Railsware is a team of 200+ specialists, crafting damn good products from any corner of the world. While we provide workspaces in Kyiv, Krakow, and Warsaw, many of our team members prefer working remotely from various locations: Europe, North America, South America, Asia – you name it! But every Railswarian is welcome to our offices or offline events we arrange regularly.
Our offices are comfortable spaces where you can come anytime to concentrate on tasks, collaborate with your team, or simply network. It’s more of an opportunity you can use rather than a place where you have to spend a defined period. As Railswarians own their calendars, it’s not unusual for our teams to plan a day to meet in the office and come to dinner afterward.
We’ve enjoyed flexibility and worked as a distributed team since the very launch. Much later, we witnessed this working model turn into a trend, and now it’s considered one of the most attractive and essential employee benefits. So, we decided to share interesting facts and insights from Railsware’s life.
What does work at Railsware look like?
Our specialists, be they software engineers, product managers, data analysts, marketers, or operations managers, treat any process as a product. Whether it is a project for our client, our own public and internal products, or office and payroll, we always focus on what and how we are doing rather than where and when.
This allows us to work in a hybrid mode, where some team members prefer the office and some work remotely from anywhere in the world. The main thing is that you can switch at any time.
Ruslan Kuzma
Full-stack engineer
I’ve thought about relocating to Kyiv, but it’s tough to leave friends and family behind. With the current situation in Ukraine, I’m grateful that our company lets us work remotely from safe spots. I’m in Uzhgorod, which has a warmer climate, feels safer, and is close to Europe. I’ve got two cats, Coca and Cola, keeping me company. We’re a bug-fixing team! :)
I love the freedom and the ability to work remotely, travel, and choose the environment where I work. This is probably the most valuable thing I saw when choosing a career in tech. When I became a parent, moved to a different country, and experienced many other changes in life, the ability to remain effective even with a laptop on the balcony became priceless. When I joined Railsware, I first felt all the advantages of remote, which really works. Interestingly, I used to read Rework (by 37 Signals) and thought it was a romanticized and utopian tale. But, at Railsware, it turned out that my colleagues not only have been inspired by it for many years but also implemented all the benefits of the authors’ approach into the real culture and processes of the company. It’s like dreaming for a long time to move to a certain place permanently and finally finding it.
Ivan Burban
Head of Product Marketing
What can make you good at working remotely?
The primary concerns about remote work often revolve around effective team communication and maintaining productivity. However, proper process management can deal with these challenges. What helps us? At Railsware, we value trust, freedom, and self-organization. Our approach fosters open feedback, transparency, and streamlined processes without unnecessary bureaucracy or isolated departments. Let’s delve into it.
Flexible schedule
Each Railswarian sets up their daily schedules according to their needs and preferences. We have a recommended number of monthly hours, but it is up to our colleagues how much and when to work. We measure performance by the actual results, while time tracking and reporting serve for accounting and analytical purposes.
Anton Sivakov
Full-stack engineer
Remote work gives me the opportunity to shape my days as I wish. This was challenging at the beginning, but now it feels really efficient. I can mix my personal and work tasks during the day, choosing when I am most productive for each activity. I surround myself with inspiring things and can take a break to recover from burnout with the gym or my hobbies. On the other hand, I can go to the office and join company events to hang out with my teammates. It helps fire up my team spirit!
We use Clockify to track time. It’s important to note that our use of Clockify is not about surveillance or monitoring schedules. Instead, it allows us to analyze tasks and time distribution equitably. For enhanced data-driven time management, our Product Manager, Julia Starun, has shared valuable calendar management tips and steps on MindTheProduct.
Communication
Open communication with feedback and engagement is the bedrock for teamwork and smooth collaboration. And at Railsware, we can’t imagine a better combo. Therefore, we thoroughly plan and discuss our activities to keep the team informed. For that, we use tools like Slack, Google Workspace, and the Atlassian ecosystem. For instance, we craft multiple channels, from project-related spaces for various product teams to book and pet clubs. So your acquaintances won’t be limited by the team you are working with.
For our core values to work not only on paper but also in the daily routine of each Railswarian, we use online sync and async communication. It helps us manage day-to-day cooperation and collaborate on tasks with a shared understanding of the end goal.
