The Remote Playbook: From The Largest All-Remote Company in The World
The Remote Playbook: From The Largest All-Remote Company in The World
The Remote Playbook: From The Largest All-Remote Company in The World
The Remote
Playbook
from the largest all-remote
company in the world
• Tips for making remote work
• Tactics for remote transition and fluency
• The most comprehensive remote work guide
2
Table of contents
Due to recent events surrounding the global health crisis COVID-19 For GitLab, being an all-remote company didn’t start as an intentional decision;
(coronavirus), many teams face a new reality: working remotely. We hope it was a natural evolution as our first team members started to work from
this playbook serves as a quick start guide to get your remote workforce up home. As a complete DevOps platform, GitLab the product fundamentally
and running quickly and smoothly for short-term and long-term success. changes how teams work by bringing cross-team collaboration and
communication into a single platform. With everyone contributing to a single
As technology and internet access has improved, more of the world’s conversation within the tool, there was little reason to congregate in an office.
workforce opt to work from anywhere. GitLab’s recent Remote Work Report
revealed that 86% of respondents believe remote work is the future of work. Today, GitLab is the world’s largest all-remote workforce with 1,200+
Today, a quarter of remote work settings are all-remote, where all employees employees across 67 countries, and we’ve been iterating and documenting
work remotely and in their native time zone. In addition to employee benefits how to work remotely for years. This comprehensive guide contains our lessons
like flexibility and zero commute time, remote work employers consistently learned and proven methods on how to stabilize a remote workforce, diving
experience increased productivity, efficiency, and employee morale. In the into topics including asynchronous workflows, meetings, communication,
words of Fast Company, “remote work isn’t going away anytime soon.” culture, and management.
DRIVE CHANGE
02 ESTABLISH A HANDBOOK 05
For companies with a strong "in-office experience," it’s vital for
This will serve as a single source of truth and should be
leadership to recognize that the remote transition is a process,
communicated company-wide. This can start as a single
not a binary switch to be flipped. Leaders are responsible for
company webpage or repository in Notion or Ask Almanac.
embracing iteration, being open about what is and isn’t working,
One of the most sizable challenges when going remote is
and messaging this to all employees. Managing a remote
keeping everyone informed efficiently. Put concerted effort
company is like managing any company. It comes down to trust,
in systematically documenting important process changes
communication, and company-wide support of shared goals.
in a central place to minimize confusion.
There are different levels of remote work and every organization has unique needs. It’s important to know the stages
of remote work when considering what’s best for the long term as there are advantages and disadvantages to each.
No remote Remote-allowed
Some enterprises don’t allow for any remote work. This could be due to a Also called “remote-tolerated”, this stage of remote allows approved
leadership mandate, or the nature of the business itself. For example, medical employees in a company to work some (but not all) days outside the office.
care, live events, and manufacturing can’t successfully complete tasks while
remote. This is commonly seen in agency and corporate environments where "remote
Fridays" are sold as a perk to employment. In such scenarios, it’s clear that
It’s worth noting that we are seeing new opportunities for remote work arise leadership isn’t piloting remote work as a means to judge the feasibility of
thanks to technological advancements. The da Vinci Surgical System, for all-remote, but rather compromising with employee demands for greater
instance, has been used in telesurgery, and communications infrastructure is flexibility.
robust enough in some locales to support remote broadcasting.
These employers are tolerant of some work outside of the office, but
Multinational corporations with offices across the globe are inherently remote. still expect an individual to spend the bulk of their time in the office.
An employee in one office is remote to another employee in another office, and
a refusal to recognize this reality can make collaborating across offices difficult.
Hybrid-remote 4. Managing guilt. It’s not uncommon to hear remote workers express guilt
if they work in a company that is primarily colocated. Their socialization
Hybrid-remote is more common than all-remote as it’s easier for large,
involves colleagues who may complain about commutes, or express
established companies to implement. In a hybrid-remote scenario, there are
sadness due to an inability to attend family functions. There are
one or more offices where a subset of the company commutes to each day,
inequalities in this arrangement as the remote employee has to empathize
paired with a subset of the company that works remotely.
with colleagues despite not being required to endure the same inflexibility.
