I work at Shopify Plus as an Enterprise Sales Representative and help large merchants evaluate Shopify as part of their digital strategy.

The direct team I’m currently on has 5 people, and we are located all over from Los Angeles to Canada.

We’re responsible for being trusted advisors to the largest brands/retailers in the west coast.

First and foremost, I think trust is a big component of having a strong remote culture. 

Shopify is “digital by design,” which means most of us are remote across the globe, and we trust in each other day in and day out to do our jobs and support each other both on a professional and personal level.

It’s hard sometimes when you can’t “see” someone, but because of the strong remote culture that Shopify has built, I never feel alone.

We have our weekly team meetings where we check in with each other about what’s working/what’s not working. It’s a way to stay connected and collaborate actively.

We also do 1:1s (coffee chats/ get to know you’s) across the company. This would mimic getting lunch with other colleagues in an office setting or old school water cooler talk.

My biggest challenge in working remotely is not being able to always ask questions on the fly and getting instant answers like you would if you were in an office and can walk up to someone.

Shopify does a great job making sure I am supported, and while I might not get “instant” answers, I always do get them answered in a timely manner :)

We’ve done virtual team building events like dumpling making! It was fun to cook together and later eat the dumplings we made.

We are also doing our first in-person team retreat in San Francisco, and it will be great to see my teammates IRL.

I also meet-up with other Shopify employees in Los Angeles monthly or smaller group lunch/dinners.

I’ve played “We’re not really strangers” digitally with my colleagues. 

It’s better than “how was your weekend or what do you do?” because the prompts are more thought provoking and interesting, and you learn a lot more about those who you work with.

Note: You can purchase We're Not Really Strangers here, or play the (unofficial) online version here.

Slack for almost everything! Whether it’s women empowerment or sharing pics of our dogs, Shopify employees (Shopifolk) are very engaged and active.