PayrollHero has 1 team in 2 locations.  Four of us are currently in San Francisco USA, the rest of the team is in Manila PH.  How do we deal with the team across different time zones, in different offices, within different countries? (Tip: A Window)

We use a few different tools to keep the team “close”. Some of those tools include; Yammer.com which is a fantastic tool for online chat within the team.  It allows team members to have group chats about tickets they are working on, bugs, new features, etc.  It is a great way to communicate, while not disturbing team members when they are focusing on something else.  Google Chat works well for one on one conversations and Google Video if you need to see and speak with a specific person.

For our standup morning meetings, the development team has 2 flat screen TVs (1 in each location) each connected to an Apple Mini with iChat.  This allows the team in both locations to stand up and meet just as if they were all in the same location. (kind of like looking through a “window” into the other office)

(L – R) Michael Stephenson and Piotr Banasik (foreground) chatting with 5 members of the PayrollHero team in Manila on the screen

(L – R) Adam Baechler and Stephen Jagger (foreground) with the developer daily standup meeting happening in the background