Doist, the company behind to-do list manager Todoist has grown from a one-man operation to a 40-person team in the last eight years.
But instead of hiring employees in one location and having them work out of a single office, founder Amir Salihefendic has hired people from more than 20 different countries.
This tactic has not only allowed the company to save on the expenses that would normally go along with operating a physical office, but it has also provided a sort of freedom when it comes to hiring the right people.
Instead of being bound by location, Salihefendic can reach out to pretty much anyone to find the people who are actually the best fit for each job.
He told Fast Company:
“It’s not only about expenses, it’s also about talent. If you go to San Francisco, you’re competing against companies that have a lot of millions in investment.”
And Salihefendic thinks that his company’s remote worker strategy can be employed by a lot of different companies.
The remote workforce has certainly grown in recent years, as technology has started offering more and more tools to make remote work a more realistic possibility for different businesses.
Doist, in addition to being a company that utilizes remote workers, is also one of the companies that is creating tools to try and make that remote work even easier. Salihefendic originally created Todoist for his own use.
And the company continues to make communication apps and tools to better facilitate its own team communication and collaboration. It just so happens that a lot of those tools can also be useful for other companies who hire remote workers.
Salihefendic said to Fast Company:
“I can’t really see why you should not be able to scale to thousands of people. One of the things we want to do as a company is create tools that enable remote work. You will see a lot of innovation in the tools that we have access to that enable us to communicate, share thoughts, and organize thoughts inside huge remote organizations.”
While tools and technology like Todoist continue to grow and evolve, the remote workforce is likely to do so as well. While it’s not a strategy that will necessarily apply to every small business, it’s certainly one that has benefits, as evidenced by Doist’s continually growing user base.
Image: Doist
I think this is a trend that is only going to expand in the future. I look at some of my college friends who work for large companies with large campuses. They can go through their entire day without having a face-to-face interaction with a team member. It’s emails, chats, etc. even if they are physically in close proximity.
Given that reality, why not let workers work remotely?
Annie Pilon
I completely agree. There are, of course, certain instances where you need people to be in the same facility. But even letting people work remote some of the time seems like it would save a lot of money and probably even improve morale a bit. There are just so many different tools and things that make it so easy now.
Sure, we have done the same for our company for about 8 years, and we are happy with the results. Our staff still have fixed work hours, and they send me reports reasonably often; so controlling them is not hard. The best about this system is that you can hire great staff regardless of where they come from. I would recommend it.
Annie Pilon
That’s a great point! If you need everyone to be in the same place, you sort of limit your talent pool. I’m glad your company is finding success with remote workers!
Aira Bongco
Now, it is more of a competition on skills. If you’re not skilled enough, people from other places are hired instead. It is tough but the world is opened because of the Internet.
Annie Pilon
Well, it could provide more opportunities for both businesses and individuals. For people who might not find a lot of opportunities in their immediate area, they can look elsewhere online.