On this episode of Minimum Viable Podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Tal Saraf, Head of Corporate Engineering at Atlassian. With a career spanning heavyweights like Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, and Meta, Tal knows about building and scaling world-class products. But what really caught my attention was his experience the forefront of distributed collaboration for years, even before the pandemic upended everything. Tal has a unique perspective on what it takes to foster a thriving, connected culture when your team is scattered across time zones.
Our conversation centered around a theme of navigating this new world of remote work without losing what makes your company, well, your company. Tal shared a wealth of practical strategies for not just surviving but thriving in remote settings. From reimagining onboarding to driving efficiency with reusable components, he painted a picture of a future where distributed teams aren't just getting by, but where they are actually able to be more effective. And the best part? These aren't just lofty theories—they're tested practices that Atlassian has put into action with incredible results.
So if you're looking for fresh ideas and proven tactics to take your remote team to the next level, this episode is for you.
Check out the full episode here:
And for a taste of my conversation with Tal, here are 5 takeaways that really resonated with me:
When the world went remote, Atlassian had to completely rethink their onboarding approach. Tal explains:
"We went from in-person onboarding to overnight, literally, how do we ship laptops [...] to everyone's house, regardless of where the person is."
Onboarding is a make-or-break moment in the employee journey. It sets the tone for everything that follows. By adapting their processes to work in a remote setting, Atlassian has been able to ensure that new team members feel supported, engaged, and set up for success from day one, no matter where they're located.
Remote work comes with a lot of flexibility, but it can also be isolating. That's why Tal emphasizes the importance of creating opportunities for connection:
"We've gone from everybody's in the office all the time to what we call team anywhere, where we do have intentional togetherness."
"Intentional togetherness" means making a deliberate effort to bring people together, whether it's through in-person events like team camps or virtual bonding experiences. When you're working remotely, it's all too easy to feel like just another face on a Zoom call. By carving out space for genuine human connection and collaboration, leaders can help combat the loneliness and siloing that can come with remote work.
For Tal, customer centricity is no joke—it's a core value that guides decision-making at every level no matter where your employees are located. He sums it up with his colorful motto:
"Don't fk the customer really, really matters… at least for me don't fk the customer means I need to understand the customer."
What does it actually mean to put the customer first? It starts with deep empathy and a genuine commitment to understanding customers' needs, challenges, and goals. It's about walking a mile in their shoes. By making this perspective central to everything they do, teams can create products and experiences that truly hit the mark. This can sometimes be more challenging when you aren’t meeting face-to-face, but that just means you need to be even more intentional about the process.
Experimentation and rapid iteration are essential for innovation, but Tal notes that it's equally important to balance this with investing in a strong foundation:
"It's okay to experiment and get enough signal to say, 'Does this matter? Is this something we can build on top of?' But it's important to have the right foundation in place to ensure you have the proper scaffolding."
When you're under pressure to move fast and ship, it can be tempting to cut corners. But taking the time to lay a solid architectural groundwork pays off in the long run. Just like building a house, you need a stable foundation to build upon. Get that right, and you'll have a platform that can scale and adapt as your needs evolve, without everything crashing down around you. This is especially crucial in a remote setting, where clear structures and processes can help keep everyone aligned and working towards the same goals, even when they're not in the same room.
One way Atlassian enables efficient development is by leveraging a robust platform and reusable components. Tal explains:
"We can take the same design patterns, and we can reapply them. And you can, in a world of code contribution, and I think this is one of the things that [Atlassian] likes to talk about.. is developer joy. And part of that is code contribution, right?"
By building on a shared library of well-designed, battle-tested components, teams can move faster and focus on solving new problems rather than reinventing the wheel. And in a remote setting, this efficiency is more crucial than ever. With a solid foundation of reusable components and clear design patterns, distributed teams can spend less time on groundwork and more time collaborating on the real challenges, all while maintaining a cohesive user experience across products. It's a small thing that can make a big difference in keeping remote teams aligned and productive.
