Allowing remote work is an essential element of our ability to hire the very best people, regardless of where they happen to live, in order to build the best possible product.

Having a remote workforce gives us the ability to have the most talented workers, and also the ability to focus on productivity. Being in an office means being surrounded by distractions, whereas remote teams can focus on getting projects done. It also empowers people to get work done at times when they are the most productive- not necessarily a 9-5 schedule for a lot of people.

We wanted to recruit the top talent without worrying about geographic barriers, since most work can be done collaboratively via tools like Trello and Slack these days.

The ability to get things done, be self-motivating and driven are all important factors.

It’s the same process as office hires, except that we do video interviews rather than in person. Each role has a different recruitment process.

We don’t- the culture around productivity is the same for both office and remote- get things done.

Always assuming your coworkers have good intentions. For example, an emoji can be translated in different ways. Knowing your coworkers have good intentions, means you will hesitate to interpret an emoji as sarcastic or mean, which can throw off a team’s vibe.

Ensuring a consistent company culture and keeping everyone feeling connected.

Employees of Trello are provided with what they need from a technology standpoint to get their jobs done.

Our vacation policy is 4 weeks/year, in addition to holidays and unlimited sick days.

Remote work has been in Trello’s DNA since day one- we build a tool that helps people collaborate and get projects done, so our team are HEAVY Trello users who build a product we rely on every single day.

Structure and communication are key to having success with remote work. Having a set of tools everyone uses, and make sure everyone on the team uses the tools in the same way. For example, set some guidelines around how often to communicate in Slack, or run meetings using a Trello board. I also highly recommend having regular video chats so the team stays connected and on the same page.

As Trello has grown, we’ve had to implement various other communication tools. For example, we have a weekly “Company Overview” board, where we update projects regularly so everyone in the company can know what is going on.

I have a treadmill desk (which I love!) and an office with plenty of light.

I try to be as productive as possible at work, and when work is over, I try not to think about it. Too many people have a hard time relaxing or doing other activities when working from home, which research shows, hampers productivity. I’m a big fan of data- and the data clearly shows that there are diminishing returns to productivity.

Loud coffee shops with screaming babies. Best is my current office with my beloved treadmill desk! 🙂