[Jjinbit] "Is Work Getting Done?" We Asked 'Born to Be Remote' Companies... [Office Shift] (31)

'Born-to-Be Remote' Companies Adopting Remote Work from Inception: Interviews with HR Leaders from Deel, Upstage, and Konny by Erin

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is a section that stands for both 'Jeong Hyunjin's Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend.' It showcases changing trends in work. The sub-section 'Office Shift' within Jjinbit closely examines the transformation of office spaces triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and aims to lay the groundwork for exploring answers to new work formats through the experiments we have experienced together. This content is published every Saturday or Sunday. After 40 installments, it will also be available as a book.

The era when the word "company" immediately brought to mind office spaces is coming to an end. More and more companies are emerging that adopt remote work as their default system from the moment they are founded. These are so-called "Born to be remote work" companies. Unlike companies that switched to remote work due to COVID-19, these companies have structured all communication and work processes around remote work from the very beginning.

Not only in Silicon Valley, the global stage, but also in Korea, there are startups that have adopted remote work from their inception and are actively conducting business. Examples include Deel, a global HR software company; Upstage, a Korean AI software firm; and Konny by Erin, a manufacturer of childcare products. On June 23, Asia Economy interviewed three HR team leaders responsible for their companies' HR systems: Casey Bailey, Global Head of HR at Deel; Ryu Hanna, HR Leader at Upstage; and Eo Jeongwon, HR Manager at Konny by Erin. They were asked about the productivity and challenges of remote work. Ultimately, the core question was: "Is the company running well?"

◆ How is productivity when working from home from the start?

First, they were asked why they made the "unique choice" of working without an office from the time of founding.

"Our founder and CEO, Alex Bouaziz, did not want the limitation of only being able to hire people living within a 30 km radius of the office. He wanted to build the best team with top international talent, and he knew that having an open, diverse, and global team would benefit the business." (Casey Bailey)

"At Upstage, nearly 70% of our workforce consists of developers. Given the nature of our work, it is more productive for each person to work efficiently in a space and time where they can focus. Also, since we can work from anywhere, not just domestically but globally, we can recruit diverse talent without regional restrictions." (Ryu Hanna)

"Our CEO, Im Iryang, who was a career woman, founded the company while co-parenting. Her desire to balance childcare and career in her own way was realized through an organization built around remote work." (Eo Jeongwon)

The explanation is that securing top talent and creating an environment where work and childcare can be balanced were the main reasons for choosing the born-to-be remote work model. Employees at these three companies work not from a specific region but from all over the world. Deel, based in Silicon Valley, currently has 2,600 employees residing in over 100 countries. Upstage, based in Seoul, has 10% of its staff living abroad, including in the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong. At Konny by Erin, more than half of its 40 employees live outside Seoul.

Although these companies started their businesses with remote work, if things had not gone well, they would have set up offices and required employees to commute, just like other companies. However, they have maintained remote work for as short as four years and as long as seven years.

The "numbers" explain why. Deel became a decacorn company with a valuation exceeding $10 billion (about 12.95 trillion KRW) just three years after its founding. Konny by Erin has been profitable for six consecutive years since its establishment in 2017 and achieved over 10% revenue growth last year alone. Last year, President Yoon Suk-yeol sparked attention by wearing Konny by Erin's baby carrier. Upstage recorded 6 billion KRW in sales last year, based on major clients such as Samsung Life Insurance, POSCO Holdings, and Samsung SDS. Last month, Upstage CEO Kim Sunghoon announced, "We have already achieved 5 billion KRW in sales in the first half of this year and expect to reach the break-even point next year."

In the case of Upstage, the recent global AI boom led to the domestic launch of the ChatGPT-based AI chatbot 'AskUp' in March. The AskUp project, known as the "ChatGPT with eyes" and based on KakaoTalk, attracted 1 million KakaoTalk users within just two months. Upstage carried out all tasks, from forming a task force and recruiting members to recent upgrades, entirely through remote work. Ryu, the HR leader, introduced it as "an example of focusing on short-term productivity and efficiency in a remote work environment."

Regarding the productivity and efficiency of remote work, which everyone is curious about, Eo, the HR manager, commented as follows:

"Remote work puts more emphasis on work results than simply showing up at the office. In the office, just sitting at your desk signals that you are working, but in remote work, only your results prove that you have worked, so if you don't work, it becomes very obvious. If you build a team of outstanding talent, agree on goals, and align and execute action plans well, productivity and efficiency will be high regardless of the work format." (Eo Jeongwon)

◆ Their not-so-easy journey adapting to remote work

Although these three companies are now delivering results, they went through a lot of deliberation while building remote work as their core system. They had to ensure that every aspect of work life?conversations, meetings, coordination, and work-life balance?could be managed remotely without any problems, and that nothing present in the office but missing in the remote world would become an issue.

