5 Forward-Thinking Tech Companies That Love Remote Work

Tech companies are embracing the idea of working remotely. Companies are realizing that it is a great way to cut down on overhead costs and take advantage of talent that might not exist in the same area code. With all the new technologies and apps available to startups, working remotely is easier and more effective than ever. Here are five forward-thinking tech companies that really love remote work:

1. Basecamp

The team at Basecamp (formerly 37Signals) created the project management app by the same name and the Ruby on Rails programming language. Dave Heinemeier Hansson, one of the partners, says that they are big supporters of working remotely and have been doing so for the last decade. In fact, he claims that 75% of the Basecamp team is working remotely. Their experiences led him and his co-founder to write a book titled REMOTE: Office Not Required about how employees and employers “can work together, remotely, from any desk, in any space, in any place, anytime, anywhere.” This video offers a great introduction to some of the remote workers in the Basecamp team and how they manage working outside of an office.

2. Treehouse

Treehouse is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in learning about HTML, CSS, iPhone apps, and web development in general. The company is hugely supportive of a work-from-home culture, and co-founder Ryan Carson has made it a priority to make remote work part of the company-wide goals and mission. Treehouse schedules company-wide meetings once a year where their 70 full-time employees and student interns get together to hang out and get to know each other. The team schedules monthly 15-minute videos where each member talks about big-picture ideas in the company, helping align everyone’s goals to the company’s mission. Treehouse employees use project management tools like Flow, Convoy and HipChat to stay integrated and decide how best to spend their time every day.

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3. WordPress (Automattic)

WordPress CEO Matt Mullenweg manages a global workforce of 260 people and decided that having an office is not the best way to run a successful company. He believes that the best way to gain access to the best engineering talent in the world is to have a distributed workforce. WordPress employees communicate with each other using P2, Google Hangouts and other online communication platforms. They organize team meetings every few months in a city of their choosing, using the funds that would otherwise be allocated to run a traditional office.

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The Automattic team updates this world map with every member’s current location

4. Mozilla

Mozilla is also big on the remote working culture. To them, forcing remote employees into an office is counter intuitive and counter productive. CEO Brian Bondy keeps his employees in the loop by encouraging them to simply call a meeting anytime they have anything to discuss. As in other remote-friendly tech companies, there are specific weeks where employees are flown in to meet in person. All of the company’s paperwork and operational material is completely transparent and available to every employee online.

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5. Buffer

Buffer has been on the remote work train since the company’s inception. Employees stay productive and on track by using apps like HipChat for communication, Sqwiggle for face-to-face contact, Hackpad for collaborating on documents and in-person get-togethers to connect as a team. When they do meet up, they don’t just stick to an office either. Buffer schedules retreats in fascinating places like Cape Town where work can blend with a little sightseeing, boating and safari action.

In this video Joel & Leo from Buffer discuss why they decided to be a remote team and some of the tools that help them collaborate:

These companies, and many others, are proving how remote work is a truly innovative option to keep employees happy, teams productive, and business successful. Some of our own team members are also working from remote locations, and we couldn’t be happier to collaborate with such talented individuals from anywhere their desk might be.

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