For employers who are committed to a colocated model, but wish to expand 5. The burden of lobbying for remote. If an employee is hired in a remote
their recruiting pipeline beyond their HQ, allowing remote employees can be capacity, but this arrangement is not supported equally across teams and
beneficial. Employers may be able to find exceptional team members in a more managers, a situation may arise where the remote employee is constantly
diverse array of locales, pay them local rates, and sidestep ongoing talent wars justifying the perceived privilege of not being forced to commute into a
in major metropolitan areas. physical office.
6. Determining whether remote is truly offered and supported. Many
Employees looking for additional freedom, autonomy, and workplace flexibility large companies will tolerate remote employees, but they won’t openly
will likely view "some remote" as better than "no remote" but hybrid-remote advertise roles as remote, nor will they publicly admit that they support
can have some challenges: remote work. This creates an exhausting game of hide-and-seek when
searching for roles, in addition to searching for remote-friendly managers
1. Hybrid-remote employees may have less access to information. and teams within such an organization.
Unless the employer documents everything, employees may be asked to
handle day-to-day duties with less or incomplete information compared 7. Risk of being made an example of. It’s possible for remote employees in
to in-person colleagues. Over time, this can lead to mistakes, confusion, a primarily colocated company to be asked questions like "So, how did you
frustration, and even underperformance. finagle a remote arrangement?" This places remote employees in a difficult
situation. Either they choose to champion the cause of empowering even
2. Fewer career and development opportunities. Hybrid-remote more colleagues to work remotely, potentially harming their reputation,
employees who are out of sight may be passed over for promotions, or they seem unhelpful by keeping the perceived perk to themselves.
advancement, and development opportunities. They may also have
fewer opportunities to move horizontally within the organization, 8. Demands for overperformance. Remote employees working with
and less influence to create a new role to serve evolving business needs. colleagues who endure long commutes each day may encounter pressure
to deliver results beyond those expected of in-person team members. This
3. The feeling of being a satellite office. Hybrid-remote employees may stems from a toxic culture of envy, where colocated employees deduce that
feel isolated from the rest of the company. It’s important to ask during the if they must endure inflexibility and commutes, remote colleagues must
interview process how remote colleagues are onboarded, included, and produce additional results so as to not get off easier.
perceived by others. Some employees may not be fazed by this treatment,
but it can take a mental and emotional toll on others.
Remote, biased towards one time zone What "all-remote" does not mean
Certain companies allow employees to work remotely but maintain "core team The terms "remote" and "distributed" are often used interchangeably,
hours." InVision Studio, for example, has members spread across multiple but they're not quite the same. “Remote" is preferred because "distributed"
countries and time zones, but aims to achieve "at least a 4-hour overlap with suggests multiple physical offices. "Remote" is the most common term to
InVision’s core team hours, 10am–6pm Eastern Standard Time." refer to the absence of a physical workspace, and being able to do a job from
anywhere—at home with family, a coffee shop, traveling, or wherever is most
This tends to attract employees who are in relatively close proximity to comfortable and productive. All-remote does not mean isolated: Technology
one another, or at least in a nearby time zone even if located in a different allows coworkers to stay closely connected whether through text or in real
hemisphere. time via video conferencing.
All-remote, asynchronous across time zones At the organizational level, "all-remote" doesn’t mean simply offshoring work,
it means we're able to hire the best talent in the world. It's also not a manage-
An all-remote company means there is no office where teams work. In all-
ment paradigm. There is still have a hierarchical organization, but with a focus
remote companies, there’s no effort to align team members to a given time
on output instead of input.
zone. Rather, a bias towards asynchronous communication encourages docu-
mentation, discourages synchronous meetings as a default for collaboration,
All in all, remote is fundamentally about freedom and individual choice and
and provides greater flexibility for each member to determine the working
valuing results, regardless of where work is done.
hours that best suit their lifestyle.
