High-Performance Remote and Distributed Teams
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Past a certain size, many software organizations grow by looking beyond their headquarters to distributed sites and / or remote employees. Some organizations -- and almost every open source project -- have always been completely remote. What are the secrets of the organizations that use multiple localities and time zones to their advantage? Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. By leveraging employees around the nation or around the world, these organizations find better, more diverse, and more motivated employees. We discuss the organization itself - how to form teams, give them scope, and manage their growth. We discuss communication strategies for getting the best out of far-flung teams, as well as how to foster and maintain the human bonds and empathy critical to good work. You will take away actionable insights to help create -- or improve -- your remote teams.
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High-Performance Remote and Distributed Teams
- 1. Technology @randyshoup High- Performance Remote and Distributed TeamsRandy Shoup VP Engineering
- 3. Technology @randyshoup New York San Francisco Tel Aviv Shanghai Singapore Seattle Palo Alto WeWork’s Distributed Technology Teams Montréal Salt Lake City
- 5. Technology @randyshoup You do not often interact face-to-face with the people that you work with -- Dave Copeland, The Effective Remote Developer
- 6. Technology @randyshoup Organizations that are able to make remote working patterns effective will have a significant and growing competitive advantage. -- Martin Fowler, Remote versus Co-located Work
- 7. Technology @randyshoup Remoteness Spectrum Single site Multiple sites Remote-first
- 8. Technology @randyshoup Remoteness Spectrum Single site Multiple sites Remote-first (1995-2006)
- 10. Technology @randyshoup 1. Hiring and Onboarding
- 11. Technology @randyshoup Talent is evenly distributed; opportunity is not.
- 12. Technology @randyshoup People Benefits • Draw talent from entire nation / world • Supply and Demand • Parallel Hiring • Geographic Hedge Hire Across Geographies • Flexible location and work hours • Geographic and cultural diversity • Neurodiversity Diversity and Inclusion • Location • Employee Satisfaction • Productivity Retention
- 13. Technology @randyshoup People Challenges • Local recruiting norms • Local labor laws – hire, fire, severance Local Hiring • Local market compensation • Local compensation norms • Local benefits – medical care, pension • Local market currency fluctuations Local Compensation • Regulation • Taxation “nexus” Local Regulation
- 14. Technology @randyshoup Onboarding • Cohort bonding • Company / team culture Onsite • Role / team mentor • Culture mentor Mentor / Buddy System • Structured program • Recorded Deep Dives and introductions • WeWork Developer University Structured Onboarding
- 15. Technology @randyshoup 2. Employee Productivity and Health
- 16. Technology @randyshoup Productive Workspace • Video • Audio • Internet Connectivity Infrastructure • Comfortable desk, chair, etc. • Home office • Coworking space :-) Physical Space
- 17. Technology @randyshoup Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule -- Paul Graham, Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule Standup WORK Meeting WORK Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting Meeting
- 18. Technology @randyshoup Time Management • Respect maker – manager schedules • Develop a productive routine Flow Time • Meetings at “breaks” • Office Hours • Do Not Disturb • Consciously manage interrupts Setting boundaries
- 19. Technology @randyshoup Employee Benefits • Location • Commuting • Proximity to family, etc. Geographic Flexibility • Integrated home and work • Caregiving • Time flexibility Work-Life Balance • Flow time • Personalized work environment Productivity These benefits also apply to HQ employees, too!
- 20. Technology @randyshoup Employee Challenges • Regular travel • No commute == no exercise Geographic Flexibility • Integrated home and work • Time management • Solitude and Isolation • Mental health and social connection Work-Life Balance • Static work environment Productivity
- 21. Technology @randyshoup Managing Remote Teams • Empathy • Career advancement • Set an example Remote Managers • Clarity on goals, outcomes, priorities, tasks • Written communication • Time management and accountability Structure • 1:1s are sacrosanct, both direct and skip-level • Not a status meeting • Praise in public, correct in private Management Behaviors
- 22. Technology @randyshoup 3. Leveraging Remoteness
- 24. Technology @randyshoup Business / Domain Alignment <Business Domain> ● Aligned around a business problem ○ Clear goals and metrics … ○ … that matter to customers! ● Well-defined area of responsibility ○ Single application / service or set of related applications / services
- 25. Technology @randyshoup Leveraging Remote Teams • Single team is in a single site OR remote-first • Product Area can span sites; team cannot All Local OR All Remote • Local autonomy and control • No global “primary” Work Distribution
- 26. Technology @randyshoup Leveraging Remote Teams • Round-the-clock triage, progress, resolution • Oncall handoffs Follow the Sun • Local presence • Customer empathy • Local implementation / customization Close to Customers • Hiring and onboarding • Engineering practices • Tools and frameworks “Natural Experiments”
- 27. Technology @randyshoup Managing Time Zones • Optimize overlap times • Trade off inconvenience • Watch DMs at off hours Respect Time Zones • Working hours • Do Not Schedule • Flow time Respect Calendars
- 29. Technology @randyshoup The half-life of trust is six weeks -- Steve McConnell
- 30. Technology @randyshoup Critical Tools ● Video ● Chat ● Docs ● Source control ● Project tracking
- 31. Technology @randyshoup Communication Styles Written Communication In-person Conversation Slow Rapid Intentional Effortless Lower-bandwidth High-bandwidth Persistent Ephemeral Different places / times Same place / time
- 32. Technology @randyshoup 4. Communication - Written Communication
- 33. Technology @randyshoup What problem are you trying to solve?
