Founded in 1997, Paylocity is a leader in the payroll and HR management software arena, helping companies better manage and empower their workforces. Their authority in the people management space may be part of the reason behind their remote working culture — including their new #MyPaylocityOffice social media initiative, which is designed to showcase the company's remote workers.
With that in mind, we dove into what working remotely at Paylocity really feels like.
Responses via Rebecca Everding, Director of Marketing.
How many of your employees work remotely? How many are in-office?
We currently have 50 percent of our product development employees working remotely and 50 percent are in the office. However, the majority of local staff work from home at least once a week, so “remote” is very much a way of life at Paylocity.
How do you keep your team communicating effectively when you have people outside of the office?
We’ve learned there is no “magic bullet,” and we leverage a number of tools. We use Zoom and Sococo for daily standup meetings via video conferences. Real-time virtual communication is easy with Slack. On the recruiting side, we do video interviews for software engineers and QA engineers use HireVue to do a live coding/testing exercise with existing Paylocity employees. That said, actual face-to-face time is critical, so we also fly people into the office regularly for team events, and once a year the entire product development department gathers for our annual Paylocity TechCon.
Is maintaining workplace culture hard with remote workers?
Paylocity has always believed in finding talent anywhere. Having this perspective ingrained in the culture has been critical during Paylocity’s rapid growth. We’ve invested in tools to make communication easy and we’re always evolving. We recently launched a Remote Life Committee to ensure we are meeting the unique needs of our remote team members.
What qualities do remote workers need to be successful at your company?
The ability to be self-motivated, organized, and punctual are important traits we look for to ensure success. It’s a plus if they’ve worked remotely in past roles, as they are already acclimated to the format.
Do you ever worry that your remote employees are sitting around slacking off watching TV all day?
We always look for experienced professionals who are passionate about what they do. This creates a strong team-oriented environment where everyone is motivated to get the work done and no one wants to let their team down. By hiring the right people for our culture we have been able to create a very successful remote atmosphere with high levels of flexibility and productivity.
Any suggestions you’d offer companies considering hiring remote employees?
Invest in good tools for remote employees to use so that they are able to integrate seamlessly with the local teams.
DialogTech is reimagining the way marketers understand and lean on call analytics and automation. Their software brings transparency and control to phone conversations, which results in optimized lead generation and increased customer loyalty.
On top of that, DialogTech is committed to fostering an exceptional culture across their teams — as evidenced by the picture above, which features workers from their Chicago and Cleveland offices as well as their remote employees.
Responses via DialogTech CEO Irv Shapiro.
How many of your employees work remotely? How many are in-office?
We have over 25 full-time employees who work remotely, and we also fully support our team members when they have a need to work remotely one or more days a week.
How do you keep your team communicating effectively when you have people outside of the office?
Effective communication requires clear expectations. We expect our team members to deliver results versus punching a clock daily. When you define results as your metric for success the time and place where you get your work done are far less important. We then align our focus on results by using cloud-based tools that support access from anywhere at anytime. For example, we use Google Apps for email and document sharing, Highfive for video conferencing, Slack for online communications and both Jira and Trello for project, task and feature management.
Is maintaining workplace culture hard with remote workers?
Absolutely. The first step in building a distributed culture is hiring the right people. Team members that will be away from the “home” office need to recognize that the burden of effective communications falls disproportionately on them.
However, in today’s digital world you do not need to be in the same location to be in sight. Our remote workers that actively utilize Slack and Highfive for chat and video conferencing remain in sight and relevant to the team. We combine our use of cloud-based tools with home office visits multiple times a year and all company events. For example, this year we hosted our summer party at the Lincoln Park Zoo and we brought in all of our remote workers.
What qualities do remote workers need to be successful at your company?
Remote workers need to embody the same qualities as our in office team members. They need to be SWANs: smart, hardworking, ambitious, and nice individuals. If you hire SWANs, they will get their work done and you can trust that they will get their work done from wherever they are. The reason we are able to have a flexible workplace and open vacation policy is because we know we have hired the best people available. They know that they are measured on their results and not the hours they put in or the location that they work from. If you recruit SWANs, you will be able to hire remote employees confidently.
Do you ever worry that your remote employees are sitting around slacking off watching TV all day?
No. Since we measure results, we are not at all concerned about how our team members spend their time — they are paid to get the job done. That is the great thing about having high hiring standards and being meticulous about only hiring SWANs. We know with confidence that they are committed to delivering results.
Any suggestions you’d offer companies considering hiring remote employees?
Hire people that share your values, and focus on results.