For example, GitLab is a 100% remote company, where each individual works
remotely and there are no company-owned offices. With team members in
over 67 countries, many time zones are considered. This goes beyond enabling For employees, being part of an
a work from home arrangement; all-remote creates a work from anywhere all-remote company does not mean
arrangement. working independently or being
isolated, because it's not a substitute
for human interaction.
Traditional, on-site companies often take processes, camaraderie, and culture for granted. In a remote
environment, these traits have to be cultivated deliberately, a difficult task that becomes easier once
organizations embrace the foundations of remote work instead of trying to make remote work with
an on-site mindset.
This way of working is more inclusive. By documenting everything, By brainstorming in text - rather than drawings - we're forced to clearly articu-
no one is left out of the conversation and a diverse set of perspectives late proposals and ideas, with less room for interpretations. A picture may be
can be heard. worth a thousand words, but it's also open to as many interpretations as there
are people viewing it. With Google Docs, we use indentations to go more in-
-depth on a given topic. This method retains context for comments and discus-
sions, even if someone wasn't present for the original conversation.
DO
• Encourage social interaction
• Document everything
• Have meetings when necessary
DON’T
• Limit interaction to work-related topics
• Rely on 1:1 transmission of information
• Making meetings mandatory
The reality is that almost every company is already a remote company. If you have more than one office,
operate a company across more than one floor in a building, or conduct work while traveling, you are a
remote company. It behooves all teams to adopt remote-first practices, even if some interactions occur
in a shared physical space.
On the following page are some tips from the Mayo Clinic on how to arrange your workstation.
For team members this requires retraining. Managers should help team 6. Ownership
members resist defaulting to tapping on the virtual shoulder of someone 7. Sense of urgency
as soon as an inquiry comes to mind. Rather, team members should
redirect that effort into searching. 8. Bias for action
For many companies, the frenetic pace of business creates a false sense of
justification for bypassing documentation. Once this happens, the only way
to consistently learn is to ask another person repeatedly. At scale, this is an
extraordinarily wasteful process that leads to exhaustion, watered-down
instructions, and huge knowledge gaps as team members cycle in and out.
1. Be clear and direct in all communications with candidates. Virtual interviews can be tough for • Adopt a remote-first mentality
both sides, so set expectations for both yourself and the candidate at the beginning of the process. • Focus your workspace
Encourage questions, ask for clarification when needed, and be helpful and responsive with any
• Document answers to questions
follow-up interactions.
2. Look for candidates that align closely with company values. While working remotely, it’s important
DON’T
to stick to company values in order to maintain a team mentality – so it will help to assess candidates
for those values too. • Try to replicate the in-office environment
3. Look for qualities that make a strong remote employee. Those include timeliness, dependability, • Tap on the virtual shoulder for answers
respect, collaboration, perseverance, empathy, kindness, and ambition.
4. Use video calls to interview and engage with candidates. Knock down some barriers to
communication with video conferencing. Inform candidates ahead of time that the call will be
through video, to give them time to prepare and ensure a stable internet connection.
Below are several reasons to master the art of textual communication Here are a few considerations:
in a business:
1. The goal of low context is to be considerate of the people or audience
• Allows for team members to work asynchronously you're speaking to. It's important to recognize that what you write may be
read in the future, or by someone coming into the conversation at a time
• Information is available to all at the same time
after the initial thread began.
• Allows for deliberate thought and processing time
2. This is one of the more challenging elements to master, particularly for
• Inherently inclusive (works with screen readers and translation tools) those coming from careers in colocated spaces. In colocated environments,
• Easily queried via keyboard or script high context communication is the default. High context is less direct with
an emphasis on human relations, and it's more sensitive to non-verbals
• Can be structured and formatted to showcase a train of thought and the feelings of others.
