Remote Work
Co-located
employees working in the same physical space
What are some ways to increase connection?
1. Build in small talk in meetings 2. Start the day with a standup and end with a wrap up 3. Suggest peer 1-1s 4. Create optional co-working time 5. Announce milestones 6. Schedule demo days 7. Rotate meeting facilitators 8. Hold virtual events 9. Have playful team contests
What can someone do to create boundaried work?
1. Designate a workspace 2. Create a start stop ritual 3. Create a wrap up ritual 4. Create commute replacement rewards
What are habits to help with over-communication?
1. Make your work visible 2. Create communication channel norms 3. Pull for feedback
What can you do to be a great remote producer?
1. Prioritize (use MITs) 2. Calendar block 3. Schedule breaks 4. Use pomodoros
What's different about working remotely?
1. Work visibility: This sometimes creates lags, miscommunication, or micro-management/trust issues 2. Delayed feedback loops: Since work is often done asynchronously, feedback can take longer to give and receive. As a result, progress and learning can slow. 3. Contextual cues: When in-person, we can see that someone is busy in a meeting or doing other stuff. When at a distance, it is hard to figure out the meaning of silence or lack of reply and hard to "hear" tone in written communication. 4. Isolation: Working remotely can feel, well... remote. Without a deliberate dedication to building connection, a feeling of disconnect can seep in. 5. Workflow: Each time you start to work in a new place, your brain will need to create a set of triggers and sequences to become productive. At home, you'll have to handle new types of distraction - family, pets, TV, loved ones, etc. all around you.
What do the best remote employees do differently with their set up?
1. Workspace: screen eye level, ergonomic set up 2. Internet skills: Tech support, speed test, options, hardwire, hotspot 3. Headset
Satellite
2 or more people or teams working in different offices
Fully distributed
All employees are remote, working from individual locations
What's the number one challenge with working remotely?
Burnout - toggling between worrying about not doing enough to overworking
What's one thing managers can do to avoid miscommunication?
Context statements.
what is one strategy managers can deploy to increase certainty and alignment in communication?
Create a channel map
What's one idea to create more inclusivity with remote workers?
Create a shared remote vocabulary
What's the solution for butt-in-seat management?
Define success in terms of outcomes versus hours whenever possible to create a results-based environment
How should managers help with their team's time management and accountability?
Define what success looks like
What does research show about teams who work in bursts?
One std increase in "burstiness" increases team performance by 29%
What's one of the benefits of doing a round robin?
Research shows that when folks speak up early on, they're more likely to participate later
What does designing work for bustiness mean?
Switching between solo work and work where folks are exchanging ideas, sharing challenges and successes
What's "butt-in-seat" management?
monitoring (or wondering) if employees are putting in the required amount of hours.
What is the mere exposure effect?
simply seeing employee's images promotes trust, liking, and bonding.
Hybrid
some employees are co-located, some are remote
What does having a consistent 1:1 help solve for?
visibility, asking questions, increase certainty, share challenges