Lessons From Leading Remote Teams

I recently spoke to Aytekin Tank, the founder and CEO of JotForm, a full-featured online form builder used by more than seven million people worldwide.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts on how entrepreneurs and leaders can respond during this period. How has COVID impacted JotForm?

Aytekin: At JotForm, we’re fortunate the pandemic hasn’t affected our company too much. We’ve seen an increase in users since so many industries, such as healthcare, food and beverage, and education, are moving online. 

Back in March, we developed a campaign called the Coronavirus Responder Program, which provides free HIPAA-compliant plans to individuals and organizations working on the front lines of the pandemic. We’ve seen an incredible number of users taking part in the program and using forms to help with the pandemic efforts. It’s very heart-warming. 

Internally at JotForm, we’ve all been working from home. Since we were used to being in the office together, we’ve learned how to collaborate in a remote environment. We still use email, for the most part, to communicate and have also introduced Discord to our teams to stay connected and easily communicate with one another in real-time.  

Adam: What are your best tips for leaders on how to effectively communicate during a crisis and in a remote setting?

Aytekin: Effectively communicating during a crisis and in a remote setting is important to help ease teams’ anxiety. My first tip is to give transparent updates. Be honest about how the crisis is affecting your company and clearly explain the plan moving forward. Though it’s hard to predict what will happen next, updating your team as frequently and candidly as possible will soothe some of the anxiety they’re feeling. Even if you don’t exactly know what’s going to happen next, be upfront about not knowing and commit to a day when you will have more information to share with the team. Frequently checking in makes employees feel better during uncertain times. My second tip is to be a “practical optimist.” As a leader, you’re a role model for your team. They watch everything you do and mimic it. If you have a negative attitude or a pessimistic reaction, they will follow suit. Being a practical optimist doesn’t mean you’re sugarcoating or glazing over what’s happening. It means you’re acknowledging the situation, affirming the strength of your team, and highlighting positives as they come.

Adam: More broadly, what are your best tips for leaders on the topic of managing remote teams?

Aytekin: Three tips our company uses to effectively manage remote teams are to hold regular check-ins, use powerful communication tools, and ensure teammates are maintaining a solid work-life balance. 

Since the pandemic began, routines have completely changed. As a leader, it’s important to keep some semblance of a “normal” work schedule, and that’s why we encourage regular check-ins. These check-ins help the team discuss projects on a somewhat regular basis, ask questions, and hear how others are doing. For example, our marketing team in San Francisco has set up weekly and biweekly check-ins for content, PR, video, partnerships, etc. These check-ins help staff keep a good groove and continue to have routine conversations about things happening in the company.

Communication tools go hand in hand with conducting effective regular check-ins. Each company will thrive with different tools, so find what works best and use it to your advantage. It’s best to stick to a couple of apps so information doesn’t get lost. At JotForm, we still mostly use email to communicate, but since the pandemic, we’ve also adopted Discord so we can easily chat, hop on video calls, or be in the “same room” as our teammates with the sound on. It’s like being in the open office environment we usually have. Last, it’s important to ensure your team isn’t overworked and is maintaining a good work-life balance. With home and office lines blurred, it can be easy to feel like you need to be “on” all the time since there’s no distinct separation between work and life like there was before. But not having enough time to recharge will negatively affect productivity and increase burnout. A good way to ensure work-life balance is to set boundaries with your team and ask them to sign off or stop sending emails at a certain time. 

Adam: What are tangible things that leaders can do to maintain a strong company culture in a remote setting?

Aytekin: A couple of tangible things leaders can do is encourage company-wide “challenges” and make time for fun. There have been many types of “challenges” circulating the web since the pandemic began. We decided to make our own and created a 30-day company-wide fitness challenge. The difference with our challenge is we made it non-competitive. Instead, we focused on making it a collective effort and set goals for things like the number of total pushups, sit-ups, miles walked, squats, and minutes of plank. Many of our 200+ team members joined in.