3. Getting oneself in a low context frame of mind can be useful. Start by
assuming that recipients of your communication don't know anything
about the topic, and wish to learn as much as possible as fast as possible.
Documentation is an essential
competitive advantage. 4. It’s easy to imply your experiences with text communication, but
remember that not everyone has similar life experiences to relate to, hence
the need to be precise.
5. Be specific so that you force yourself to think through what you’re saying.
Understanding low-context communication Generally, there’s value in taking the time to be deliberate about
communications. Re-read communiques before sending, particularly if
Providing as much context as possible can help decrease confusion and they may be perceived as negative or inflammatory. The ability to self-edit
misunderstanding. before sending is a boon to text communication. Vocalized words cannot
be unsaid once uttered.
6. Aiming for precision in communication requires you to put yourself in
another person’s shoes and to understand their current perspective. It's
important to view text communication not as a way to impose your will,
but as a means to listen, understand, and collaborate.
7. This isn't suggesting that your communication should be cold or clinical.
In the GitLab #thanks Slack channel, for instance, we encourage team
members to be specific about what they are thanking someone for, such
that you don't need prior context to understand how a value was lived.
For those who struggle with this, consider what you would type if your • No ego: Don't defend a point to win an argument or double-down on a
manager or a family member were in the room observing the conversation. mistake.
This tip will not serve all scenarios, but it's worth considering if stakes are
• Assume positive intent: If a message feels like a slight, assume positive
high in a conversation.
intent while asking for clarification.
Below are several reasons why text communication can be difficult. • Get to know each other: Building a rapport enables trust.
• Say thanks: Taking every opportunity to share praise creates a climate
• Cultural and communication style differences where feedback is viewed as a gift rather than an attack.
• Delay in immediate feedback due to time zones or other meetings • Kindness: It costs nothing to be kind, even if you don't believe someone
• Lack of non-verbals deserves it.
• Emotional distance • It's impossible to know everything: You can't know how your words are
interpreted without asking.
• Tough to fully consider the scope of your audience(s)
• Short toes: GitLab is a place where others can feel comfortable with others
contributing to their domains of expertise.
It’s important that managers lead the way in helping their teams feel comfor-
table in communicating in this way. Patience, understanding, and positivity
should also be encouraged to prevent team members from feeling attacked If, during a text conversation, you feel that someone is not communicating in
or misunderstood. the spirit of a company's values, respectfully ask if they believe that they are in
a 1-1 setting. It's easiest to assume the worst and quietly disengage, but doing
so creates several additional problems. One, the person communicating isn’t
given the gift of feedback, so their perspective will not change. Two, the person
concerned remains timid about communicating with someone, which can lead
to toxicity and dysfunction if unaddressed.
Meetings
Have as few mandated meetings as possible. The notion of "optional meetings" Asynchronous companies should implement a
is absurd to those who only think in terms of synchronous communication— low-context culture so that communication is
you're either at a meeting to contribute, or you aren't. The beauty of asynchro- precise and direct.
nous is that team members can contribute to meetings that occur while they
sleep.
Meetings are more easily made optional when each one has an agenda and a Informal communication
Google Doc attached to each invite. This allows people to contribute questions/
input asynchronously in advance, and catch up on documented outcomes at a In colocated environments, informal communication is naturally occuring.
later time. When individuals are physically located in the same space, there are ample
opportunities to chit chat and carry on conversations outside of formal busi-
The person who called the meeting is responsible for contextualizing the out- ness settings. Making social connections with coworkers is important to build
comes. By placing this burden on the meeting organizer, it acts as a filter for trust within your organization. One must be intentional about designing infor-
whether a meeting is truly necessary. That's a big responsibility, which keeps mal communication when it cannot happen more organically in an office.
the quantity of meetings in check.
