Models of remote work

Thoughts on the post-COVID workplace and how hybrid teams will become the new normal.

When we pitched Range in 2017 we didn’t even talk about remote work. It was part of the thesis, but we quickly found that investors were skeptical about the efficacy of remote teams, and didn’t see the market potential. Instead, we focused on other changes affecting the workplace: the need for more decentralization and more humanity in our tools.

Fast-forward to 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of people to experience remote work first hand. It hasn’t been “normal” remote work for sure, but after a year, companies have had to figure out how to make it work. It’s starting to look like Pandora’s box has been opened.

Remote work is firmly here to stay, but that doesn’t mean all companies will be all remote all the time. That’s an extreme position and isn’t pragmatic or desirable for everyone. At the same time, very few companies will go back to being all co-located, all the time.

Remote work is firmly here to stay, but that doesn’t mean all companies will be all remote all the time.

Even Netflix’s Reed Hastings — who thinks that work from home is a “pure negative” — concedes that people may be remote one day a week. And while Google is requiring that employees live within commute distance of an office, they will only require three days a week in the office. Both these are hybrid models for remote work.

Having hybrid teams will be the new normal.

It won’t be without its challenges and there won’t be a one-size-fits-all answer, so to get started I want to discuss a few variants that we’ll see emerge.

Fully distributed

We should expect more companies to follow the path of GitLab and Zapier, and to become fully distributed, but it will still be a minority. I do expect many startups to begin fully distributed, since it reduces costs and can make hiring easier, but as they grow they will often shift to hybrid models.

Being fully distributed requires intentionality in how you structure work processes. You have to actively design systems that facilitate information flow and cultivate belonging. However, because everyone is remote, there is a more of a level playing field, so in some ways is the easier path.

Default digital

Many people can’t easily work from home; they might have kids or roommates, or no dedicated home office space. Some people simply like the separation of leaving the house, going to work, and being in an office with other people.

To make accommodations for these people, some companies will set up working spaces in urban hubs where there is a critical mass of employees.

However, there will be no fixed expectations around where people are, and as such all work processes will be designed around the assumption that teams won’t be in the same place at the same time.

Operationally it will be very similar to a fully distributed team. But it will take extra effort to ensure that those working in close proximity don’t fall back to informal, in-person channels of communication that leave some people feeling excluded.

Static Hybrid

In this model some teammates are remote, some are in the office, but locations are generally consistent. For example, you might work in an office in SF five days a week, while a colleague works from home in Colorado five days a week.

Project teams may be “defragged”, such that a team is all in the same office, while another team is fully distributed.

Consistency makes it easier to coordinate meetings and there are clear expectations about how different people interact. You and your Colorado colleague will always interact over video chat, you know there’s a timeshift, while another person on your team sits near you in SF, so you always have your 1:1s on the Embarcadero.

This model has predictability and operationally will be familiar to many people, as it was quite common prior to COVID. Back when I worked on Gmail, we were split across several locations in a way that was functionally equivalent to this model.

Dynamic Hybrid

My guess is that this model will become most common.

People will have reserved desk space at an office. However, teammates are able to fluidly move from working from home (or a coffee shop) to working in the office.

Some informal norms will exist, such as being in person for 1:1s or team meetings. And there may be guidance about how many days you can be in the office or working from home. But individuals will generally be free to do what they want.

This is how many “high trust” startups used to operate prior to COVID, but it’s not without tension. Different people have different expectations about presence, and managers in particular can find themselves frustrated about the lack of predictability.

I myself remember doing laps of the Medium office looking for someone, only to realize they were randomly WFH.

Synchronized Hybrid

With Pandora’s box open, and only a small percentage of people wanting to return to the office full-time, management teams who favor in-person collaboration will be forced to make compromises in order to compete for talent.

A hybrid strategy where everyone is expected to be in the office on a synchronized schedule is more predictable for management and allows for traditional forms of collaboration and meetings to continue (I picture sticky notes on the wall and project plans on communal whiteboards.)

The most common form is likely to be a fixed weekly schedule. For example, “Friday From Home” or a Tuesday/Thursday split. However, I expect some teams will find that they only need to be in person on the first and last days of a sprint.

Power to the people

I’m optimistic about the changes we’re seeing. We’ve long known that the 40 hour work week, with it’s butts-in-seats management philosophy, isn’t how you foster creativity and get the most of people.

These shifts in expectations for how we work will create a better world for workers. It shifts the conversation away from what managers need from their teams, to what teams need in order to be successful, and what employees want from their work environment.

Unlocking remote collaboration will create greater flexibility for how we work.

Unlocking remote collaboration will create greater flexibility for where and when we work which will allow people to rethink their workweek, crafting schedules that work for their logistical and creative needs.

Let me know what you think

One of the reasons I was excited to start Range was to build the tools I wish I had earlier in my career. I felt the need for a new generation of workplace software that help teams be more effective, while addressing both the work-side of work and the human-side of work.

Today, remote teams use Range to stay connected, focused, and productive. At the core is an asynchronous check-in that’s better than a standup because it integrates with all the tools you use and saves that valuable in-person time for more important things.

I’d love to hear about how you’re thinking about what the post-COVID workplace looks like, and of course I welcome your feedback on Range.