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In short, success comes down to simple but great communication and a whole lot of empathy. Since 2020, Sans Serif has remained fully remote as we continue to hire talent across the US. Digital tools make this possible, but it’s humans that make it successful.
I consider success in this instance to be:
Everyone on the team knows their role and truly cares. It’s a safe place to ask questions, make mistakes and have ideas.
As an agency, we provide a high level of customer service. We have daily conversations using whichever collaboration software our clients prefer, and there are lots of options. Being consistent in how we use the software enables us to have simple but great communication and a whole lot of empathy.
Based on my experience of what has worked at Sans Serif, these are my top three tips for remote collaboration:
Use status emojis. Let people know if you’ll be right back ⏱️, if you’re taking the dog for a walk 🐕, or if you’re unavailable ⛔️. Knowing the status of others is informative and helps you manage your own time. You spend less time worrying about why someone hasn’t responded to you (and trying to reach them on different channels) if you know they aren’t missing in action.
You may not want everyone to know you’re at a doctor’s appointment or picking your kids up from a playdate. But this sort of activity is a part of our lives, so it’s ok to block off times on your calendar. Pretending you’re at work when you’re not is draining and unhelpful for all. We don’t micromanage our team; everyone has ownership of their calendar. As long as quality work is delivered on time and people are available to collaborate at peak hours, we don’t judge individuals if they step away from their desks when they need to.
Whether you want to throw your full attention on a task or you just need to take a break, focus time is important and hard to manage. Our team uses apps to help block their calendars for focus time and it has the benefit of improving our mental health as well as our work. Incorporating top tips 1 and 2 enables focus time for all. Checking in with each other on whether to meet or work alone is also a big help and reduces the number of unnecessary meetings.
For those of us who love to work from home, we have the perfect setup. Some of us struggle more than others. Different people have different preferences; it's not one-size-fits-all. Each person needs to find their own solutions. One of our designers is a member of a co-working space. Others like to gather socially whenever possible. And we often huddle on Slack for open working sessions alongside each other virtually. There are trade-offs; a distributed/remote team loses some of the informal interactions that proximity provides, so we continue to explore tools and techniques to fill that gap.
I’m sure we could always be doing better, but I’m thrilled at how our team has embraced our opportunity, recognized emerging challenges, and found ways to work that are best for them. It has created a collaborative, nurturing, kind, and creative space.
