Director of Engineering at Trustly on Remote Teams

At Web Summit 2021, we connected with Christianne N. De Carvalho, Director of Engineering and General Manager at Trustly, a Swedish FinTech company whose mission is to help customers pay online directly from their bank accounts. She shared her insights on what it takes to make a global team productive, successful, and happy.

Respect is fundamental when working remotely

The Trustly team works across a couple of different countries, including Sweden, Portugal, Brazil, and the US. Christianne tells us that their biggest challenges are related to working across continents, cultures, and time zones. This was true before the pandemic, and it remains true now. 

The key to making things work at Trustly is, not surprisingly, trust. Christianne stresses that everyone at the company strives to be honest about who they are and straightforward about what they need. Trustly prioritizes teamwork and building a culture of acceptance and respect. They also ensure team members have the right tools that give everyone a greater sense of camaraderie by helping them collaborate in real-time.

Diversity makes a team stronger

For Christianne, one of the things that always makes a team better is a diversity of cultures, people, and countries. Hiring globally provides Trustly with people who bring a mix of experiences, tools, and approaches, which adds real value to the organization. 

Diversity is better for customers, too. Another bonus to taking this global approach to hiring is that it helps Trustly better serve its customers. As with many online companies, customers expect around-the-clock support and that's especially true when it comes to their bank accounts. Having people who work in different time zones means more of each day is covered by staff, and that's a real benefit for the business and for the end-user.