Informal communication is important, as it enables friendships to form at
work related to matters other than work. Those who feel they have genuine
Plugging the knowledge leak friends at work are more likely to enjoy their job, perform at a high level, feel
Asynchronous companies should implement a low-context culture so that com- invested in the company, and serve others within the organization. For remote
munication is precise and direct. Team members forecast what questions may companies, leaders shouldn't expect informal communication to happen natu-
be asked and add in as much context as possible in its delivery. By assuming rally. There are no hallways for team members to cross paths in, no carpools
that the recipient is asleep, or perhaps doesn't even work at the company yet, to the office, etc.
this added context removes ambiguity and decreases the likelihood of misin-
terpretation. In a remote environment, informal communication should be formally
addressed. Leaders should organize informal communication, and to
This may feel inefficient, as communiques may take longer to compose. whatever degree possible, design an atmosphere where team members
However, the long-term benefits are remarkable. At GitLab, we have years all over the globe feel comfortable reaching out to anyone to converse about
of documented decisions loaded with context. This enables new hires to sift topics unrelated to work.
through archives to understand what went into a decision.
DON’T
• Rely on synchronous communication
methods
• Assume team members have the all the
facts
• Pressure team members to respond to
questions or complete tasks that aren’t
time sensitive
Culture comes in two forms when you’re working remotely: workplace culture and personal culture.
It’s important to maintain a stable sense of both while working remotely.
This is particularly meaningful in an all-remote setting. With less physical interaction, there's less buffer to
compensate for indifference towards company values. Team morale is closely linked to the overall respect
given to values.
An overarching belief in a company's values contributes to less ambiguity in decision making. Respected
values serve as a universal north star, aligning team members on how to address any challenge or
disagreement, even when there's debate related to approach or outcome.
"How do you build and sustain culture in a remote environment?" or "How • Criteria we use for our annual compensation review.
does culture work remotely?" are questions we frequently hear at GitLab. In co- • Criteria we use for promotions.
located settings, culture is often implied, built from how team members treat
one another, what is rewarded, what is chided, and what is deemed acceptable • Criteria we use to manage underperformance.
during in-person interactions. • We do when we let people go.
PUT STRUCTURE AROUND CULTURE More broadly, as other teams witness this, they will be less likely to go above
It may sound counterintuitive, but there’s great value in putting process and and beyond in special cases for fear of trapping themselves in a similar cycle of
structure around culture. It's important for leadership to set the tone, but it's overworking just to meet unsustainable expectations.
even more important to document what will define your culture. Each time a
scenario arises where there is no clearly defined answer, look to your values to DOCUMENT PROCESSES AROUND MENTAL HEALTH
determine the answer, and then document. Burnout, isolation, and anxiety are issues that impact team members across
all companies, regardless of organizational structure. While they aren't always
Documentation is a shared benefit, and is something that should be embraced intertwined, there is significant interplay between them.
by all members of the organization. While it may feel inefficient to document
nuances related to culture, creating good habits ensures that culture is as In a colocated setting, it's entirely possible for a team member to appear well,
strong in the future as it was in a company's infancy. but struggle with these issues internally. That said, it tends to be easier for
those in an office to reach out to a trusted team member if burnout impacts
Prioritize mental health their ability to thrive in the workplace.
Burnout rarely happens all at once. It typically takes one by surprise, eventually
coming to a head after days, weeks, or months of overwork creep. This can
In a remote setting, where in-person interactions are less common, it's easier
happen in remote or in-office environments. Here are some ways to avoid
to fall victim to isolation. This is particularly true for those who are not well
burnout, both for yourself and for your team.
acclimated to remote work.
DON’T CELEBRATE WORKING LONG HOURS Because team members are likely to work alone, it's more difficult to
Be careful when thanking someone publicly for going above and beyond to remember that colleagues are available to call on—especially if someone is
not send a message that work should always take priority. While working already overwhelmed or suffering from anxiety. This reality makes it all the
one additional hour to move a project forward is likely not debilitating when more important for companies hiring remote workers to place a great deal of
viewed in a vacuum, it can trigger a revised baseline where you must continue focus on documenting processes for team members who face these difficulties.
to overwork in order to maintain the new status quo. Consider offering professional assistance and document resources during
onboarding and reinforce options in ongoing learning and development
This becomes toxic when managers fail to recognize that a given sprint sessions.
shouldn't reset the baseline of what is achievable on an ongoing, sustained
basis. It becomes disastrous when team members don't feel safe bringing this Remote workers may feel less comfortable reaching out to a person when
up to their managers in a 1:1 setting. experiencing mental duress, so it's vital to ensure that resources are easily
discoverable.
