Remote Operations Glossary
Your ultimate guide to the terminology of remote work, compliance, and global scale.
A
Agile Sprints
Short cycles of work where the team focuses on finishing a specific set of tasks. It keeps us moving fast and gives us regular goals.
Annualized Hours
A plan where you work a set number of hours per year instead of per week. This gives you more flexibility to work when you are most productive.
Async Daily Check-ins
Posting your status and roadblocks in a Slack channel instead of having a live meeting. It lets everyone catch up on their own time.
Asynchronous Communication
Messaging where you don't need a reply right away. This helps people work in different time zones without getting stuck.
At-Will Employment
A standard where you or the company can end the job at any time for any legal reason. It's how most US jobs work.
B
C
COBRA
A law that lets you keep your work health insurance for a while after you leave a job. You usually have to pay the full cost yourself.
Communication Charter
A simple guide that tells you which tool to use for which task. For example, use Slack for quick chats and Notion for long-term plans.
Context-Switching Cost
The mental energy you lose when you jump between different tasks. We try to limit this by batching meetings and quiet work time.
Crawl Budget
The number of pages Google scans on our site each day. Managing this helps our products show up better in search results.
Culture Camp
A part of onboarding where you learn our history, values, and weird habits. It helps you feel part of the team before you start your real tasks.
Cybervetting
Checking a candidate's online presence and digital footprint before hiring them. It's a key part of screening people we may never meet in person.
D
Deep Work
Long periods of focus on hard tasks without any interruptions. We value this over being "available" on Slack all day.
Definition of Done (DoD)
A clear list of things a task must have before we call it "finished." It stops people from turning in incomplete work.
Deprovisioning
Shutting off a departing person's access to all systems immediately. It's a critical step to keep our data safe.
Digital Presenteeism
Feeling like you have to stay "green" on Slack even when you aren't working. We focus on what you finish, not how long your status is active.
Digital Wellness
Taking breaks from your screen and setting boundaries for work apps. We want you to log off so you don't burn out.
E
Employer of Record (EOR)
A third-party company that hires staff for us in places where we aren't registered. They handle the local pay and taxes while we manage the work.
ERISA
A federal law that protects your retirement and health plan assets. It sets rules for how these plans must be managed.
Exempt vs. Non-Exempt
Categories that decide if a worker gets overtime pay. Exempt staff get a flat salary, while non-exempt staff get extra pay for extra hours.
F
Faceted Navigation
A feature that lets shoppers filter products by things like price or size. We have to test this carefully to make sure people can find what they want.
FMLA Eligibility
Your right to take unpaid leave for family or health reasons. For remote staff, it usually depends on how many people report to your main office.
H
Handbook-First
The rule that our handbook is the only place to find official info. If a policy changes, we update the book immediately so everyone can see it.
Headless CMS
A tool for managing content that can be sent to any device via an API. It lets marketing update the site without needing a developer every time.
Headless Commerce
Separating the store's look from the checkout engine. This lets the design team make changes without breaking the backend systems.
M
Merchant of Record (MoR)
A company that sells our products for us and handles all the tax and legal stuff. It lets us sell globally without a huge finance team.
Misclassification
Calling someone a contractor when they are actually an employee. This is illegal and can lead to big fines and back taxes.
Multiplexing
Moving between several different tasks without needing a manager to tell you what's next. It’s a key skill for working alone at home.
MVC (Minimum Viable Change)
Shipping the smallest possible update to see if it works. It's better to fix small things fast than to wait months for a big release.
N
Nexus (Economic)
A tax link created by making enough sales in a state. You don't need an office or staff there to trigger this.
Nexus (Physical)
A legal link to a state because an employee works there. If we have a worker in a state, we might owe taxes there.
Noble Failure
An idea that didn't work but gave us great data. We celebrate these failures because they help us learn what to do next.
P
Payment Gateway
The tech that sends credit card data from our store to the bank. It's just a tool, unlike an MoR which takes on the legal risk.
PIM (Product Information Management)
A central hub for all our product data. It makes sure the info on our site, app, and social media is always the same.
Provisioning
Automatically setting up all the accounts and tools a new hire needs. We aim to have this ready before your first day.
Psychological Safety
The feeling that you can speak up or make a mistake without being punished. It's how we stay creative and fix problems fast.
Public by Default
Keeping work chats in open channels instead of private direct messages. This lets everyone see the context and stay informed.
R
Regression Testing
Checking to see if a new code change broke anything that used to work. It’s a vital step for our tech teams to maintain quality.
Response SLA
A set of rules for how quickly we reply on different apps. It helps you focus on work without worrying about missing a message.
Right-to-Work
A law in some states that says you can't be forced to join a union to keep your job. It's often confused with at-will, but it's specifically about unions.
S
Shadow IT
Using software for work that the company hasn't approved. This can create big security holes we want to avoid.
Show and Tell
A short meeting where we show off hobbies or side projects. It's a fun way to get to know the person behind the screen.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
Using one login to get into all our work apps. It's safer and much easier than remembering 50 passwords.
Single Source of Truth (SSOT)
One specific doc or folder that holds the final version of any project or policy. It prevents people from following old or wrong info.
SOC2 Compliance
A security badge that shows we handle customer data safely. Big clients often won't work with us unless we have this.
Synchronous Communication
Talking in real-time, like on a video call. It's best for quick decisions or brainstorming ideas together.
V
W
W-2 vs. 1099
W-2s are regular employees, and 1099s are independent contractors. The main difference is how much control the company has over how the work gets done.
Washing Instructions
A personal doc that tells your team how you like to work. It might say "I hate morning meetings" or "Don't Slack me after 6 PM."
Watermelon SLA
A goal that looks fine on a chart but is actually failing. For example, a ticket was "closed" fast, but the user's problem wasn't solved.
Work-Life Integration
A style where you mix work and life tasks throughout the day. It’s okay to do laundry or walk the dog between meetings.