I have a regular weekly 1:1 with each staff member (a while back I proposed making them bi-weekly but alas they insisted on maintaining this cadence... it's a lot more work for me, but it's what they need) to see how they're individually doing and to make sure they have what they need.

We also have a regular team checkin to update on overall company status, discuss issues, etc.

Through those mechanisms plus regular communication over Slack, email, ad hoc calls, etc, we stay connected and aligned.

Meanwhile, I stay in contact with my management colleagues so we're in sync laterally and all pulling in the same direction.

This isn't rocket science. It's not even that difficult. You just have to be a bit more intentional about staying in touch and connected with folks.

If anything it reinforces for me how important effective middle management is, as done well, it serves as vital glue to keep a remote workforce connected.

Now, I'm not gonna lie, when we first went full remote I was concerned that the 1:1's would be less effective, simply due to lack of body language, etc. But I'll freely admit I was wrong on that point. In fact, we hired and onboarded a new senior staff member during the pandemic and it went as well as any previous onboarding we've done. Though it's a bit strange realizing I've never actually spoken to him in person...

At this point I think I'd be comfortable going full remote, maybe with the odd in-person get-together just to celebrate successes and so forth. I suspect the only thing stopping us is some older school senior management who aren't yet comfortable with that idea.