Based on the statements of the three HR leaders, there are two main features that born-to-be remote companies emphasize when building their work environment: ▲ hiring talent suitable for remote work, and ▲ using all available systems to build connections for a "one team." The gaps in supervision and relationships that occur in an offline office are compensated for by individual employee characteristics and systematic processes.

Searching for "remote work-type talent" was the most prominent feature of these companies, distinguishing them from companies that switched from office to remote work. Since the work system is built on autonomy and trust, they explained that securing self-motivated and responsible talent is the top priority.

"I believe that suitability for remote work depends more on individual qualities and capabilities than on job roles. Upstage is an environment where people who can immerse themselves and take responsibility for their tasks in an open environment thrive, and we actively seek out such individuals." (Ryu Hanna)

"At Deel, we focus on hiring people with the right attitude for remote work?those who can self-manage and communicate easily. When advising other companies on building remote teams, one of the most important things is to identify the most crucial traits for your team and hire people with those traits without hesitation." (Casey Bailey)

"Because remote work makes it difficult to teach tasks right next to someone, those with job experience are more suitable than new hires with no work experience. At Konny by Erin, we have built an excellent organization centered on seniors with deep experience and commitment to their careers, and we have established trust through agreed-upon work styles, which enables us to achieve high-level goals." (Eo Jeongwon)

Once talent is secured, the next step is to build a "one team" that connects everyone. Bailey, the head of HR, pointed out, "Managing remote employees is a pressing challenge. Building culture among a fully distributed workforce is not easy. If not done properly, employees may feel disconnected, and productivity and morale may decline." This means it is necessary to create processes that make employees feel connected to the company and set common goals, even in a remote environment.

To address this, Deel and Upstage hold regular company-wide meetings. Deel holds these meetings weekly, while Upstage does so twice a month, regularly sharing company goals and business progress so that employees understand the significance of their individual roles. All three companies assign communication with employees as a core responsibility of managers, ensuring that employees do not feel isolated by having frequent discussions about work.

They also set shared working hours. In the early days, Konny by Erin applied flexible work locations and hours, but found that this hindered organic collaboration when launching products. Eo, the HR manager, said, "We realized that maintaining uniform working hours maximizes collaborative touchpoints among teams, so now all employees work remotely based on Korean office hours."

Ryu, the HR leader, also explained, "For members living abroad, we set time zones that allow them to communicate and hold meetings with domestic staff, and during those hours, we focus on meetings and decision-making."

In addition, born-to-be remote companies, like other remote companies, provide special in-person programs to build camaraderie, such as sharing meals or coffee. They also prioritize onboarding programs to help new hires adapt, which is a characteristic of remote-first companies. Since all three companies have employees working and living in the same space at home, they have also established measures to prevent psychological difficulties among staff.

Reference articles:

[Jjinbit] Adapting to a New Job Without Face-to-Face Meetings? Remote Work's Essential Course: Onboarding [Office Shift] (27)

[Jjinbit] The Collapse of Work-Life Boundaries in Remote Work... "We Need Work-Life Balance" [Office Shift] ⑥

◆ If you want to be a born-to-be remote company... "You need the right prerequisites"

The HR leaders from the three companies interviewed were not unconditional advocates of remote work. The general consensus is that a company system that prioritizes remote work requires careful consideration of many factors during implementation. They emphasized that adopting remote work as the basic work format requires every employee to make a concerted effort.

"If you have the right prerequisites, remote work is an efficient and attractive work system. You can operate an organization without being bound by physical conditions. However, to reduce operational challenges, you need to have those prerequisites in place." (Eo Jeongwon)

"Most companies are not ready to adopt fully remote work. This system is not for everyone. Since you have to intentionally create connections, communicate, and build leadership to manage remotely, successfully implementing this (fully remote work) is quite difficult. Therefore, those interested in fully remote work should take time to clearly write down and explain what they want from remote work." (Casey Bailey)

"If your business is suitable for remote work and you are committed to maintaining a remote work culture, you must put a lot of effort into establishing your own culture, creating efficient policies, and improving your environment. The most important thing is people. It is crucial to create a culture where members can participate, support, and work together. It is also important to care for and manage that culture so it can be sustained. As the organization grows, growing pains may occur. In those times, colleagues with genuine commitment will be the source of strength as you overcome challenges together as one team." (Ryu Hanna)