Elena Ivanova was delighted to be attending Web Summit on behalf of Crunchyroll after two years of working alone. Crunchyroll is a Moldovan-based anime advocacy company, with Elena is the Managing Director. Works had a conversation with Elena to discuss their remote working arrangements, and the strategies they use to stay connected and collaborate efficiently.
Understand the obstacles of remote employment
Elena is passionate about finding solutions to enhance remote working experience. She has highlighted the challenges that are associated with working from home, such as the impact on mental health and the lack of office culture. Elena believes that it is essential to come together as a team and create a sense of community. She regrets that there are no conversations around the water cooler, and limited personal contact when needing assistance. To tackle this, Elena has suggested that the team should use Slack to communicate any queries and the team will respond via this platform.
Employers, make use of the world over as a source of talent
Elena believes that a more international approach to recruitment is beneficial for the company. We have thus begun exploring the global market for potential employees, given the skills needed are not available in Moldova. As the company expands and telecommuting is an option, this could be a viable option. However, Crunchyroll must be aware of the regulatory constraints that come with hiring from abroad, due to its location in Moldova.
Keep an open mind and always try to find alternatives
The Human Resources team at Crunchyroll have been at the forefront of creating productive and collaborative initiatives for their remote workforce. These initiatives include Zoom meetings, team-building sessions and virtual happy hours. To ensure efficiency and effectiveness, staff make use of industry-leading technologies such as Jira, Atlassian and Github. The team are constantly looking for new ways to improve communication and collaboration.