Particularly in a company where results are valued above all, managers should
be careful to not assume that results garnered in a given period of overwork
are the new norm. This places team members in an unfair scenario where they
feel pressured to perpetually overwork in order to meet expectations.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES WORKING TO PREVENT BURNOUT, ISOLATION, AND ANXIETY
Oftentimes, if someone is feeling burned out, they aren't the only one feeling Prevention is a team sport. Leaders must work to establish a workplace culture
that way. GitLab team members have compiled a list of symptoms related to that empowers rather than restricts, managers must be proactive in sensing
burnout. A few are highlighted below. the signs of mental strain, and team members must feel comfortable surfacing
issues while they are still manageable.
• You're constantly tired
Below are several recommendations for avoiding and preventing burnout,
• You no longer enjoy things
according to GitLab team members.
• Your job performance suffers
• Your physical health suffers (headaches, irregular breathing patterns) 1. Set clear boundaries between work and home
• You feel socially zapped 3. Take a “mental health day” to lower your stress (spend time outdoors,
exercise)
• You disable video for team calls to prevent others from seeing your pain
4. Know when to take a break
• You are perpetually concerned with whether you are doing enough
5. Put a break reminder on your computer
• You worry that your contributions are too few or too insignificant
6. Switch off when you're away from work
• You feel unable to choose family first
7. Don't suffer in silence
8. Don't go straight to work after you wake up
Be careful of thanking someone publicly for 9. Remove Slack from your smartphone or at the very least, turn off
working overtime. Managers should be careful to notifications for it
not assume that results garnered in a given period
of overwork are the new norm. 10. Keep each other accountable. If someone in a different time zone should be
asleep, tell them
11. Use your Slack status to share a message with the team that you are
unavailable
Remote workers may feel less comfortable 12. Schedule random coffee breaks
reaching out to a person when experiencing
mental duress, so it's vital to ensure that
resources are easily discoverable.
GitLab is a collaboration tool designed to help people work better together whether they are in the same location or spread across multiple time zones. Originally,
GitLab let software developers collaborate on writing code and packaging it up into software applications. Today, GitLab has a wide range of capabilities that are
used by people in all kinds of companies and all kinds of roles from sales and marketing to legal and customer support.
Learn more
35
About GitLab
GitLab is a DevOps platform built from the ground up as a single application for all stages
of the DevOps lifecycle enabling Product, Development, QA, Security, and Operations
teams to work concurrently on the same project.
GitLab provides teams a single data store, one user interface, and one permission model
across the DevOps lifecycle allowing teams to collaborate and work on a project from a
single conversation, significantly reducing cycle time and focus exclusively on building
great software quickly.
Credits
This guide was built by remote work experts with dozens of combined years of experience
across the spectrum of remote. Though GitLab is all-remote, the guiding vision of this work
is to educate and equip everyone — regardless of work environment — with best practices.
We want you to thrive as a remote worker. Connect with us, contribute your own learnings,
and keep being awesome.
Darren Murph Shane Bouchard Monica Galletto Luke Babb Jessica Reeder
LEAD AUTHOR DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN CONTRIBUTION AND REVIEW
Rebecca Reich Stephen Karpeles Vanessa Wegner Erica Lindberg Chrissie Buchanan
CONTRIBUTION AND REVIEW WEB DESIGN EDITORIAL EDITORIAL EDITORIAL
Suri Patel Amy Waller Jenny Tiemann Todd Barr Dara Warde
EDITORIAL OPERATIONS OPERATIONS OPERATIONS OPERATIONS