The Remote Work Revolution: Alexandra Erman of BforeAI On Building Strong Cultures in a Digital World
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Focus on outcomes, not activity. At BforeAI, we operate on a “trust by default” philosophy with a mindset of “forgiveness rather than permission.” Rather than monitoring when people log on or how many messages they send, we set clear expectations about deliverables and give teams autonomy in how they achieve them.
The remote work revolution has transformed how we think about work, but it has also raised important questions about maintaining culture and connection in a virtual world. To explore this important topic, we are interviewing Alexandra Erman.
Experienced and visionary People and Human Resources leader with a proven track record in navigating high-growth, dynamic environments and enhancing the people function within startup ecosystems, bringing a strategic, entrepreneurial approach to driving results in hyper-growth settings, specializing in technology and SaaS companies. Her expertise extends to cultivating people-centric cultures, while managing diverse, distributed, global remote teams. She is passionate about prioritizing employee well-being, fostering a supportive environment, and emphasizing psychological safety that enables individuals to unleash their fullest potential.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began working with remote or hybrid teams?
I have been working remotely for 20 years, so I have plenty of stories, but this one comes to mind. In August 2019, I joined StreamSets, which had its HQ in San Francisco. I was looking for an in-office experience, being with colleagues physically and going to an office in town every day. I enjoyed it very much, as well as the weekly “work from home Wednesdays”. It seems that the world had other plans, 7 months in and we were locked-in for Covid, we never went back to the office. I guess I was destined for a home office.
You are a successful leader in the remote work space. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Adaptability: whether remote or not, I think it’s one of my strongest skills. The start-up world is unforgiving for people who cannot adapt to constant change. For us in the People function, the key is to be able to adapt HR operations to the model of the company. With BforeAI, rather than trying to impose traditional structures, or even remote work structures, I adapted our HR operations to fit our unique global footprint.
- Strategic mindset: Building a people function for a distributed cybersecurity company required thinking beyond immediate needs. When developing our HR infrastructure, I created a system that could scale with our growth — implementing a dual management model that separated technical leadership from people management. This wasn’t just solving today’s problems but anticipating tomorrow’s challenges.
- Global mindset: Having worked remotely in global roles since 2006, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for cultural nuances. At BforeAI, this translated into creating truly equitable systems rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. The nature of our operations forces us to build comprehensive asynchronous documentation and have every meeting recorded and stored, ensuring those who can’t attend live never miss critical information. This global perspective enables me to create truly borderless operations where no regional perspective dominates our culture.
Instead of defaulting to Western or Silicon Valley norms, we’ve built systems that draw on diverse approaches to work, communication, and collaboration. This has proven invaluable in avoiding the common pitfall of treating some locations as “headquarters” and others as “satellite offices” — at BforeAI, every team member sits at the center of our organization, regardless of where they call home.
Let’s now dive into the focus of our interview. When the shift to remote work became widespread, what was the biggest challenge you faced in maintaining a strong workplace culture? How did you address it?
A strong workplace culture does not depend on whether we’re in the same office or not. It is the consequence of having a compelling mission and consistent values, fostering psychological safety, trust and transparency. Culture derives from behaviors, leadership style, policies, and practices and a compensation philosophy that are equitable, just and fair. Culture is role clarity, clear expectations, a career path that is motivating. Clear and consistent communication, how we build trust, how we foster a sense of community and teamwork. How we recognize and reward employee achievements. How we approach feedback and employee development. None of this has to do with proximity or remoteness.
At StreamSets, we had 50% of our workforce in an office and 50% remote so the key there centered around how we support employees who suddenly find themselves working from home when they never had and it was not their first choice. We made all social events virtual, we checked on them intentionally and it ended up working really well.
At BforeAI it’s very different, our challenge wasn’t transitioning to remote work — we were born distributed. Instead, it is scaling our culture intentionally as we grow.
What are some of the unique challenges that remote or hybrid teams face when it comes to creating a sense of connection and belonging?
They can’t just go meet at the coffee machine for sure. Connecting requires intentional effort. We organize one big event a year when we all meet and spend 5 days together. There is also one team meeting per year for most teams.
We are implementing structured touchpoints like our virtual coffee chats and Cozy Juicy Real sessions scheduled at different times of the day to cater to all time zones. We have a very active Slack engagement.