Yuliia Tkachenko
Senior Marketing Manager
The best part of communication at Railsware for me is the collaborative meetings. Much like pair programming, any team member can join a meeting and work on a task together. While this practice is commonly used by developers, it is also highly beneficial for Marketers and Product managers: we can brainstorm dozens of ideas, select the best ones, and plan campaigns step by step together.Railsware’s communication culture fosters a sense of freedom. Whenever you need feedback, advice, or have an idea, there are no boundaries to sharing it. This open environment encourages innovation and ensures that everyone’s voice is heard.
Every month we have guild meetings (Design Guild, Marketing Guild, etc.) where specialists from different products and projects share their updates and helpful tips. Questions or ambiguities are always discussed there, leaving no room for uncertainty in tasks and KPIs.
A few times per year, we gather in one of our offices for internal product/project inceptions or for major planning sessions. For us, communication is one of the cornerstones of effective collaboration. Therefore, we do everything we can to strengthen it – even across continents.
Flat company structure
When you don’t have a strict hierarchy or a traditional corporate structure, you will have more power to engage, contribute, experiment and avoid decisions that don’t make sense in a particular project.
We work in project-based squads, where everyone has a role as a team member, person responsible, consultant, or approver. For example, you can act as a person responsible for a list of activities on Mailtrap (our email delivery platform) and be a consultant for another project. Your engagement is defined by your skills and interests.
Socializing with the team
We regularly have smaller local team events like board games in the office, team quests, dinners, master classes, etc., where everyone is welcome to join. The whole team gathers every year during our big company retreats. Usually, Railswarians have a joint weekend at some nice location by the sea or in the countryside to socialize, have fun, and talk about the company’s strategy and vision during several short sessions. In previous years, we explored Greece, Italy, Croatia, Poland, and Ukraine together.
I believe that small local meetings in our offices or at international conferences, as well as large annual companies greatly help in building good relationships within the team and with other teams. It’s also a cool occasion to exchange experiences with colleagues. At Railsware, many people have truly found friends among their colleagues.
Ivan Burban
Head of Product Marketing
Additionally, we frequently attend conferences and meetups in the USA and Europe. Our colleagues not only promote our products at major global product and SaaS events, but also join as speakers, sharing their knowledge and experience with the tech community.
Culture of freedom
We don’t believe in controlling your employee experience – especially in a remote work culture. At Railsware, we build a team of thinkers, not just doers. We provide complete freedom in all aspects of the job, from choosing development methods to selecting their location. Any Railswarian can contribute to projects of their interest and share feedback on any company process.
Ruslan Kuzma
Full-stack engineer
My main motivation is feeling accomplished by meeting commitments and ticking off tasks at the end of the day. Working at Railsware with my professional teammates taught me to manage time, set priorities, and much more. I use my most productive hours wisely, but if I can’t concentrate, I take a break—maybe hit the gym, go for a bike ride, or just enjoy a coffee. If I really need a reset, a few days off in the Carpathian mountains do wonders. The flexibility at Railsware means I can shift my work hours to fit my mood and energy levels, which is fantastic!
Of course, implementing all of these is easier said than done and it took us years to get to where we are today. To make the process smoother, many companies implement a remote work policy to set out the guidelines and expectations for remote workers. Each policy should be tailored to the position and needs of a company, but a few important points should include:
- Working agreements
- Work recommendations
- Compliance with company policies
- Compensation, benefits, and equipment
We all know that people from all over the world develop unicorn products for their clients and own products that become market leaders while working remotely. Those people can work for years or even decades at the organizations without the obligation of visiting offices. This is exactly the case of Railsware. The goals we set for ourselves are not dictated from above but the team shapes them in collaboration. We have the freedom to set goals, keeping in mind that they should be ambitious and interesting to achieve.
Ivan Burban
Head of Product Marketing
Wrapping up
While some may see remote work as a cost-saving convenience, Railsware views it as a strategic advantage. Since our inception, we have meticulously crafted an environment where each team member not only adapts but excels in remote settings. We continually refine our strategies and introduce new formats and benefits to maintain this standard. This dedication has led to significant changes over past two years, promoting us to update this article.
As we push the boundaries of innovation and seize new opportunities, our steadfast commitment to these foundational principles continues to be the bedrock of our remote collaboration.
If this aligns with what you’re looking for, we are always open to share opportunities.
Check them out on our careers page!