Asynchronous

What is an Asynchronous Company?

An Asynchronous company is a company in which work is not done simultaneously. Unlike traditional 9-5 approach, asynchronous companies enable their emoyees to work at their own schedules.

How Do Asynchronous Companies Work?

Asynchronous companies and startups adopt a nonlinear approach to work as compared to the traditional 9-5. This means that the work is divided into different parts but instead of working simultaneously, the team members work according to their own schedules and needs. 

The main rationale behind the asynchronous work model is the ever-increasing remote work which led to team members from different countries and time zones working in the same companies. 

Async companies enable employees to get greater flexibility and help them manage work-life balance while utilizing processes and tools that help them get the work done. These companies also use written guidelines outlining policies and processes so that anyone on the team can operate independently. They also use communication and project management tools like slack and Trello to ensure that deliverables are completed within the required timelines. 

Another interesting thing about asynchronous companies is that there are no real-time communications and meetings happening which allows team members to focus more on their tasks.

Background

The origin of asynchronous companies can be largely attributed to the availability of online communication and project management tools as well as to the rise of remote work culture. Although there were few companies practicing an async style of work before the pandemic this started gaining traction after the pandemic. 

Companies around the globe were forced to enable work from home as a default mode for working which eventually led to async first companies.

Examples of Asynchronous Companies

Gumroad: Gumroad is a very famous platform for buying and selling digital products. The company generates $11 million in profits annually and it is working as a fully asynchronous company. The company went remote at first but then adopted the async style of work which according to the founder Sahil, was the real benefit. Now the company has no meetings and communicates via GitHub and Slack with a 24 hr expected response time.

GitLab: GitLab is a famous DevOps platform with more than 1300 team members spread across 65 countries. The company is fully remote with an async-first approach which allows the company to integrate work-life balance into the lives of their global workforce while improving productivity. 

RevenueCat: RevenueCat helps developers make a living doing what they love by making it easy to build, analyze, and grow in-app purchases and subscriptions on iOS, Android, and the web. The team members at RevenueCat are allowed to work remotely at their own schedules and use asynchronous communication for getting things done.

Benefits

Better Work Life Balance: Asynchronous companies are enabling a new era of productivity and work life balance. Employees are able to work according to their own schedules and perform the work tasks when they’re able to do them based on their preferences.

Hire Better Talent: Asynchronous companies are able to hire the best talent across the globe because they don’t have to stick to a particular timezone and locality. This allows for a larger talent pool to work at the company improving diversity and the overall quality of work being done at the company.

Reduced Distractions: Asynchronous companies have no meetings physically or online. This allows time savings and helps employees focus more on the tasks at hand instead of getting distracted by constant meetings and communications happening throughout the day.

Improved Transparency: Asynchronous companies utilize extensive documentation and use tools that enable greater transparency. This makes team members become self-accountable as everyone’s work performance can be reviewed by anyone in the company because of documentation.

Challenges

Despite all the benefits of asynchronous model of work, this model has its fair share of challenges as well. A big challenge of async-first companies is managing work emergencies which can be harder because no one is liable to respond and take actions immediately.

Having disconnected teams with no bonding is another challenge of asynchronous organisations due to lack of meetings and introductions. This can make trust building even harder as everyone is working independently.

Another serious challenge of asynchronous companies is that they can face delays in work completion and an overall loss in productivity as the team grows.

Lastly, an increased amount of work documentation is another challenge of this work model which leads to a loss in productivity.

Summary

The rise of asynchronous companies works well for most businesses that rely on digital tools for their day-to-day work. This work model can lead to an increase in productivity and reduce wastage, especially for companies with a global workforce.

However asynchronous companies have their fair share of challenges as well and going async-first may not work for every business. This is especially true for companies and businesses with physical products and services that cannot be rendered online.

Overall it is the next step in the evolution of remote work culture and it will help create lots of opportunities for businesses as well as employees.

References

The future of work is asynchronous
https://blog.trello.com/the-future-of-work-is-asynchronous

Meetings that should always be async
https://blog.trello.com/meetings-that-should-always-be-async

10 companies that prioritize asynchronous communication
https://www.modernteams.co/post/10-companies-that-prioritize-asynchronous-communication

Making asynchronous communication work
https://nohq.co/blog/making-asynchronous-communication-work/

Why you should be doing async work
https://remote.com/blog/why-you-should-be-doing-async-work