'The Bay Area is broken': Why Silicon Valley startups are hiring elsewhere
phys.org
phys.org
Some of the unexpected benefits, in addition to the obvious upsides of better talent for the same money, an easier time finding them, and better retention:
Documentation gets really good.
Discussions frequently have a written artifact associated with them, which allows for easy reference later on. (e.g. asana thread, slack discussion)
No open office problems. The dreaded shoulder tap is not a thing.
We have to be clearer and more deliberate about the communication channels we use and the reason we use, and when and how we choose to do so. This is a good thing! We use a mix of Slack, Mumble, email, asana, Zoom, and 1:1 video calls.
Our culture is less driven by force of personality than it may otherwise be. Having a strong leader in the room can be a powerful multiplier. On the other hand, remote teams can lead to a more subtle and thoughtful type of leadership, with more of a focus on the team as a system than as a troop. This is frequently a good thing! Also, if someone important is having a bad day, there is less of a transitive effect on the team.
Our automated dev tooling got better. (Since futzing around with other people's computer has a higher barrier, code that does stuff like setting up a vagrant box on dev machines becomes more valuable. So we keep it in good repair, and if something about it doesn't work, we fix it right when the problem comes up!)
The above extends to all code: when your code may break other people's builds, and you won't be physically around to make it right, I think people put in a little extra elbow grease and, for example, write one more test than they may have otherwise.
Our systems for code review are naturally a lot more in line with some of the compliance requirements we have. All of our code goes into a PR for code review, and many of our clients need that as part of a comprehensive set of data protection and security requirements.
Our automated testing via CI got better. Would it have gotten better without being remote? Probably. But tests are a great method of communicating about code, and so we started caring more about them.
Team get-togethers become exciting due to their infrequency!
Even beyond all these rational productivity-based arguments, it just feels more natural and humanistic. Makes it easier to spend time with your kids! To travel to your dream destination and spend time working from there, as more than just a tourist! To settle down exactly where you want, with the continuity of your same team and job and project. No commute if you don't want one! Less of a second-circuit driven environment! (as defined by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-circuit_model_of_conscio...)
Hit me up if you're looking into adding remote work into your organization, especially if you're early in the process. Let me try to help convince you!