I use Buffer to schedule my LinkedIn posts, and that’s how I came across this amazing company. The more I looked into Buffer and their organisational culture, the more I got to know how incredible they are in their remote work ethos.
Buffer is a social management platform started in November 2010, and they have been operating fully remote since 20131. Buffer is also known for radical transparency, including public salary information2 and 4-day work weeks3. Buffer has 73 employees across 22 countries45, and what I like most about them is their transparency. From salaries to member subscription fees and employee time off, everything is readily available to see on their website6.
The following video features the founder and CEO of Buffer, Joel Gascoigne, who fully embraces going all in with remote work rather than choosing it as a second option. (Ignore the conversation after 1:54 minutes-ish, as some of the tools they discuss don’t exist anymore.) The highlight is the CEO’s understanding of the core values of remote working by going all in.
Let’s dive into Buffer’s top 5 proven remote work tips and strategies that you can implement to improve your distributed workforce’s productivity.
1. Implement Four-Day Work Weeks
- Operate on a 4-day schedule with a flexible fifth day for overflow or personal time
- Allow employees to choose 4 full days or 5 shorter days7 based on family needs
- Maintain no company communications on Fridays8
- Report 91% of the team is happier and more productive with a 4-day schedule
Key Takeaway: Give employees a three-day weekend every week by working only Monday through Thursday. This extra day off helps prevent burnout and actually makes people more productive during their four working days because they’re better rested and motivated.
2. Practice Radical Transparency
- Make employee salaries publicly available (this avoids the feeling of missing out on salary increments due to working from home, because everyone’s salary is visible, and everyone is working from home)
- Share company metrics, revenue, and internal decisions openly
- Default to transparency in all communications and processes
- Build trust through authentic and honest communication
Key Takeaway: Share almost all company information openly with employees, including how much everyone earns and how the business is performing. This builds trust because people know they’re getting the full truth, not just sanitised updates from management.
3. Foster Intentional Connections
- Implement bi-weekly random pair calls for cross-team relationship building9
- Create mastermind partnerships for deeper peer connections
- Assign culture buddies for new hires during the first three months10
- Schedule optional recurring non-work-related meetings
When we work in the office and see our colleagues every day, we sometimes take in-person moments such as our colleagues’ tone, style and the general sense of their personality for granted. However, when we work fully remotely, we tend to miss those in-person moments. Buffer intentionally uses gatherings to help colleagues experience the style of their teammates. The following is a quote from the Buffer CEO on that,
Once you return home, the conversations you have with team members are enhanced. You know the tone of somebody’s voice and the way they approach problems and discussions. You read their emails differently. This changes things, and is why we’ve found retreats to be not only a fun part of our culture, but an absolute necessity.
Buffer CEO, Joel, describes the importance of this in-person time
Key Takeaway: Since remote workers don’t bump into each other in hallways, create structured opportunities for people to get to know each other personally. Set up regular informal conversations between colleagues who don’t normally work together to build friendships and team spirit.
4. Support Comprehensive Remote Benefits
- Provide $1,00011 home office setup budget
- Offer 16 weeks of fully paid family leave12
- Include profit sharing when the company performs well
- Support working smarter with coworking space stipends
Key Takeaway: Invest in your remote employees by paying for their home office equipment, offering generous time off, and sharing company profits. Recognise that remote workers have different needs than office workers and support them accordingly.
5. Encourage Asynchronous Communication
- Move to asynchronous meetings when possible
- Create structured communication agreements for team chat platforms
- Design workflows that accommodate global time zone differences13
- Reduce meeting dependency through effective async practices
Key Takeaway: Set up communication so people don’t have to be online at the same time to collaborate effectively. This means using shared documents, recorded updates, and clear written instructions instead of requiring everyone to attend live meetings.
In a Nutshell
Working remotely presents unique challenges that office environments don’t, but these obstacles are far from insurmountable. Success in remote work, whether at home or elsewhere, comes down to implementing well-designed practices and consistently maintaining them. The most effective approach is to learn from organisations that have excelled at remote work. This article examines Buffer’s five most successful proven remote work tips and techniques, offering actionable insights to help your remote-first organisation boost productivity.
🔗 If you have enjoyed this article, you might also like my other articles about remote working tips from GitLab and Automattic (the company behind WordPress).
🎯 Need Expert Help?
If you’re facing challenges with remote work, I offer 1:1 coaching and tailored support to help you succeed at remote setup. Whether you’re just starting out, growing as a remote contributor, leading a team, or launching a remote-first start-up, Remote Winners offers targeted 1:1 coaching to help you thrive in a distributed world. We also provide tech consultancy services—from idea-to-product guidance to cloud deployment and cybersecurity reviews—to help organisations strengthen their technology and processes.
If you are unsure where to begin, drop us a message and we’ll be in touch.
Sources
- https://buffer.com/about ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/salaries ↩︎
- http://buffer.com/resources/4dww/ ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/about ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/journey ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/open ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/resources/four-day-work-week-update/ ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/resources/turn-off-slack-experiment/ ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/resources/buffer-daily-pair-call/ ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/resources/onboarding/ ↩︎
- https://www.beenremote.com/remote-work/company-culture ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/resources/family-leave-at-buffer/ ↩︎
- https://buffer.com/resources/timezones/ ↩︎