I’d add that another major challenge is the absence of those visual cues we take for granted in an office. You can’t see when someone’s having a rough day or celebrating a win. We’ve had to create explicit channels for sharing personal and professional moments — from dedicated Slack channels for wins to virtual celebrations for major milestones.
Cultural differences also become more pronounced in a remote setting. We have team members who won’t appear on camera due to cultural preferences, others in conflict zones with unstable connections, and various approaches to work hours based on local customs. Navigating these differences while creating cohesion requires constant awareness and adjustment.
The final challenge I’d highlight is onboarding — helping new team members feel connected from day one without the natural immersion of an office environment. We’ve countered this with our “buddy system” where every new hire gets paired with an experienced team member outside their functional area, creating cross-functional relationships from the start.
What tools or technologies have you found most effective in fostering communication, collaboration, and team alignment in a remote setting?
Beyond standard tools like Slack, our HRIS system customized for distributed teams, and extensive Confluence documentation create our operational backbone. However, tools are secondary to processes — like our systematic onboarding with automated task assignments. Confluence is also set to alert all staff to changes and updates. We use Gatheround for our monthly all-hands, a meeting platform that is interactive and allows instant surveys and highlights speakers in a timed manner. We use Flint for performance management, also interactive, it allows us to manage our 1:1s, create journal entries and set and track goals.
What role does leadership play in building and sustaining a strong company culture in a remote or hybrid work environment?
Leadership plays an absolutely crucial role in remote environments because culture can’t rely on physical spaces or spontaneous interactions — it must be intentionally designed and consistently reinforced. Remote leadership requires a balance between providing structure and embracing flexibility. Too much structure kills the autonomy that makes remote work effective, while too little creates chaos. Remote leaders need to be over communicators and examples of clarity and transparency.
What advice would you give to leaders who are struggling to maintain employee engagement and motivation in a fully remote workforce?
I would want to first ask them a question: Are they trying to replicate in-office experience in a remote setting? What was their baseline? Were they maintaining employee engagement and motivation in the in-office setting? Start there. Many leaders make the mistake of trying to force-fit traditional office practices into remote environments.
My advice would be:
- Focus on outcomes over activity. Trust your team by measuring what they accomplish, not how visibly busy they appear.
- Establish clear communication rhythms. Remote work thrives on predictability. Set regular one-on-ones, team meetings, and company-wide updates that employees can count on.
- Create intentional social times. Virtual coffee breaks, weekly games or activities, workshops, anything virtual that creates connections beyond work.
I’d also add that you need to unite behind a meaningful mission. At BforeAI, we’re literally crime fighters using AI to predict and preempt cyberattacks. When your team understands the real impact of their work, location becomes irrelevant to purpose. This shared mission creates intrinsic motivation that goes far beyond what any ping-pong table could provide.
Another crucial element is psychological safety. In a remote environment, you can’t rely on reading the room or casual check-ins. You need to create explicit systems for people to raise concerns, share ideas, and take risks without fear. Our dual management model helps with this by giving people multiple channels for support and feedback.
Finally, don’t forget the power of recognition in a distributed team. When people aren’t physically visible, their work can become invisible too. Create regular rituals to highlight contributions across the organization. We use our All Hands meetings and dedicated Slack channels to ensure achievements are celebrated across every time zone.
Ok, let’s explore actionable insights. Based on your experience, can you share “5 Strategies to Build a Strong Workplace Culture in a Remote Work Environment”? If you can, please include examples or stories for each.
1. Focus on outcomes, not activity. At BforeAI, we operate on a “trust by default” philosophy with a mindset of “forgiveness rather than permission.” Rather than monitoring when people log on or how many messages they send, we set clear expectations about deliverables and give teams autonomy in how they achieve them.
2. Create intentional connection rituals. We have a “coffee machine” channel in Slack and implemented a weekly “conveer”. People interact by answering on a personal topic, that builds connections. We have several standing social times via Google Meet and we’ve set them at different times of the day so that anyone from the team can join at least once a week. One of the meetups is for a social game called “Cozy Juicy Real” that provides structured opportunities through carefully-crafted prompts that stimulate authentic connection. These aren’t forced fun or awkward virtual happy hours — they’re thoughtfully designed touchpoints that build relationships.
