In March 2020, Code the Dream had been operating for about six years. We were still a relatively young nonprofit, experiencing the excitement—and the growing pains—that come with building something from the ground up. We had an office on the third floor of the 800 Frontier building at Research Triangle Park. The spacious and sunny space had wall-to-wall windows, a blackboard wall where we jotted down quotes and jokes, and a basket of Snuggies —you know, the blanket with sleeves?—in case it got chilly. At the Frontier, it seemed like every day was a party—food trucks, live music, yoga and walks at lunchtime.
Like so many other organizations, the sudden lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the structure of our operations practically overnight. A few years prior, we had started our gradual shift from a North Carolina-focused nonprofit operating out of the Research Triangle to a national organization operating fully remotely. Once COVID hit, that transformation happened practically overnight.
Five years after the COVID pandemic began, many businesses and organizations have moved to a hybrid model or returned to in-person work. At Code the Dream, we decided to buck the return-to-office trend and embrace remote work. We’ve stuck with it.
Here’s why remote work works for us.
We want to build (and retain) a diverse team.
One of Code the Dream’s core values is innovation. We believe innovation happens when we have a variety of perspectives and skill sets in the room (or Slack channel, in our case). Having team members from all corners of the United States, from different races, backgrounds, abilities, and beliefs makes us strong.
Each person on our team has had different life experiences, can represent the perspective of different communities, has different professional and personal networks, and different approaches to problem-solving. Team members have backgrounds in social work, psychology, big tech, higher education, music, art, and law. They’re immigrants, refugees, LGBTQ+ people, third-culture kids, and so much more.
Remote work fosters deep work.
Deep work, which author and Georgetown professor Cal Thomas defines as “the act of focusing without distraction on a cognitively demanding task,” happens when we are able to tune out the noise around us and solve a pressing problem.
For those of us on staff who are developers, we know that the ability to do deep work is critical—but it’s not only important for developers. At Code the Dream, we want all staff to be able to set up their workspaces and their schedules in a way that benefits their well-being and productivity.
To support this, we have one designated no-meeting day each week, and support and encourage additional focus time when it’s needed. We also provide an annual remote work stipend for employees.
Remote work supports people where they are.
This doesn’t mean only geographically (though that’s part of it!). Code the Dream’s entire education model is built to be supportive and transformative. We want students to change the face of tech for themselves, their families and their communities. This means offering flexibility for a variety of life circumstances, not only for our students but for our staff, too.
We understand that our colleagues might have caregiving responsibilities for a relative, school conferences with their child’s teacher, or a medical appointment. They may not want to—or be able to—relocate for a job. When our staff are fully supported in their humanity away from work, they can bring their full selves to work and show up authentically.
We’ve built an amazing culture because of—rather than in spite of—remote work.
Early on in the pandemic, most of us anticipated that work-from-home orders would last only a few weeks. At that time, it was easy to say, “Well, when we’re back in the office, we will take care of this,” or, “We’ll feel more connected to each other when we’re in person again.” Soon, we realized we needed to interrupt that thinking. We could build that amazing culture right then and there, and, in fact, it was imperative that we do so.
By the summer of 2020, it became clear that this new way of work was here to stay. At Code the Dream, we’d been moving toward a fully remote model in our classes, so we figured, why not embrace the same tactic in our day-to-day operations?
We got strategic about our team Slack, making use of integrations and apps that streamlined our work and gave us the opportunity to connect person-to-person. Team collaboration online began to feel as natural as walking over to a colleague’s desk, and the organized channels helped to reduce email inbox clutter.
Remote work expanded our hiring pool, allowing us to bring on team members from different states. As we built our coding education program from a statewide to a nationwide one, this expansion was crucial. Our new hires brought different perspectives, experiences, and networks that helped us grow effectively and efficiently.
We also developed partnerships across regions with other organizations like Code the Dream. Connecting with those nonprofits who are working toward a similar mission allowed us to share ideas and lessons learned. Without remote work, this information exchange would not have been as far-reaching. Collaboration with others allowed us to become stronger and more adaptable.
Living into our values—inclusion, community, growth, and impact—is possible because we are a remote, distributed team.
The results show it’s working.
Code the Dream has grown and deepened its impact in the past decade, and much of that work has happened in the last five years. In 2014, we offered in-person classes to 8 students. Last year, we served 672 students from 45 states in remote coding classes.
Since 2020, 616 volunteers have supported our program, generously offering their time to mentor and guide our students. The apps built by our apprentices have impacted hundreds of thousands of people across the country—educators, farmworkers, advocates, and more.
But the numbers, while impressive, don’t tell the whole story. It’s the feedback from our people that means the most.
Employees feel seen. They feel valued. They’re respected. They’re given freedom and latitude and they respond with determination, dedication, and some of the most inspiring work I’ve seen in my career.
