Long before the pandemic increased the popularity of remote work, employers at telecom company Calix for years could work from virtually anywhere, says Parul Kapoor, chief talent and culture officer.
Kapoor shares what it takes to make a remote workforce truly successful. Calix, based in San Jose, California, provides software, systems and managed services to broadband service providers.
What best practices have you found effective for building and maintaining a successful remote workforce?
Since adopting our work-from-anywhere model in 2016, we’ve refined our strategies to keep our teams connected and thriving. Effective leadership is at the heart of this model. Our leaders prioritize accessibility, building trust and encourage a feedback-rich environment, which is essential in a remote setting.
We empower our employees to drive adaptability and innovation, ensuring our practices evolve with the needs of our employees. A key element is our focus on mentorship and coaching, which ensures that every employee feels heard and valued, contributing to a supportive and inclusive culture.
Technology plays a critical role in our employees’ success. For example, tools that support asynchronous communication help us manage time zone differences and maintain productivity. We also use Vibe, a virtual whiteboarding tool so that we can collaborate from anywhere. At Calix, we’re always exploring how technology, such as how AI, can create new opportunities for professional growth.
When possible, we encourage in-person connections with meetups and intentional team building, and community activities to foster a sense of belonging. We hold Calix Leadership Summits twice a year, where we bring together 400 leaders across the globe to engage, network, learn and share insights.
How do you create and nurture a sense of connection among mostly remote team members at Calix?
I’m particularly passionate about building and nurturing a sense of connection in a remote environment. At Calix, we cultivate engagement, maintain open communication and recognize achievements. This is more than just about staying connected—it’s about creating a community where everyone feels included and valued.
For example, we give managers the autonomy to personalize recognition for their team members, which makes a huge difference. Instead of generic gift cards, we encourage them to tailor rewards to what their employees genuinely enjoy, making the recognition more meaningful. We also use Espresa, an employee rewards and recognition app, to encourage peer awards and forums to simply say thank you.
We emphasize regular one-on-one check-ins to offer personalized support and strengthen individual connections. Virtual team-building activities, like virtual coffee chats with colleagues and community service projects, are integral in encouraging camaraderie.
Our employee resource groups play a significant role in organizing virtual events that celebrate diversity and build connections, such as cooking classes and wellness sessions, allowing us to connect on a personal level beyond work tasks.
Can you share the best practices and programs you’ve implemented for employee training and leadership development at Calix?
At Calix, continuous learning is in our DNA. Our philosophy is that learning is an employee’s responsibility, and our job is to provide all the tools and programs to help them develop professionally at Calix. As a result, we’ve developed a comprehensive suite of just-in-time training and development programs and workshops that are customized for individuals and teams.
Our programs include live and on-demand training sessions on management fundamentals, communication, cultural sensitivity, executive coaching and more. Our leadership development programs have three key pillars—leading self, leading others and leading leaders—with business-focused training to help develop the next line of talent.
We believe in interactive learning, so we incorporate discussions and breakout sessions to make the experience engaging and impactful. We also offer access to a variety of online courses and learning resources through Coursera, Harvard Business Review, Economist, MasterClass, Audible and Blinkist.
Central to our development strategy are scalable, upward feedback tools to develop leaders and individual contributors. These include one-on-one coaching sessions and training programs assigned based on upward feedback, which provide employees with tailored guidance to help them align with their career paths. Additionally, we encourage employee-led learning initiatives, allowing team members to share their expertise and insights, which fosters a collaborative learning culture.
How important is it to prioritize employee well-being, and what initiatives does Calix have in place to support this?
Employee well-being is not just a nice-to-have, it is essential for our employees and is foundational to our success—especially since we are remote first. At Calix, we approach employee well-being holistically across four key buckets:
Emotional well-being. We have flexible work schedules to support a healthy work-life balance, and initiatives like mindfulness programs and resilience training to help our teams manage stress and build coping skills. We offer mental health resources and support to encourage employees to prioritize their mental well-being, such as the Unmind app to help employees improve their mental health with self-guided learning and bite-sized boosts and Unmind Talk to provide access to a global network of mental health practitioners. In addition, we have implemented wellness days, recharge days and productivity days, which are designated to be meeting-free.
Social well-being. We have created social networks within Calix to help cultivate a sense of belonging through meetups and community service programs and ERGs.
Financial well-being. We have ongoing seminars on topics such as making sound financial decisions, utilizing our employee stock purchase plan, managing debt and how to save, among other topics. Our employee assistance programs provide a wide range of support, including financial counseling and crisis intervention, ensuring that our employees have the resources they need to thrive both personally and professionally.
Physical well-being. We frequently host fitness challenges and nutrition programs to promote physical health. We also offer wellness days and recharge days for employees to prioritize their health.
