By Will Schmidt • Updated: 09/14/22 • 4 min read
Mistakes we made transitioning from office to remote work
In 2020, like millions of other businesses, Orchid, our web development agency was forced to go from working as a 90% in-office team to becoming 100% remote.
Unlike millions of other businesses, we were unfazed.
We already used remote friendly tools like Slack, Basecamp and Zoom, so we figured the only thing we’d really miss is going out for lunch and the general office banter and debates.
Very quickly we realised we had a bunch to learn if we wanted to continue working efficiently and maintain our team culture.
#1: Using Zoom way too much
Zoom is still far and away the best video chat tool around, and when we first started working remotely we deferred to it way too much.
In the office, it becomes pretty clear when you’re stepping away from your desk too much to have impromptu meetings. With Zoom it was too easy to just schedule a meeting or call people directly to solve an issue.
To fix this, we started setting a set time in mid-afternoon for a sort of stand-up meeting. Sometimes it was to quickly update each other on what we’re working on, but other times it was a chance to simply say hi, and have some office banter.
After setting this standard time, at any other time of the day if we figured we’d need a meeting to resolve it, we usually waited until the daily stand-up where we could sandwich any work meetings on the end of the call.
The result was way less meetings at random times of the day.
#2: Using Slack way too much
We’ve used Slack (and also Discord) way before we were forced to go 100% remote. It’s a great tool, and we’d often have to laugh when we got into lengthy conversations we could have easily had by simply opening our mouths in the office.
Like Zoom, the problem with Slack isn’t the tool itself, but rather expectations on how it’s used.
There are some people out there that can have 1000+ unread emails in their inbox, 300+ unread messages on their phone, and a Slack app that’s splattered with unread new messages.
I am not one of those people. If I get a notification I’m impelled to clear it like I’m playing Whac-A-Mole, which means a useful tool like Slack can make for a very inefficient workday.
Our days flowed a lot better when we started replacing Slack with more asynchronous communication like messaging on Basecamp tasks or even email, and reserved Slack for more instant chat and of course for posting memes.
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#3: Forgetting that WFM ≠ remote
Humans are social creatures, we need interaction. Most of us anyway.
After realising a bunch of us were working more than we were in the office, we realised that to thrive in the long term we needed a much broader, healthier workdays.
Working from home can be great, but so can working at a local cafe, a co-working space or even at a client’s place of business. And while most of that wasn’t possible in 2020, when we decided to go fully remote indefinitely it was something we had to start reminding ourselves.
#4 Our biggest mistake? Not embracing asynchronous work
All of the above mistakes really stemmed from this — when we jumped headfirst into working remotely, we didn’t understanding how and why to work asynchronously.
If you’re expecting everyone to sit in front of their screens from 8:30am to 5pm, you may as well go back to the office thing.
When we starting embracing asynchronous work, allowing staff to work when and where they wanted, things started to flow and gradually we started working more efficiently, to the point where our output is better than if we were all working in the office again.
#5 Don’t forget to meet in person…
Pretty much all successful remote first companies get their entire team together at least once a year (e.g. Gitlab) or multiple times a year (e.g. Basecamp, ConvertKit and Automattic).
We went 18 months without our full team meeting each other in person.
This one wasn’t actually a mistake, it was due to travel restrictions forced upon us.
We technically still have a ‘head office’ where we meet with clients and occasionally come together for brainstorming workshops, but we also try and come together for IRL team days at least once a year.
What have you learnt transitioning to remote?
Have you transformed a in-office team to working 100% remotely? Write us a Tweet with what you’ve learned, we’d love to hear from you!
