I work for Directly, Inc. as Head of Sales where I focus on revenue generation for the company.

How big is it?

‍About 50 employees‍

Where are your teammates located?‍

All over the US but primarily in the San Francisco area as that was our corporate headquarters office prior to Covid.‍

What does your team do? What are you responsible for?‍

My team of account executives are responsible for generating new business and retaining existing accounts.

Communication, transparency and reliability are components of a strong remote culture.

Regular check-ins and video conferencing help to make a connection in this remote environment. We use 15-Five as a weekly tracking system and health score. This tool helps identify points of frustration and employee health.

The biggest challenge as a remote leader is not being able to build rapport in-person. We miss out on water cooler talk and casual lunch room conversations. This is difficult to re-create online so it takes longer to get to know the team. It is also challenging to collaborate and brainstorm.

We have monthly happy hours with various themes from “Where I come from” presentations to talent shows. We have also had virtual game nights and wine events with customers.

JackBoxGames

We have done two truths and a lie but generally we start with gratitude and share what we are currently thankful for.

15Five also allows us to give high fives throughout the week. This is helpful to recognize teammates for going above and beyond. We use slack and have used an add-on to set up random coffee dates to get to know more of the team. We also host a weekly all-hands quick hits call where we give out a flamingo that passes from one chosen rockstar to another.

Anything by Simon Sinek and Adam Grant.