Summary
Long distance relationships are hard – and managing Design Operations for a global team is no exception. Even with the best collaboration tools (and occasional late night phone calls), teams can struggle with isolation and lack of motivation. But there is a way to avoid bad break ups and international team malaise, and Jilanna Wilson knows how. She keeps the love light burning for a team that is spread across 5 continents and 8 time zones. In this session you will hear practical suggestions for topics that are challenging many DesignOps leaders, such as how to manage your team’s critical meetings, maintain consistent onboarding and documentation practices, select effective collaboration tools, and achieve a healthy team culture in a distributed environment.
Key Insights
-
•
Zendesk’s design ops team grew from 1 to 9 people to support a now 100-person distributed design team.
-
•
Isolation and loneliness are top complaints among remote workers, impacting engagement.
-
•
Nonverbal cues are essential for communication; their absence in text leads to misunderstandings.
-
•
Using video and keeping cameras on in meetings dramatically improves remote connection.
-
•
Alternating meeting times across time zones ensures fairness for globally distributed teams.
-
•
Community building via virtual social channels and care packages helps remote employees feel valued.
-
•
Design systems and centralized frameworks maintain consistent design quality across offices and cultures.
-
•
Annual in-person off-sites are critical for remote team bonding and alignment.
-
•
Continuous onboarding, not just front-loaded, supports remote employees’ evolving needs and integration.
-
•
Dedicated design ops roles focusing on communication, research, and community empower distributed teams to thrive.
Notable Quotes
"Support software used to be really shitty and expensive; Zendesk aimed to make it beautifully simple."
"We made up a word: humbladent — humble and confident mixed together."
"Remote workers often feel like their ideas get lost or they miss out on promotions compared to in-office peers."
"Text without nonverbal cues can easily be misinterpreted, emojis and gifs help add tone."
"Having cameras on during meetings even for those in the same room has helped our remote team feel included."
"Sending care packages or small treats to remote employees goes a long way in showing we care."
"The number one problem distributed teams face is lack of alignment."
"Annual off-sites are a big deal but they keep our team tight and people meet each other for the first time."
"Onboarding should be continuous, like sipping water throughout the day rather than chugging a gallon in the morning."
"As design ops leaders we’re in the business of relationships and building strong communities where employees can thrive."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:















More Videos

"Closing the distance means more than connecting with customers—it means connecting better across your own team."
Monty HammontreeThe Future of UX Research (Videoconference)
December 3, 2020

"There have been deadly fights in clinics as locals assumed refugee children were favored, exposing deeper systemic issues."
Liz EbengoThe Burden on Children: The Cost of Insufficient Post-Conflict Services and Pathways Forward
December 4, 2024

"I like thick markers for sketching because they keep you high level and prevent you from diving into details too early."
Billy CarlsonTips to Utilize Wireframes to Tell an Effective Product Story
June 6, 2023

"Design operations is designing how we design, and inclusive design is design ops we need to be intentional about."
Saara Kamppari-MillerInclusive Design is DesignOps
September 29, 2021

"People care so much about titles, but honestly, I’d prefer the star-bellied sneak on the business card."
Ian SwinsonDesigning and Driving UX Careers
June 8, 2016

"People assumed Facebook was always listening to their conversations because we didn’t clearly explain how and why the feature worked."
Jonathon ColmanHow to Maximize the Impact of Content Design
January 8, 2024

"We need processes that accommodate design instead of designers becoming the hamster in the agile wheel."
Maria SkaadenContinuous Design: One eye on the horizon and the other on the next wave
November 8, 2018

"I copied and pasted that from GitHub back into ChatGPT, and now it's writing markdown formatted documentation for me."
Bryce Benton[Demo] AI-powered UX enhancement: Aligning GitHub documentation with USWDS at Austin Public Library
June 4, 2024

"People working in-house tend to be more satisfied with their income than those working on the agency side."
Marc FonteijnFirst Insights from the 2025 Service Design Salary(+) Report
December 4, 2024