Remote, Together: Craft and Collaboration Across Disciplines, Borders, Time Zones, and a Design Org of 170+
Summary
We not only instituted ceremonies and best practices that have proven to successfully accelerate shared learnings in the last 2 years, we continually optimize those practices, as changes inevitably present themselves. In this talk, we’ll take a closer look at the practices in Wayfair’s Supplier space (also known as Partners), which has 50+ team members.
Key Insights
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Wayfair’s Global Experience Design team stretches across six locations and speaks 27 languages, requiring mindful and inclusive collaboration strategies.
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Traditional in-office rituals like sticky notes and whiteboard sessions did not translate well to remote work, prompting new collaboration methods.
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The team intentionally designed rituals to avoid screen fatigue and to be inclusive across time zones and cultures.
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Collectives, or communities of practice, allow individuals with shared interests to deepen skills and support each other organically.
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Formal growth programs, like a nine-week UI growth course and the Research Empowerment Program, provide structured skill development and build confidence.
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Informal 'coffee chat' bots pair team members randomly every two weeks to recreate spontaneous in-person connections and cross-team knowledge sharing.
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Biweekly show and tell sessions encourage sharing work-in-progress to foster alignment and build presentation confidence without critique pressure.
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Small design review sessions (XD Collabs) create tighter networks offering deeper, ongoing feedback among peers.
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Global meetings (GXT quarterly all-hands, mentorship programs, and internal mobility initiatives) strengthen company unity and career growth.
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Intentional experimentation, feedback collection, and willingness to scrap ineffective rituals are key to balancing connection and deep work in a distributed team.
Notable Quotes
"I love analog as much as I love digital—physical analog and digital coexist for me."
"One day we were in the office, the next day suddenly remote—there was no choice but to adapt."
"Sticky notes and whiteboards just wouldn’t translate online, so our collaboration rituals had to change."
"We were like islands with no bridges, trying to connect while remote, but it wasn’t so easy."
"Sharing unbaked pots and showing vulnerability is central to our process—it helps us collaborate through uncertainty."
"The coffee chat bot pairs two people every two weeks with no agenda, just like a kitchen chat that wouldn’t happen in remote life."
"Show and tells are not critiques, they’re chances to share progress and practice presentation without pressure."
"We broke those islands; now everyone’s connected, which deepens empathy for our suppliers and their journeys."
"Wayfair’s design team is design thinking led, inspiring other functions to form communities and grow together."
"We’re not afraid to scrap rituals that don’t work anymore to protect time for deep work and be mindful of team energy."
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