Distributed by Default: How GitHub Keeps Remote Teams Connected
Open source software development has always been a distributed effort. GitHub hosts over one hundred million projects, with more than 74,000 community contributors regularly active on its most popular repositories. The company's internal structure reflects that community: teams build GitHub from offices and homes around the world.
The shift to widespread remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many organizations to rethink how their teams collaborate. For GitHub, which has operated as a highly distributed workforce for over a decade, the transition was less abrupt. Still, the company acknowledges that functions like HR, finance, legal, marketing, and sales often lack the remote-first playbooks that engineering teams take for granted. In a new series, GitHub is sharing best practices for managing remote business operations, starting with Kem Boggs, Head of Global Talent Acquisition.
Culture Is Not Tied to a Location
GitHub's employee experience is designed to stay consistent regardless of where someone works. That means benefits programs must support remote employees just as thoroughly as they support office-based staff, allowing people to live and work almost anywhere. Boggs points to a decade of deliberate remote work practices as the foundation that now serves the company well during global disruptions.
Collaboration depends on strong communication habits. GitHub relies on tools like Slack and Zoom for day-to-day interaction, but the emphasis is on how teams use those platforms. New hires receive onboarding on communication norms and the company collects best practices in shared GitHub repositories so they evolve over time. Internal events are recorded and shared immediately, letting employees watch on their own schedule and participate via live chat when convenient for their time zone.
Boggs, who works remotely himself, says loneliness—often cited as remote work's biggest drawback—hasn't been an issue. Interest-based Slack channels (hobbies like woodworking, or lifestyle questions like cat versus dog preferences) help employees find their people and stay engaged.
Inclusion in the Hiring Process
GitHub's remote-friendly culture extends into recruitment. A diversity and inclusion interview is part of every external hire, at every level. An unbiased interviewer who is not part of the hiring team discusses the candidate's experiences with inclusive working environments. Boggs says there are no wrong answers; the conversation sets expectations for a culture of acceptance and diversity, which is essential when teams never meet face-to-face.
Programs That Scale Beyond One Office
Recruiting and employee programs at GitHub have changed dramatically as the company grew from 400 employees four years ago to a projected headcount of over 2,000 by July 2020. Boggs advises that the biggest mistake a company can make is to build a remote program around one location and expect it to work worldwide.
Remote policies need to be systematic and free from inherent discrimination, accounting for differences in how employees are supported in various countries. Practical measures can include arranging coworking space access or providing home office setup resources outside the US. According to Boggs, this holistic view of policies, practices, and resources has been crucial, and it has become even more relevant during the pandemic.
Starting Remote Ready
For organizations establishing distributed workforces for the first time, Boggs' advice is to be intentional about belonging from day one. People need a sense of connection to the company and its community regardless of where and when they work. Companies can also demonstrate their remote-readiness to candidates through virtual interviews, which remove location barriers and let the right people find the right roles—whether that means an employee joining their dream company or a company hiring their dream employee.
