How Codelitt Works Remotely!

by Roxanne Janiczek

Since Codelitt’s founding in 2013, we’ve always been dedicated to keeping our team globally and remotely distributed. This means that our focus is and always has been to work with talented and passionate people from around the world, regardless of their location or time zone!

Working across 10+ countries and multiple time zones can pose some challenges, but through trial and error we’ve found the tools and policies that work best for us. Check out some of our tips, tricks and recommendations below:

Deep Work:

At Codelitt, our team thrives best when we dedicate uninterrupted time and focus to deep work. We encourage our team to spend 2-3 hours out of their day on specific tasks or projects they need to complete without the distraction of meetings or messages.

In a recent survey, over 90% of our team reported finding their deep work time valuable and crucial to their productivity! For more on Cal Newport’s method for Deep Work, check out this article.

Asynchronous Communication:

We encourage the practice of asynchronous communication among our teams! This method of communication is great for:

Slack Guidelines:

Our team compiled guidelines for using Slack so that communication is always about quality, not quantity! Here’s some of our main tips:

  • Organize conversations by channels: From #fun_shows_and_games to #announcements, there is a channel for it!
  • Limit private conversations: All project and department-related channels are discussed in their respective channels! This prevents redundant messages and any details that might slip through the cracks.
  • Notifications are on: Turn on notifications specifically for direct mentions, messages, or keywords that you want to keep track of.
  • Slack statuses: Slack statuses keep our team posted on when a team member is available or busy.
  • Acknowledge messages, posts, and requests + set expectations for response times: It’s always good practice to acknowledge posts with ✅ after you receive it! This shows that 1) you saw the message and / or 2) you don’t have the answer yet, but you’re working on it.
  • Don’t “Slack Bomb”: Slack Bombing happens when you send a bunch of short messages in a row that doesn’t convey any information or action item. We try to avoid “Slack Bombs” as much as we can! Try to send only one message that covers the ask!

Zoom, Google Hangouts and Slack Calls

  • Being remote should not stop you from being interactive!
  • We’ve found that Zoom is best for stand-ups and calls with over 10 people, Google Hangouts is great for recurring 1-on-1 or smaller meetings, and Slack is great for quick check-ins or impromptu conversations.
  • We ask everyone to have their video on for all of our calls - both internal and external! This allows us to collaborate, get to know each other outside of Slack and put a friendly face to a name.

When to Communicate by Video vs. Slack

Here’s a great rule of thumb that the team follows:

  • If a response requires 1 sentence = Slack/Email
  • If a response requires 3+ sentences, and it’s still difficult to communicate  = Video Call/Meeting
  • After a call, notes are always summarized and posted to the channel so everyone is kept in the loop!

Virtual get togethers

We don’t let being remote get in the way of having fun! From our Virtual Happy Hours and Virtual Coffees (highly recommend Donut!) to Book Club, Leadership AMA’s and our Annual Codelitt Con (a conference dedicated to all things - you guessed it, Codelitt), we prioritize the opportunity for our team to connect and get to know each other through fun and collaborative events.

Learning & Development opportunities

One of Codelitt’s core values is Lifelong Curiosity, so we’re committed to supporting ongoing learning and development opportunities! Some of our current programs include monthly Show & Tells from each of our departments, as well as product brainstorming sessions and automation workshops!

We also host People Ops Workshops! From managing finances to prioritizing tasks and minimizing burnout, we cover a range of topics in support of our team’s continuous growth and development.

Showing Praise and Appreciation Publicly

Codelitt is transparent about praise and feedback! We have a dedicated #praise just for that purpose. For our team it helps build morale and appreciation for our hard work.

Check out Codelitt’s People and Culture page to learn more about our team, values and more! These are just a couple of ways Codelitt prioritizes collaboration, communication and unity as a remote team - no matter where we are in the world.

Are you part of a distributed team? If you found this valuable or if you have any tips for us, please reach out. Conversely if you’re experiencing challenges within your team’s communication and need help with a solution, please reach out to us!