- 34. Technology @randyshoup Effective Asynchronous Communication • Clarify the *why* • Clear structure • Straightforward language • Be careful about misinterpretation Clarity • Repetition • Repetition • Repetition Overcommunicate • Culture of “ask in public” • When in doubt, ask • Be open to feedback • Be specific about the feedback you want • Assume good intent Feedback
- 35. Technology @randyshoup 4. Communication - Meetings
- 36. Technology @randyshoup Meeting Discipline • Clearly state the purpose of the meeting • Pre-reads • Meeting template • Cancel meetings without agenda (!) Clarity • Actively moderate • Manage time and agenda • Expect people to come prepared Discussion • Decision • Continued discussion • More investigation • Etc. Explicit Action / Next Step
- 37. Technology @randyshoup Meeting Etiquette • Respect time zones • Video link in every meeting by default • Ideally, everyone behaves as remote Respect Remotes • Meeting minutes • Recording / Transcription Enable Offline Catch-up • Allow time for chatting, social bonding • Make small talk Foster Social Connections
- 38. Technology @randyshoup The only way to have real talk is to have small talk. -- Dave Copeland, The Effective Remote Developer
- 39. Technology @randyshoup Meeting Etiquette • Model that it is OK to clarify and ask questions • Model that it is OK to backtrack • Pregnant Pauses – stop and ask for feedback • Active Listening – what I hear you saying is … Psychological Safety around Questions • Interruptions are not rude • Explicitly yield the floor • Develop a convention for “raising your hand” Psychological Safety around Interruptions
- 40. Technology @randyshoup40 5. In Person
- 41. Technology @randyshoup Travel • Establish clear travel expectations • … for employees, management, finance • Make and renew social bonds • High-bandwidth communications Clear Expectations • Kickoffs • Close Collaboration or Brainstorming • Embedding / Ambassadors Regular physical meetings
- 42. Technology @randyshoup Summits / Retreats • Social bonds and connections • High-bandwidth communication • Non-normal work together Goals • At least quarterly • Planned well in advance • Rotate locations Regular Cadence • Strongly encouraged, with reasonable exceptions • Accommodate introverts and neurodiverse Attendance
- 43. Technology @randyshoup Summits / Retreats • Prioritize fun and team-building • Connect with business partners • Mix of central organization and team- wise organization Social Bonds and Connections • Hackathon with theme • Internal conference Collaboration
- 45. Technology @randyshoup I sense a growing reluctance amongst the best developers to accept the location and commuting disadvantages of single site work. This is increasingly true as people get more experience, and thus more valuable. You can either try to ignore this and accept the best people who will relocate for you, or you can explore how to make remote working patterns more effective. -- Martin Fowler, Remote versus Co-located Work
- 46. Technology @randyshoup New York San Francisco Tel Aviv Shanghai Singapore Seattle Palo Alto Questions? Montréal Salt Lake City
- 47. Technology @randyshoup Resources ● The Effective Remote Developer, Dave Copeland, QCon New York 2017. ● Working Remotely and Managing Remote Teams, Charles Humble, Aginext 2019. ● Eventually Coordinated Teams That Ship, Andrew Montalenti, NY CTO Summit 2018. ● Leading Remote and Distributed Engineering Teams, Katie Womersley, Eric Muntz, Tim Armandpour, GitPrime Panel 2019. ● Build a Distributed Team at Scale, Christian McCarrick, CTO Summit 2019. ● Managing Distributed Teams, Bryan Helmig, Software Engineering Radio 2019. ● Remote versus Co-Located Work, Martin Fowler, 2015. ● 11 Remote Workers on the Strategies They Use to Bond With Co-Workers, Lisa Rabasca Roepe, 2019.