All-Remote Pick Your Brain

On this page, we’re detailing how the public can request a Pick Your Brain interview focused on all-remote.

Why we offer public interviews on all-remote

An example of an All-Remote Pick Your Brain is embedded above, and can also be seen on the GitLab Unfiltered YouTube channel.

Emna G., founder and CEO at Veamly, speaks with GitLab’s Darren M. on a number of remote work topics: reinforcing culture, encouraging work-life harmony, remote work processes, the importance of process optimization in team productivity, and asynchronous communication.

GitLab believes that everyone can contribute. We also believe that all-remote organizations can fundamentally change the world by offering a different way to work. From reversing rural depopulation to providing opportunity to a more diverse set of people, we want all-remote to become less the exception, and more the norm.

There is no formal guidebook on building an all-remote company, and what works for a new startup may not map precisely to a larger organization.

While we are proponents of all-remote, we recognize that there are drawbacks as well as individuals who are skeptical about its feasibility. We embrace detractors and those who are inquisitive about making all-remote work. We’re interested in hearing about challenges faced by others implementing remote work, so we can ideally find and document solutions.

Scheduling a Pick Your Brain interview on all-remote

Requests for interviews concerning advice on all-remote may be initiated by completing and submitting this Google Form. In the request, please include a brief overview of topics you hope to discuss, along with key questions you’re prepared to ask.

These 20 to 30 minute interviews with GitLab’s Head of Remote will be recorded though Zoom and shared on the GitLab Unfiltered YouTube channel.

We invite guests to surface challenges and examples as points of discussion. Post-interview, and where applicable, we will iterate on relevant handbook pages to document questions and solutions.

GitLab is a very transparent company and many things that are normally confidential can be found in our handbook, available online. Please consider looking at the following pages prior to the meeting.

1. GitLab’s All-Remote Culture
   1. Defining “all-remote”
   2. Advantages
   3. Disadvantages
   4. Remote work fast boot and emergency plan for teams/leaders
   5. Remote work starter guide for employees
   6. Phases of remote adaptation
   7. Being a great remote manager
   8. How to evaluate a remote job
   9. Getting started in a new remote job
   10. Scaling a remote company
   11. People
   12. Non-linear workday
   13. Building and reinforcing a sustainable culture
   14. How to use forcing functions to work remote-first
   15. Mental Health: Combating burnout, isolation, and anxiety
   16. Jobs
   17. Management
   18. Remote onboarding
   19. Values
   20. Collaboration
   21. Hiring
   22. Compensation
   23. Learning and Development
   24. Self-service
   25. Informal Communication
   26. Meetings
   27. Handbook-first documentation
   28. Asynchronous workflows
   29. In-person interactions
   30. Parenting
   31. Stories
   32. Stages of remote work
   33. Hybrid-remote
   34. Transitioning/adding remote
   35. What not to do when implementing remote
   36. How it works at GitLab
2. History
3. About

Before an interview is scheduled, guests will be asked to send over an agenda with proposed questions and topics.

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Return to the main all-remote page.