Starting a new company is always a risk, but it gets even trickier when you try to build a geographically distributed team in times of war with people you’ve never met in person. The challenges pile up from the beginning: project management, work coordination, team management, and billing. You start looking for ways to manage all these, and hopefully not in a dozen different services. One by one, we found most of what we needed as plugins to Jira, letting us sort things out all in one place.
To put all of our cards on the table, I need to mention that some of our team members (including our CEO) strongly opposed the idea of using Jira because of previous experiences. However, our research on management and invoicing platforms led straight to Jira and its add-ons that met our needs and helped us set up clear work processes.
First, we started using Jira Software for project and team management and team-wide progress visibility. Our team specializes in finding technical solutions to help solve complex problems in the public interest. To drive people-centric projects, we follow the people-first principle in our day-to-day processes. Having Jira boards for various work projects fosters internally the kind of transparency that our team strives to bring to the public. Also, it is very important to have everyone on the same page when you work with a geographically distributed team.
Second, we started to use Jira Work Management for our internal operations like recruitment and client acquisition. Jira Work Management comes with a bunch of templates accommodating our needs. At the same time, it allows us to tailor each project to meet each case’s requirements. The more specific a project setup is, the easier it is to coordinate the work and manage the team.
Third, we were looking for billing solutions and tried a number of applications on the market. When we came across Clerk and Worklogs plugins for Jira, the company management went one step further. On the one hand, we streamline time tracking and invoicing. On the other hand, team members can easily check the work they do and how much time they spend doing it. These build trust and accountability.
Transparency is one of the pillars that support our company. Transparent procedures foster two-way communication and leverage honest feedback about performance and work processes. With Atlassian, we’ve been able to build a healthier work culture where everybody feels valued and engaged. At the same time, Atlassian helps make sure everyone is taken care of from the administrative perspective.
Summing up, our experience brings a new point of view on building a start-up, and we’d like to share it with people who want to start their own venture. The war and the fact our team haven’t met in person did not get in the way of building a devoted and enthusiastic team. We’ve found it essential to choose the right media for work, and so far we’re happy with our choices.
Stay tuned and stay safe.
Yours truly,
CX Friend