Remote team efficiency, the tools that help us get it right!

When you defy convention within an established industry there is always going to be people that judge what you are doing and the way you are doing it. Flaunt Digital is a fully remote digital agency, the majority of the team comes from agency pedigree so we have been there and we know the mechanics of how agencies operate. So why go against the tradition of having a physical office with ping pong tables and its own barista? Because, we honestly believe we are more efficient this way.

We love what we do and we are damn good at it but we most certainly could not have done it ten years ago. Technology plays a huge part in not only allowing us to be efficient but to communicate effectively with our clients in a way which removes the need for physical meetings. Offices are expensive, very expensive, our office is Slack. This is where we have our morning coffee and catch up on everything that is going on in the Flaunt Digital world, Slack makes it really easy to keep everyone in the loop and we use it every day.

Meetings are expensive, very expensive, we use lots of different tools that allows us to communicate with our clients. We have the ability to have a meeting at the drop of a hat instead of having to plan weeks in advance to make sure we get the best train or air fares. The majority of our meetings are done over video chat using Skype, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting or Appear.in (depending on size – currently only 8 allowed on a video call but its free!). Appear.in is really easy to use and it is free (for now), you don’t have to sign up or install any software, simply create a room with a unique URL and send it to the people you want to join, then start talking! If you have not tried it yet you should check it out.

One of the main things that allows us to operate remotely is our dashboard which is like the command centre, everyone has a log in, Flaunt Digital staff and clients. Clients can see what tasks are on deck and comment on tasks as they progress, this means they are part of the conversation and know exactly what is going on and who is doing the actual work. This touch point is very important to us and allows us to build a strong trust with our clients that is invaluable when it comes to maintaining long term relationships.

So we might not be conventional by the standards of “normal” agencies but in our humble opinion we are pretty good at delivering fantastic results for our clients. Do you work remotely or partly remotely? We would love to hear what kind of tools and processes you use!