Working Remotely and Managing Remote Teams
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This document discusses managing remote teams and working remotely. It outlines some of the benefits of remote work such as flexibility and lack of commute, but also challenges like loneliness and lack of separation between work and home life. It provides recommendations for remote workers like using tools to support focus and scheduling exercise. It also provides tips for companies managing remote teams, such as transparent communication, thorough hiring processes, prioritizing trust and mental health.
Working Remotely and Managing Remote Teams
- 1. Working Remotely and Managing Remote Teams Charles Humble
- 3. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ibm-a-pioneer-of-remote-work-calls- workers-back-to-the-office-1495108802 The 105-year-old technology giant is quietly dismantling its popular decades-old remote work program to bring employees back into offices, a move it says will improve collaboration and accelerate the pace of work.
- 4. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ibm-a-pioneer-of-remote-work-calls- workers-back-to-the-office-1495108802 The 105-year-old technology giant is quietly dismantling its popular decades-old remote work program to bring employees back into offices, a move it says will improvecollaborationand acceleratethepaceofwork.
- 5. http://allthingsd.com/20130222/physically-together-heres-the- internal-yahoo-no-work-from-home-memo-which-extends-beyond- remote-workers/ Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.
- 7. @charleshumble ! Have done most things in IT from desktop support to CTO ! First managed a team in 1997 ! Became editor-in-chief of InfoQ in 2014 ! Also play in a band
- 8. ! Remote only company with a unique culture ! InfoQ operates world-wide with an audience of around 1.5 million ! 7 QCons around the world Why this talk
- 9. A talk of two halves ! Things you need to be aware of if you work remotely ! Things you can do to make remote team-work work for people who work for you or at your company
- 10. Remote working upsides ! If you are an introvert, or on the autism spectrum, not having to always interact with people face to face can be liberating ! Working remotely means that you can flex your work around your life more
- 11. Remote working upsides ! No commute ! Amazing peace and quiet meaning you can really concentrate and do proper deep work ! A work environment that you can tailor to your own personal needs
- 12. But … ! Being able to flex your work time around your life also means you need to be very, very disciplined about actually doing work
- 13. Mitigations ! Some sort of time management system
- 14. Omnifocus
- 15. Pomodoro ! Helpful when you need to blast through something (like email): ! Choose a task ! Set a timer for 25 minutes ! Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings ! Take a short break ! Every 4 pomodoros, take a longer break
- 16. ! Some sort of time management systems ! Two smart phones Mitigations
- 17. Video: 1982: Pebble Mill at One: Roald Dahl https://www.facebook.com/ bbcfour/videos/474640292909006/
- 18. ! Amazing peace and quiet when you can really concentrate and do proper deep work
- 19. ! Amazing peace and quiet when you can really concentrate and do proper deep work ! Hmmm….
- 20. Hmmm…
- 21. Mitigations ! You probably need a company-wide communication policy ! “Do not disturb” is your friend
- 22. Deep Work ! Bill Gates famously conducted “think weeks” twice a year
- 23. Deep Work ! Bill Gates famously conducted “think weeks” twice a year ! It was during a 1995 Think week that Gates wrote his famous “Internet Tidal Wave” memo that turned Microsoft’s attention to Netscape.
- 24. If you are interested in exploring this topic more I recommend reading Deep Work by Carl Newport
- 25. But … ! No commute means less time for reading/listening to podcasts/whatever it is you do on your commute ! Less exercise: you won’t be walking to the bus/ train/office
- 26. Mitigations ! Schedule time for yourself to, for example, go for a walk/run every day ! Get a fitness tracker
- 27. Mitigations ! Schedule time for yourself to, for example, go for a walk/run every day ! Get a fitness tracker
- 28. A big win for remote work ! A work environment that you can tailor to your own personal needs ! I have worked in some truly terrible offices
- 30. Sign me up ! Look into how much it might cost ○ Is your computer up to the task? Do you have a decent monitor? Keyboard? ○ Do you have/can you get high speed internet? ○ How much is a good office chair?
- 31. Loneliness ! Can be a real problem. ! Make your social life (and your family) a real priority. ! Also pets can help.
- 33. Loneliness ! Can be a real problem. Pets can help ! There are a lot of aspects of C4 Media’s organizational design which specifically help with this
- 34. Make remote work work Upsides for a remote company: ○ Your overheads are low ○ If you get your hiring right your employees are happier and more productive ○ You can hire the best people because location is largely irrelevant
- 35. Hiring Location isn’t entirely irrelevant ○ Some countries have very complex tax regimes you need to understand ○ Not all locations have decent internet (even in the UK!) ○ Timezones can be a problem at scale
- 36. Hiring Interviewing remotely is particularly hard: ○ Have a probation period of, say, 3 months ○ For key hires fly them somewhere and meet in person ○ Have a really robust onboarding process
- 37. Trust These are C4 Media’s core values: ○ Transparency ○ Integrity ○ Mastering ○ Service ○ Accountability
- 38. Transparency can create a shared sense of purpose We have a one page business plan and a set of dashboards in Google that are open to everyone in the company
- 39. Communication: meetings At C4 we’ve found the following meetings useful: ○ Standups / daily huddle ○ 1-2 weekly departmental calls ○ Tertile planning ○ Annual all hands
- 40. Meeting rituals ! Check in ! Meetings should be conducted on video if at all possible ! The core protocols are helpful here https://www.infoq.com/minibooks/high-performance-teams
- 41. One on one meetings ! One on one meetings are sacrosanct ! A one on one is not a status meeting ! Try to keep notes in a shared document
- 42. Tools ! Slack for IM – I also use this for daily journaling ! Zoom for video conferencing ! Workplace for “water cooler” like chat ! Google Docs for remote collaboration ! 15Five for weekly private retrospectives
- 44. Wrapping up ! For both employee and employer remote work requires intentional design to work well ! Separate home from work - through physical separation, for example ! Prioritise mental health - social life, exercise, taking breaks
- 45. Wrapping up ! Both the company, and its managers, need to exhibit transparency and be prepared to be vulnerable
- 46. Books that influenced us
- 47. Thanks for listening Twitter: @charleshumble Email: charles@infoq.com Writing: https://www.infoq.com/profile/Charles-Humble Music: http://www.twofish-music.com/