'It's not without its hiccups, but it has worked pretty well'Whats it like to take a company with 3,000 employees distributed across 25 offices and make it fully remote with just a few weeks notice?I hopped on a call with Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson to hear about how their transition has gone so far, and what hes learned from the process.Twilio CEO Jeff LawsonRemote work isnt brand-new for Twilio; as with a lot of software companies, many employees have worked remotely.
But its still a massive shift: Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Lawson says around 10% of the company worked remotely.
Today, its everyone.For a company like us to go from partially virtual to fully virtual in a short period of time, he says, its not without its hiccups, but it has worked pretty well.Things are weird for everyoneright now, so compassion is keyShifting to remote work might make things feel different for a while but those differences pale in comparison to the other changes people are coping with in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.I think the fact that you are distributed is lesser than the fact that youre like, not allowed to go outside, says Lawson.
Youre worried about friends and family and youre reading the news those things are more impactful.