What it like to take a company with 3,000 employees distributed across 25 offices and make it fully remote with just a few weeks& notice? I hopped on a call with Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson to hear about how their transition has gone so far, and what he learned from the process. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson Remote work isn&t brand-new for Twilio; as with a lot of software companies, many employees have worked remotely.

But it still a massive shift: Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Lawson says around 10% of the company worked remotely.

Today, it everyone. &For a company like us to go from partially virtual to fully virtual in a short period of time,& he says, &it not without its hiccups, but it has worked pretty well.& Things are weird for everyoneright now, so compassion is key Shifting to remote work might make things feel different for a while — but those differences pale in comparison to the other changes people are coping with in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. &I think the fact that you are distributed is lesser than the fact that you&re like, not allowed to go outside,& says Lawson.

&You&re worried about friends and family and you&re reading the news… those things are more impactful.&