Is Remote-First The Answer To Hyper-scaling?

The five game-changing benefits of a remote-first culture for rapid scaling. 

The ongoing war for talent has been one of the greatest pain points for hyper-growth businesses. After all, you can only scale as fast as you can hire good people. However, rather than simply trying to outbid competitors, some are suggesting that a remote-first culture that breaks down geographical barriers might be the solution to this talent crunch.

Sagar Khatri, co-founder and CEO of Multiplier is one of them. Multiplier has 130 employees across 30 countries, and removes the hassle of establishing legal entities by taking care of global teams’ payroll, taxes, social contributions and local insurance policies.

“It is projected that by 2030, we’re looking at a global talent shortage of more than 85.2 million people. The demand for skilled workers is going to outrun the supply. Many organisations see how remote teams can be leveraged to bridge this future gap,” said Khatri.

How does a remote-first culture address talent deficit whilst building a high-performance team? Here are five key benefits.

#1 Access To Global Talent

 “You’ve suddenly got access to the best people worldwide, instead of just the best people in your local area.”
- Jakob Knutzen, co-founder and CEO of Butter

A remote-first system multiplies your talent pool exponentially. “You’ve suddenly got access to the best people worldwide, instead of just the best people in your local area. This translates to better people and faster recruitment than if you were just tapping into a local pool,” said Jakob Knutzen, co-founder and CEO of Butter, an all-in-one collaboration platform.

Butter’s team of 19 people are spread out across 11 different countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Emirates, Europe and Canada. Such diversity is another key strength of remote-first teams. “Diverse teams enable you to build a much better product and go to market in different geographies because you get the perspectives of different types of people,” he added.

#2 Asynchronous Synergy

“Businesses have to make knowledge sources and processes more formalised. This helps in avoiding oral tradition in passing down key knowledge,”

- Sagar Khatri, co-founder and CEO of Multiplier

Contrary to popular belief, in-person meetings are not necessary for building synergy. In fact, Khatri believes the opposite to be true.

“You don’t need to get into a physical room to have an impactful conversation. Work-from-home helps teams to connect with a more transparent agenda. People communicate with clear purpose and intent,” he noted.

“Leaders and managers must facilitate this seamless flow of information. Employers also need to ensure organised documentation since they cannot rely on informal methods for the transfer of knowledge. Businesses have to make knowledge sources and processes more formalised. This helps in avoiding oral tradition in passing down key knowledge,” he added.

For instance, despite its small team size, Butter is a process-strong and documentation-strong company. 

“We have introduced a writing first culture. Before big decisions are made, we write up a memo that clarifies the thinking around those decisions to give transparency so that team members can avoid starting from different starting points with different pieces of information. Once this is aligned, employers will also be able to give team members immense creative and executional freedom,” Knutzen shared.

#3 Boosted Productivity    

According to ConnectOne’s Linkedin Poll in March 2022, the top concern when it comes to building a remote-first team is productivity.

According to ConnectOne’s Linkedin Poll in March 2022, the top concern when it comes to building a remote-first team is productivity. The assumption is that remote teams are harder to manage.

“I think this is a fallacy – just because you can’t see a person doing stuff doesn’t mean they are less productive.” argued Knutzen. “The opposite is true because you are able to do way more deep work,” he noted.

Case in point: Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai recently shared that he is not a nine-to-fiver but a “night owl” who is most productive at 10pm. The flexibility of remote cultures allow team members to choose when and where they work for optimal output.

Knutzen also highlighted the importance of synchronous conversations in boosting creativity and productivity, a problem that Butter, a platform for synchronous collaborations, is working to solve.

Ultimately, he stressed the importance of an output-based culture instead of an input-based culture when measuring productivity. “We measure how many lines of codes are written, how many products are shipped and the impact of the work. The hours that employees put in doesn’t matter,” he said.

#4 Culture And Cohesion

“With remote, you have to be extremely specific and conscious about building culture. At Butter, we create operational values and introduce a lot of different rituals and different Slack channels for asynchronous culture building.”

- Jakob Knutzen, co-founder and CEO of Butter

Another major concern is how to build culture remotely. Knutzen however aptly pointed out that “people don’t know how they build in-person culture as well. They think going down to the bar together is building culture, but that is not necessarily the way to do things.”

“With remote, you have to be extremely specific and conscious about building culture. At Butter, we create operational values and introduce a lot of different rituals and different Slack channels for asynchronous culture building. For instance, every week, we’d ask a fun or emotional question so that the team can get to know one another on a deeper level,” he added.

In fact, Khatri believes that remote work can deepen bonds. “Work environments are now more humanised because people get to see what their co-workers are like in their homes. They build a personal connection that they can take back to the way they work. We are no doubt sharing a different side of ourselves. Collaborating remotely is strangely intimate because we’re getting a window into each other’s personal lives,” he reflected.

#5 Employee Well-Being

The big question is, what do talents want? According to a Gallup poll, nine in 10 remote workers want to maintain remote work to some degree even after pandemic restrictions are relaxed. A policy that gives employees flexibility and supports their individualised working styles may help companies win the war on talent. 

On the flipside, one potential blind spot is the higher risk of burnout. “In many ways the borders between home and work are often blurred when working remotely. (As employers and managers), you won’t be able to see the usual cues of burnout in person. Hence, we have an operating principle called Never Walk Alone, which encourages employees to reach out to others when they feel stuck or need emotional support,” Knutzen added.

That said, both Khatri and Knutzen believe remote-first is incredibly advantageous when it comes to rapid scaling.

“With remote-first, you have to be very conscious about building processes very early on, even in a small team and this is stuff that scales. Because you already have the foundation and structure, and can hire rapidly, hyper-scaling is much better when doing remotely,” said Knutzen.