Distributed teams — i.e. companies with employees spread over multiple locations, whether in small branch offices or working remotely — are on their way to becoming a new normal. Nearly one in five people are currently part of a distributed workforce. Before the end of the decade, an estimated three-quarters of companies will have distributed teams.

I’ve had plenty of firsthand experience here. Hootsuite has a dozen offices around the world, from Vancouver to New York, London and beyond. The huge upside is that we’re able to reach a global customer base, in their language, in their time zone, on their terms. But building team spirit across offices on different continents, not to mention handling workflow, is no small task.