides extensive benefits from $149/month
And 20 more new countries opening in the coming three months!
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20/ Once hired, set expectations. It can be super helpful to create 30/60/90 day plan with targeted goals.
Make feedback highly actionable by linking and documenting.
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Building a startup is incredibly difficult and requires really hard work for years.
I recommend it to everyone.
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Hire, pay, provide benefits (incl. stock options!) to people anywhere with @remote. Employees and contractors!
With our own entities in:
🇦🇷🇦🇲🇦🇺🇦🇹🇧🇾🇧🇪🇧🇴🇧🇷🇧🇬🇨🇦🇨🇱🇨🇴🇨🇷🇭🇷🇨🇾🇨🇿🇩🇰🇩🇴🇪🇨🇪🇬🇪🇪🇫🇮🇫🇷🇬🇪🇩🇪🇬🇷🇭🇳🇭🇰🇭🇺🇮🇸🇮🇳🇮🇩🇮🇪🇮🇱🇮🇹🇰🇪🇱🇹🇱🇺🇲🇾🇲🇹🇲🇽🇲🇳🇲🇦🇳🇱🇳🇿🇳🇴🇵🇦🇵🇾🇵🇪🇵🇭🇵🇱🇵🇹🇷🇴🇸🇬🇸🇰🇿🇦🇪🇸🇸🇪🇨🇭🇹🇼🇹🇷🇺🇦🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇾
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6/ You want to have the breathing room to discuss more sensitive and/or personal matters (e.g. job performance). Don't rush those.
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Beyond our fellow humans in Ukraine, make sure to support those in Russia and Belarus. They are probably worried, afraid, and probably treated as if they are representing their government - which they aren't.
This is a scary time for everyone. Be kind to each other.
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1/ I've been managing people remotely for 8 years. Here's how to be a better manager in a remote (distributed) team:
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On the note of hiring:
We're removing all degree requirements for all positions at @remote. It was never a plan to have them, but they did sneak into some job descriptions.
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8/ This makes you much more accessible, visible, and sets a great example that reinforces async standards.
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14/ If you have more than ~8 reports, split the team up and either add hierarchy or some other structure that makes it so everyone has a manager that has time for them.
Point being: you need to have someone that can help you out. If you are that person, you need time for it.
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At this point my number one tip for remote companies is to use @loom.
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How to do email in 2020:
- skip formalities
- don’t use a signature
- move people to BCC, when not engaging
- e-meeting is not a thing, just say meet
- number your questions
- give availability, don’t ask
- emojis allowed 🙏
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