Remote working isn’t dead. Openprovider is living proof.
Since moving to fully remote operations in March 2020, we have increased our number of employees by 110%!
Before the pandemic hit, we already had international teams in the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, and India, so we were used to asynchronous communication and working across borders. But going fully remote was a big shift. From cross-team collaboration to hiring and logistics: nothing was going to be the same.
Five years later, remote work isn’t just how we operate – it’s part of who we are. We’ve grown from a team of 50 to 105 people spread across 22 countries, from Argentina to Australia. Our Employee NPS score is 63, which tells us our team is happy.
Along the way, we’ve learned what makes remote work successful – and what doesn’t.
Read on to discover the key insights we learned from five years of working remotely with a global, culturally diverse team.
Proactivity is key
With asynchronous communication, there’s no manager hovering over your shoulder or colleagues nudging you for updates. Remote work requires initiative, and this is something we encourage in our colleagues. It’s not for no reason that being a wolf, not a sheep is one of our five core values.
Taking ownership is important for us. We expect our colleagues to focus on quality over quantity – because if the quality of our work is high, quantity will follow automatically. Our employees are encouraged to suggest new features and improvements and lead their own projects.
Feedforward, not feedback
Feedback is an important part of an organization that values autonomy – but feedback should not hold people back. That’s why we recently introduced feedforward, a new way of giving constructive feedback. Instead of focusing on what went wrong in the past, feedforward shifts the focus to what can be improved in the future. This approach helps people feel motivated and committed to making changes, rather than stuck in what went wrong.
Autonomy results in quality
Autonomy fuels proactivity. That’s why everyone at Openprovider has the freedom to set their own work hours. We don’t require people to always be online during particular hours or to shift their working hours to a particular timezone.
Some team members work around childcare, others prefer coworking spaces, and some even switch locations throughout the year. This flexibility allows people to be productive in a way that works for them.
Communication is key
Working remotely doesn’t mean working in isolation. Communication is what keeps everything running smoothly.
We balance structured daily and weekly meetings with Meeting-free Thursdays, giving everyone time for deep work. We document everything in Google Drive and Confluence, and we keep cameras on during calls to maintain engagement.
Staying connected also means having fun together. Throughout the year, we organize a lot of online activities, including Pizza & Quiz days, sports challenges, and even a Christmas event with a magician. And, every week, the Donut app pairs up two or three colleagues from different teams to connect informally.
Adapting to cultural differences
Hiring remotely means we can find the best people for the job, no matter where they are. With team members in over 20 countries, we know that work styles, expectations, and communication can vary across cultures. A good remote culture acknowledges and adapts to these differences.
To help our teams collaborate effectively, we regularly organize workshops and activities on diversity and cross-cultural communication. These sessions help colleagues understand each other better, making teamwork smoother and more productive.
But beyond that, our colleagues genuinely enjoy learning about each other’s cultures. Ask anyone what they love most about working at Openprovider, and chances are they’ll say the same thing: the people.
Remote is great – but offline connections matter too
Even the best remote teams benefit from face-to-face time. That’s why we organize quarterly meetups in the Netherlands, Spain, India, and Sri Lanka, where we have our largest teams, giving our colleagues the chance to connect in person.
To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we took it a step further. In October 2024, 75 colleagues from around the world met up in Dubai for an unforgettable experience. From racing dragon boats to exploring the desert and dancing at our gala dinner, this event took our online connections to the next level. Strengthening these relationships in person makes daily collaboration smoother – no matter how many kilometers separate us.
The future of remote work at Openprovider
After five years, one thing is clear: remote work works.
But it’s not just about working from home. It’s about fostering a culture of proactivity, strong communication, and meaningful connections – both online and offline. The past five years have shown us that our core values are like a compass that guides us in everything that we do – regardless of an employee’s physical location.
As we continue to grow, we’ll keep learning and adapting. What won’t change is our commitment to making remote work a success for every member of our team.
