Experiences from a telecommute startup (Score 2)

We build a video collaboration tool (VSee) for telecommuters and distributed teams. We're 25+ people spread across the East and West Coast US, Europe and Singapore. Almost everyone works from home. Some things we've learned over the years:

Appropriate mode of communication:
Email, micro-blogging, IM, IRC, video - we've tried them all :) There isn't a one size fits all. The modes vary in how asynchronous they are (email: asynchronous, video/IM: synchronous), how "lightweight" they feel (video: heavy, IM: light) and how much human communication bandwidth they offer (video: high, IM: low). Knowing when to switch from one to another - and not get stuck in a sub-optimal mode of communication - is key. We've developed a sense for when an email thread or IM conversation has grown past its usefulness, and switch to video e.g. VSee. Used appropriately, video can really reduce conflict, promote understanding and speed up decisions. We usually don't start a conversation right off on video, but on IM.

Appropriately designed tools:
Because telecommuting is still in early days, often we've adopted tools which weren't quite designed for the "remote work" use case. E.g. with Skype, one can't do video + screen sharing at the same time, and the screen sharing quality is just not enough for real work e.g. looking at code together. With WebEx, video is sub-par and the UX is optimized for webinars/presentations, not group collaboration. VSee is our (ongoing) attempt to solve many of these problems and package group video + app/screen sharing in a UI that's pleasant to use throughout the telecommute work day. We love feedback on how to make it work even better in the trenches.

Team practices:
It's easy to get out of sync when relying purely on as-needed communication. We've found daily standups/huddles over video to be indispensable, even if brief. The formula we use is each team has its own daily huddle. Tech leads will often attend the huddles of other teams. After huddles, people often break out into smaller groups to discuss issues in more detail. All of this happens quite seamlessly on VSee.

Ambient awareness, team bonding:
Being remote does take a toll on these aspects. Ambient awareness refers to the random ideas and conversations, things overheard while sitting in an open work area. We haven't fully figured that one out yet :) Micro-blogging, IRC and a culture of open sharing helps (e.g. every email list is open to all employees). For team bonding, we get everyone together for fun activities (snow sports, wake-boarding) twice a year, encourage team members close to each other to meet up more often, and in general try to create a family-like and family-friendly environment.

All the best to telecommuters old and new!