When coronavirus broke out in Silicon Valley, it prompted many tech companies to order employees to work from home and to re-examine how their companies operate.
But at the $2.75 billion startup GitLab, which helps developers release code faster and more often, remote work is business as usual. That's because GitLab is an all-remote company and doesn't even have any offices, said GitLab co-founder and CEO Sid Sijbrandij.
For now, GitLab is still planning on going public this November, although Sijbrandij previously noted that market conditions could force plans those plans to change.
To that end, GitLab is working to increase its recurring revenue and build a more "predictable" business model but he admits that it's an unpredictable time in the world right now.
"For an all-remote company there is less impact," Sijbrandij told Business Insider. "We're going to be less affected by internal efficiency because we embraced remote work early. We can work effectively this way. This doesn't mean the company won't be affected."
'We wanted to share that knowledge'
Sijbrandij says that during the coronavirus outbreak, he has received "a ton of inquiries" from other companies on how to work remotely. Also, Sijbrandij says GitLab wanted to have a way to contribute and help out other companies during the coronavirus crisis, which helped prompt GitLab to publish more guides on remote work.
The company has updated its online handbook, that anyone can access, for the coronavirus outbreak. Previously, GitLab has spoken about how it compensates employees around the world who live in areas with different costs of living. It's also been organizing webinars on remote work.
"The bigger the company, the tougher the transition is," Sijbrandij said.
Since the outbreak, Sijbrandij has seen "huge traffic" in the company's handbook sections that address remote work.
"The one thing we're really good at is working remote," Sijbrandij said. "We wanted to share that knowledge. We saw the demand for it. A lot of people at GitLab have been approached by colleagues at other companies asking for tips and feedback."
Sijbrandij says the toughest thing about working remotely is official communication. He says there needs to be a "single source of truth for information."
"When you work remote, you have to write down a lot more," Sijbrandij said. "Any change you have in a company, it starts from that knowledge base. That's where we see companies struggle the most and that's the least intuitive."
In addition to updating its guides, GitLab published a survey last week of over 3,000 professionals who have the option to work remotely. It found that over 52% of employees found themselves to be more productive and 48% were more efficient when working remote.
Hiring remote workers also increases the hiring pool for many companies, the report said. The survey showed that 83% of employees who report having a disability or chronic illness cite remote work as a key factor in allowing them to work and contribute to their company, while 34% of employees saying being able to care for their family is a top benefit of remote work.
'I think a lot of people are anxious'
Still, coronavirus did have some impact on GitLab's operations, Sijbrandij says. Employees who regularly visit customers have cancelled those trips. Also, as an all-remote company, GitLab hosts an internal conference for all its employees worldwide, but that also got canceled. Likewise, schedules may change for parents as schools shut down.
"I think a lot of people are anxious about what's going to happen to their loved ones," Sijbrandij said. "Mostly people are worried about their parents."
Sijbrandij says even after the worst of the outbreak is over, it will prompt companies to rethink how they work and if it's possible to work remotely.
"With all these companies starting to work remote, it's going to be really interesting what they see after they work remote and transition back," Sijbrandij said. "Some companies will say this work works really well for us. Some companies will say that it was OK, but we're glad we're back to the status quo."
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