SMBTech Summit 2020: How Do Electric and Slice Build Teams and Culture Remotely?

TL;DR

Electric and Slice build remote culture through mission-led decisions, empathetic communication, flexible policies, regular check-ins, and shared team rituals. Electric supports 215 people globally, while Slice has 700 people across locations including the United States, Belfast, and North Macedonia. Their approaches cover employee well-being, distributed onboarding, focused work time, and locally tailored support. Read on for specific practices leaders can adapt.

Transcript

hello good morning everybody i am john holmstrom i lead talent for ggb capital and i'm thrilled to be here this morning uh with my esteemed guest jamie coakley who is the vp of people at electric and jack mayer who is the chief people officer at slice um jamie has a background in recruiting and helping early stage company teams grow and scale and h... Read More

Key Insights

• 🎟️ Mission-driven companies like Electric and Slice prioritize employee well-being and use their missions as guiding principles.
• 💦 Clear communication and empathy are essential for supporting employees in a remote work environment.
• 😤 Virtual team-building activities and rituals can help maintain a sense of community and connection.
• 😀 Flexibility in work schedules and policies can address the unique challenges employees face, such as childcare responsibilities.
• 💗 Regular check-ins and pulse surveys can help identify areas of concern and inform decision-making.
• 💦 Companies must adapt their onboarding and culture-building strategies to accommodate remote work.
• 🤔 Thinking globally and acting locally allows companies to address the specific needs of their global teams.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do Electric and Slice build teams and company culture remotely?

They anchor decisions in their missions while using clear communication, empathy, flexibility, and recurring rituals to keep distributed employees connected. Their practices include emotional check-ins, team dinners, end-of-week wins, pulse surveys, virtual activities, and schedule adjustments.

Q: How have Jamie Coakley and Jack Mayer adapted remote onboarding?

They have adapted onboarding and culture-building for distributed teams by creating more deliberate opportunities for communication and connection. Jamie uses check-ins and emotional conversations at the beginning of meetings, while Jack uses pulse surveys and virtual team-building activities to understand and support employees.

Q: How do Electric and Slice support stressed employees?

Electric introduced a first Friday off for rest and no meetings on Thursday mornings to protect focused work time. Slice uses pulse surveys to identify concerns and offers support such as parent stipends and online meditation sessions.

Q: What does Electric do for small and medium businesses?

Electric provides enterprise-grade IT support to small and medium businesses at a fraction of the cost. Its help desk and Turbine product support companies that have IT problems but may not be large enough to employ a dedicated IT person.

Q: What is Slice’s mission?

Slice focuses on helping local businesses thrive, particularly local pizzerias. It provides digital tools intended to help those pizzerias compete with Domino’s and Papa John’s.

Q: How large and geographically distributed are Electric and Slice?

Electric has 215 people globally, with teams across India, Argentina, and New York, and it is expanding nationally during remote work. Slice has 700 people globally: just under 100 in the United States, about 40 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and about 550 in North Macedonia.

Q: How does Electric encourage connection and focused work?

Jamie encourages managers to lead with empathy and uses rituals such as team dinners and end-of-week wins to strengthen community. Electric also has no meetings on Thursday mornings for focused work and gives employees the first Friday off to rest.

Q: How do the companies support teams in different global locations?

Jamie and Jack describe their approach as thinking globally and acting locally. They adjust support to each location’s circumstances and needs, including providing company-issued laptops and equipment where appropriate.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Jamie Coakley is the VP of People at Electric, a company that provides enterprise-grade IT support to small and medium businesses at a fraction of the cost.

• Jack Mayer is the Chief People Officer at Slice, a mission-driven company focused on helping local pizzerias thrive by providing leading digital tools.

• Both companies have experienced growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and have had to adapt their onboarding and culture-building strategies to support their distributed teams.