By Kathleen Herrmann Could 12, 2022
AWeber is all-in on remote-first. Be taught why we’re not going again to the workplace.
We’re AWeber – a mighty workforce of 89 remote-first workforce members that span three time zones, two international locations, and 15 states; all working collectively to assist small companies and entrepreneurs develop by forming significant connections with their audiences.
At this level, I’m certain everyone knows somebody who’s returned to the workplace.
Returned to waking up earlier, preventing site visitors throughout each day commutes, carrying pants…
And why?
What productiveness was misplaced working remotely?
In fact, there are SOME advantages to assembly in particular person (we plan on doing company-wide retreats in any case!), however for us the advantages of staying remote-first far outweighed being in particular person. Right here’s why we’re not returning to the workplace.
We’re simpler remote-first.
We’re now extra diligent about creating discoverable documentation that anybody, in any time zone, at any level in our firm’s historical past can entry. A deal with documentation and asynchronous communication permits us to simply uncover outcomes from earlier tasks and make educated enterprise selections primarily based on these learnings.
We not default to in-person conferences, however as a substitute deal with creating clear documentation that permits for suggestions and collaboration from anybody throughout the corporate. This allows us to prune again lots of these pointless conferences that used to replenish our calendars. Or if we do have to satisfy, we’re now extra environment friendly and efficient with how we spend our time collectively.
Hybrid doesn’t work.
Numerous corporations are transferring to a hybrid mannequin – it’s the very best of each worlds proper? Fallacious!
Hybrid fashions add extra confusion to each day workflows. As an alternative of everybody working the identical approach, you now need to cope with ineffective conferences (assume: 10 individuals crammed right into a convention room with poor audio high quality and dangerous digital camera angles) and relationships constructed primarily based on proximity, all that places distant workforce members at a drawback.
As an alternative, we’re in favor of all working the identical approach. All of us have our personal video/audio setups that permit for optimum (and clear!) conversations. All of us talk the identical approach – with a bias for being asynchronous and closely documented. All of us have the chance to kind relationships the identical approach – nobody is lacking out as a consequence of their work location.
Higher work / life stability.
We now have extra flexibility in our each day lives.
We achieve again an additional 1-2 hours per day that was once spent commuting and have now changed that with spending time with our households, working errands, or heading outdoors to get some recent air whereas it’s nonetheless mild out. We’ve extra alternative over how we spend our time. Oh, and I can’t neglect to say the price financial savings of not having to commute – taking a look at you, $5/gal gasoline costs.
We even have extra flexibility over our each day work schedules. We’ve at all times been versatile at AWeber, however being remote-first means fewer synchronous conferences and subsequently extra freedom to find out how we spend our time.
There’s additionally extra flexibility in the place we work. I personally love to increase my keep at a brand new location – heading out a day or two early to settle in, work through the day and benefit from the nightlife of a brand new metropolis after work. Don’t simply take my phrase for it – try my coworker’s weblog about doing simply that – TheBusyTraveler.com.
Rent the very best expertise.
We’re not restricted in who we rent. We used to rent the very best individuals within the Philadelphia space, however now we rent the very best workforce members from around the globe. We’re in a position to select from an excellent higher choice of extremely specialised, numerous, passionate, and entrepreneurial expertise to permit us to give you artistic options to the powerful issues we remedy every day.
Dedicated to enhancing.
We’re nonetheless attempting to determine the correct mix of distant occasions and in-person gatherings so we are able to kind deeper connections with one another. Being remote-first implies that our work schedules differ, which may additionally imply that it’s tougher to prioritize your workforce’s digital blissful hour or attend that sport evening when you will have cute kiddos and drooling canines staring you down, ready for his or her nightly stroll.
We’re nonetheless engaged on that “good” components, however we’re centered on attempting new issues from digital vacation events to strolling challenges and we’re devoted to evolving our remote-first identification.
So are we heading again to the workplace?
No, we’re not. And we’re excited to see what the long run has in retailer for our remote-first firm!
P.S. Are you already again on the workplace or dreading the day that you just’ll inevitably need to return? Apply right this moment to turn out to be our subsequent remote-first AWeber workforce member!
