Another Techmeme sponsor, Assembla, blogs 5 Reasons Why Distributed Teams Are Great. I thought I would share why distributed teams suck.
5) It spends energy. Realistically, people work better together remotely once they have met face to face. Distributed teams have a smaller carbon footprint, but knowing when to make footprints to get in once place is key. For example, we are flying the half of the company that is not based in Palo Alto for a F2F retreat next week. Partially because when ever you have a new team member you have a new team.
4) Its hard to make friends, let alone colleagues. My CTO and co-founder Pete Kaminski has a saying that "time spent face to face is too valuable for work." This is partially because it is easier to concentrate on work when working in a distributed fashion. But you need to focus on building a social fabric, and the best opportunities come F2F. One side benefit of being distributed is you are more likely to make friends or business relationships in your hometown because you have to go out for social interaction.
3) Some things are more expensive. While generally costs are lower for distributed teams, you have to invest in some things that matter. For example, at Socialtext we have a discretionary travel budget for distributed employees, letting them visit and cowork as they see fit. You also may have additional HR overhead if you want to provide great benefits in multiple juristictions (consider a PEO). But the most basic requirement is covering good telecom and equipment needs.
2) Some things start slower. It is harder to brainstorm and problem solve remotely.
1) Talent by timezone. You distribute your risk in recruiting across space, but not time. Generally we work by timezone, around Socialtext Operating Time (SOT). We have had some exceptions, like the guy who wanted to live in Taiwan for some months, but kept SOT hours. Even if it isn't a requirement, the clock shifts for those distributed towards the median.
BTW, Assembla's suggestions were really good, and I don't mean to pick on them, but here they are for comparison:
5) Save energy. Working at home saves a lot of energy (and carbon) that would be expended commuting, traveling, and building and heating workspaces. Don't move meat.4) Make friends for life. Meet interesting colleagues and future good friends from towns you have never heard of.
3) Lower fixed costs. You can hire a distributed team week to week, with no fixed costs. So, you can save the 50% in organizational and overhead costs, or pay everyone twice as much, and eliminate the risk of going broke.
2) Get started faster. Each team member starts work NOW, without moving around.
1) Raise quality by shopping for the best talent available in the world.
As with most ways of organizing, there are tradeoffs, and the key is recognizing them before they happen.
