Beyond Borders: Harnessing the World’s Talent Remotely
8th August 2023Insights from TestGorilla.
Insights from TestGorilla
In the ever-evolving landscape of modern work culture, the paradigm of traditional office setups is shifting. TestGorilla, trailblazers in fully remote operations, have embraced the power of remote work to create a thriving and engaged team. Their Head of Product, Claudia Baijens, spoke with us to shed some light on the key factors that contribute to their success.
Inclusivity and Diversity on a Global Scale
Diversity is a strength, and inclusivity is essential. The access to this global talent pool has been a key factor in TestGorilla’s ability to build a strong team and expand rapidly in recent times. By operating remotely, we have access to top talent from around the globe. Operating as a remote-only company has set us up for tremendous success by tapping into a global talent pool. With no physical office and team members spread across the world, we have been able to hire from diverse backgrounds and locations, bringing together a team with a wide range of experiences and expertise. This approach has allowed TestGorilla to access talent in regions where opportunities with great companies might be limited, providing unique opportunities for skilled individuals in developing countries. The result is a highly skilled and diverse team that has propelled TestGorilla’s growth in the last few years. Remote work has proven to be an asset in attracting talented individuals with prior experience in remote working, ensuring seamless integration into the company’s remote culture.
Setting New Team Members Up for Remote Working Success Before Day 1
TestGorilla ensures a seamless onboarding process for new employees, setting them up for remote working success from day one. Remote expectations are clearly communicated during the interview process to ensure alignment with the company’s remote culture. Once hired, the onboarding process begins with HiBob, a comprehensive tool that guides employees through their first week. Each day, new hires receive an email with a tailored schedule, outlining the documents to review and meetings to attend. This personalised approach fosters immediate connections and ensures that new team members understand their roles and the tools at their disposal. During the first week, the focus is on familiarising new hires with the company’s key topics of interest and providing them with an understanding of what it means to work in a remote environment. This careful onboarding process minimises overwhelm, allowing new employees to transition smoothly and become quickly integrated into the company’s remote working culture.
Leveraging Effective Communication
Communication is the heartbeat of any remote team. In a physical office, we often take casual chats and spontaneous interactions for granted. But in a remote setup, we need to be proactive about staying connected. The team understands the importance of over-communicating to bridge the gap caused by physical distance. In the absence of informal office chatter, team members actively share updates, outcomes, and progress through platforms like Slack. To manage the influx of messages, the company encourages clear and specific communication, indicating when input is required. For critical matters, direct communication is emphasised, while less urgent topics can be documented on Confluence or managed through JIRA. This structured approach ensures that information flows smoothly, allowing team members to stay well-informed and focused on their respective tasks. By fostering clear communication guidelines and centralising documentation, TestGorilla enables seamless collaboration despite the challenges of remote work.
Focus on Results, Not Hours
We have built a talented global team, spanning across several time zones. In our remote work setting, we let our team members work at their peak productivity hours. Trusting them to deliver results on their own schedule empowers them and leads to greater job satisfaction. As long as the work gets done efficiently, we embrace flexibility including unlimited time off.
Building Social Connections
Building a sense of community is vital in remote settings. Creating a strong sense of community and social connection in a remote work environment is challenging, but we thrive on innovative approaches. The team hosts an annual off-site event, bringing employees from around the world together for a week of connectedness and face-to-face interactions. We also offer wellness sessions, online yoga classes, and dedicated social channels on the internal platform further promote connections beyond work tasks. Prioritising icebreakers and casual discussions during meetings is also a key component to fostering a culture that values personal connections alongside professional collaboration
Work-Life Balance
Remote working offers a compelling solution for those seeking flexibility in their lives. While it may evoke images of digital nomads travelling the world, the reality is that many remote workers are individuals with families who value the ability to spend more time with their loved ones. Remote work provides the opportunity to create a balanced schedule, where one can spend quality time with their kids in the afternoon and compensate with evening work. This increasing focus on providing purpose and flexibility in work aligns with the needs of the new generation, making remote work an ideal option for many seeking a more balanced and fulfilling lifestyle.
TestGorilla’s Success: A Result of High-Performing Remote Teams
TestGorilla has seen remarkable growth and success, all fueled by the power of our remote teams. By embracing open communication, leveraging technology, prioritising results, and nurturing team spirit, we’ve woven together a remote work culture that inspires success.
About TestGorilla:
TestGorilla is a leading talent assessment platform that empowers companies to make data-driven hiring decisions and build high-performing remote teams. With an extensive library of pre-employment tests, TestGorilla helps you find the right candidates with confidence.
Key Takeaway Quotes:
“I think that access to a global talent pool is the reason why we have such a great team and have been able to grow as we did in the last few years. Remote working allows us to hire from diverse locations and find exceptional talent that we wouldn’t have access to if we were limited to a local office.”
“Remote working is a unique opportunity for people in developing countries and other remote places to have jobs with great companies and brands that might not be available to them locally. I’ve seen a diverse set of candidates applying to our company, and it’s all because we opened up the opportunity for everyone around the world.”
“While there may be challenges in doing all work fully remote like strategic and creative brainstorm sessions, we believe that the benefits of having a global talent pool and attracting top talent outweigh the potential drawbacks. Remote work allows us to tap into diverse perspectives and expertise from around the world.”
Zeren exists to empower the world’s change-makers. We do this by building high-performing teams in the world’s most innovative businesses, to accelerate growth by connecting visionary leaders and ambitious talent.
We are a leading global Executive Search & Recruitment firm with teams and offices in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, London, Berlin, Paris and Frankfurt.
We partner with high-growth, VC/PE-backed businesses and ambitious Corporate brands placing senior leaders, building exceptional teams, or providing critical interim and consulting talent.
