Superside CEO Fredrik Thomassen
In recent years, remote work has become more common as companies increasingly embrace technology and flexible working arrangements. Yet, despite the rise of this trend and greater access to digital technologies, the challenges of managing remote teams remain for many entrepreneurs.
Fredrik Thomassen, CEO and co-founder of Superside believes that good management is even more critical in a remote context. For Thomassen, maintaining and managing a remote workforce requires more than finding the right people — it's about creating a culture, company values, and processes supporting a high-quality customer experience.
The team developed a subscription model to build Superside into the success story it is today. It focused on full-time personnel, giving customers savings and providing an efficient, productized solution. The pandemic has illustrated the importance of AI and automation, and Fredrik is optimistic about its potential.
Taking inspiration from how automation has been used for projects such as banner ads and illustrations, Fredrik believes that AI can amplify human creativity and minimize time spent on tasks. On the other hand, there is the potential existential risk posed by AI, being the cause of job losses, as well as ethical and moral considerations, making it essential to consider the implications of automation.
Fredrik instead focuses on encouraging collaboration and prioritizing tasks to ensure that employees are working on relevant tasks that remain enjoyable and maintain flexible practices. He says that having "positive contributions in the work environment, regardless of whether my employees are meeting physically or working remotely," is fundamental to Superside's success.
To keep the team connected, Thomassen suggested having dedicated Slack channels with topics that expand beyond work conversations to keep connected in real-time. This also amplifies regular team-building events, such as online training, language clubs, reading clubs, and book clubs. Ultimately, Fredrik believes that providing tools for feedback and communication and enhancing the overall remote working experience can often catalyze successful remote teams.
With AI automation increasingly graduating from the realm of science fiction to reality, how companies will integrate automation into their processes and operations remains to be seen. However, CEOs such as Fredrik Thomassen have established best practices such as focusing on management, values, and processes, encouraging collaboration, and providing feedback that can help foster an efficient, productive, and positive remote team. Ultimately, these tactics are helping support remote work and realize its potential to provide greater access and equal opportunities globally.