Another thing we do is make time for fun. Fun is like recharging in that it helps with productivity. Since there isn’t any in-office fun at the moment, we aim to have monthly virtual game nights to bond and catch up. Day to day, some teammates also share pictures of their pets or interesting lunches they prepare for themselves at home. They’re small things, but they help everyone feel more connected to one another.

Adam: What advice do you have for leaders on hiring, firing, and providing feedback remotely?

Aytekin: Hiring remotely can be challenging. Schedule a few video calls to get to know a potential new hire to the best of your ability. Since it can be harder to assess someone through a video call, include other teammates in the process, so you can get multiple perspectives. Having extra opinions about an interview will help you understand whether the interviewee will be a good fit or not. Firing can be tough to navigate remotely. Before you fire someone, make sure you understand the full scope of the situation. During these unprecedented times, many things are happening in people’s personal lives, so get all the facts before making your final decision.As for providing feedback remotely, it’s good to embrace regular check-ins and practice empathy. By doing this, you’ll create a foundation of openness and trust and will be able to bring up feedback or sensitive topics without your team feeling attacked. 

Adam: How pronounced a long-term trend is remote work? What do you believe the office environment will look like in the short, medium, and long term?

Aytekin: It’s hard to say for sure, but it will probably look different around the world, depending on how countries responded to the pandemic. In the short and medium-term, it looks like most companies will continue to work from home. A handful of big tech companies have decided to work from home until the spring of 2021.

In the long term, there will probably be a hybrid design where employees work from both home and the office. There’s still so much value to in-person communication, collaboration, and relationship building, so it might be hard to do away with offices altogether.

Adam: JotForm is used for a wide variety of companies, providing you with unique insights into what companies are thinking. What trends have you observed through form usage amid COVID?

Aytekin: We’ve seen a surge in healthcare usage with our HIPAA-compliant patient intake, consent, examination, appointment scheduling, and online payment forms. The food and beverage industry has also been a big one, using online order forms and delivery forms for contactless pickup. Educational institutions have also been using JotForm for virtual learning purposes, like homework upload forms, e-learning registration, student well-being surveys, and more.

Besides these industries, there’s also been an increase across the board for general small businesses that want to go paperless and have less in-person contact with customers, clients, and stakeholders.

Adam: What are the three most important things you think leaders and entrepreneurs should understand about the period we are in?

Aytekin: Three important things to understand are your business goals may change, your team might need more reassurance than before, and there’s power in support systems. First, your business goals may change. With the pandemic, there’s time for introspection and thinking deeply about what you want your business to achieve. Maybe there’s a new market to tackle or a new product line you want to produce. In this new environment, check in on your business goals and adjust them if need be.

The second thing is to understand your team may need more reassurance than before. Constantly check in with them, make sure they’re doing well, and motivate them. Your team’s success impacts your company’s success, so even though times are difficult, don’t forget about their needs.

Last, don’t underestimate the power of support systems. It’s always good to talk through ideas, changes, and hardships with other entrepreneurs who can offer outside insight and perspective. Having a support system in place will provide an outlet and help you be a better leader to your team.

Adam: What are your three best tips for entrepreneurs and leaders?

Aytekin:  My three best tips for entrepreneurs and leaders are to always communicate with your team, continuously learn and grow, and work to be an excellent decision-maker. Always communicating means you’re transparent with your team and keep everyone in the loop. Effective communication instills trust and builds strong relationships. Practice your communication skills and ask for feedback from time to time, so you can strengthen this muscle.  

Next, continuously learn and develop yourself, so you influence your team to do the same. Learning and developing doesn’t have to be completely business-focused; it can include reading, writing, or challenging yourself outside of work. When you become your best self, you set an example for your team to become their best selves too. 

Third, being an excellent decision-maker doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s vital to being an effective leader. Make sure you take your time and do your due diligence before making a big decision. Think through everything you can and consult with your support system if you need to. It’s important to be decisive so your team can stay focused.