3. Build with equity as a foundation. We provide flexible time off (20–25 days) for all but actively track usage, ensuring everyone takes time regardless of local requirements. We encourage people to take their time off. This creates a culture where rest is valued across all regions, not just those with legal minimums.
4. Foster extreme awareness of diversity. Operating globally means navigating everything from prayer times to conflict zones. We need to respect that some team members would not participate in music-themed socials due to religious observations. We need to be aware, when we meet, that some people prefer not to be touched for religious reasons. We also announce and celebrate everyone’s holidays, creating learning opportunities about different cultures while ensuring everyone feels seen.
5. Unite behind a meaningful mission. Our cybersecurity mission acts as a powerful alignment tool. During our annual retreat, we shared specific examples of how our technology prevented attacks, connecting everyone’s daily work to tangible outcomes. This creates intrinsic motivation that transcends location — whether someone is working from Sweden or Sri Lanka, they know they’re part of something meaningful.
How do you strike the balance between flexibility (one of the main benefits of remote work) and ensuring accountability and productivity?
I fundamentally believe flexibility, accountability, and productivity aren’t opposing forces — they’re actually complementary when structured properly. At BforeAI, we’ve found that giving people control over when and how they work directly enhances their productivity rather than diminishing it. The key is focusing on outcomes rather than activities.
The accountability comes through regular check-ins and transparent progress tracking. We use tools that make work visible without micromanaging how it gets done. This structure provides the scaffolding within which flexibility can flourish. When people can align their work with their natural rhythms and personal circumstances, they actually deliver better results more consistently. By measuring what matters — outcomes — rather than when someone is online, we’ve built a culture where flexibility and accountability reinforce rather than undermine each other.
What trends or innovations in remote work are you most excited about, and how do you see them shaping the future of workplace culture?
I’m particularly excited about the evolution of asynchronous-first tools that are truly designed for distributed teams rather than just digitizing office-centric workflows. We’re finally seeing collaboration platforms that don’t just replicate meetings online but fundamentally rethink how work gets documented, shared, and built upon across time zones. Atlassian has been setting the trend for years now.
The improvement in global employment infrastructure is another game-changer. I used to work with several trusted EORs to cover the globe, now I have one effective and efficient partner and their platform has a wonderful UI, no more email exchanges etc.
AI, in all its forms but for us mainly 2 things:
- A simple Chatgpt, Gemini or Claude, for real-time translations that bridge language barriers.
- SurePeople: Everyone takes the Prism® assessment, providing the richest and most nuanced understanding of how we, and those around us, are naturally wired. We then use SureAdvice and SureMessage in Slack to foster more effective communication. SurePeople helps us get our points across by suggesting how to craft messages based on the recipient’s personality and their preferred ways of receiving information and feedback. In a distributed environment where we lose non-verbal cues, this tool has been invaluable for reducing misunderstandings and strengthening connections.
Perhaps most exciting is the shift in how we think about workplace equity. Remote-first companies are pioneering new approaches to compensation, benefits, and career development that focus on creating equivalent value rather than identical experiences across regions. This more nuanced understanding of equity is creating workplaces that are simultaneously more global and more locally responsive.
These innovations collectively point toward a future where distributed work isn’t just a compromise or adaptation, but a genuinely superior approach for certain industries and roles — offering better talent access, more diverse perspectives, and greater resilience than traditional models could ever achieve.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people through better remote work cultures, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Maybe something around “Chronodiversity”, true flexibility around when work happens, focusing on outcomes rather than hours logged. It would promote tools and practices that support asynchronous collaboration while maintaining connectivity. It would challenge the outdated assumption that simultaneous presence equals productivity or commitment.
How can our readers further follow you online?
I am quite active on LinkedIn.
This was great. Thank you so much for the time you spent sharing with us.
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur and Thought Leader with over 25 years of business experience. He has founded, operated, and exited multiple companies and now builds into a handful of high impact CEOs. Chad has launched multiple online communities, including a recent leadership development platform, and also serves as a strategic advisor for Authority Magazine’s thought-leader incubator program.
To learn more and connect with Chad visit: chadsilverstein.io
The Remote Work Revolution: Alexandra Erman of BforeAI On Building Strong Cultures in a Digital… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.