Communicating in remote environments

Raquel Vera

Raquel Vera

— 4 min read
Communicating in remote environments

Thoughts for first-time engineering managers series

Working remotely or with teammates spread across different locations can be challenging. I'm not going to write a philosophical essay about those challenges (at least not in this article), but the truth is that we have all had to learn new ways of communicating.

As managers we are also responsible for making sure our message (vision, goals, expectations...) gets through, as well as enabling spaces for constructive debates or brainstormings.

In the period of my life I am writing this, I am working from home (WFH) for a company with a "work-anywhere" policy. Therefore it means, I can not grab my teammates, book the fancy Star Wars meeting room, and start moving post-its left to right when for example, I want to define potential solutions to a problem. (It also means I no longer have the coffee corner where I run into Luca from HR or chat with Luis about the recent gadget he bought for his house. Jeez! I miss this part sometimes!)

Now we're used to jumping from meeting to meeting without even leaving our chairs (also not commuting to work, yay!). For a year I did not even know how tall my colleagues were, as online we only see the person partially.

When the only thing between me and my teammates is my screen, communication matters 200%. It is key for your team's performance and engagement

Creating healthy communication habits

Use the time wisely

Quite quite often, you and your product parter will need to transfer requirements, involve teammates in discussions, iterate on the vision, you name it. There will be many moments when you will need to call a meeting, from a single person to the entire team.

  1. Protect the team's time for deep work

The bigger is the team the trickier it becomes to create a good balance between focus time and meeting time. It is very difficult to find the sweet spot.

In a team, you will have a variety of personalities, some of them like to have focus time in the morning, developing code without interruptions, while others may prefer a big focus block in the afternoon.

  • Talk to the team, together and individually, find a window that works for the majority and observe if it really works. Remember, you can not make everyone happy.
  • How you will know it is working: check the results and achievements of your team regularly, look for trends and patterns.
💡
Prioritaze focus over meetings. Meetings are important but work is urgent.
  1. Meetings - "Another meeting that could have been an email"
"Please!! Can this meeting be an email? or an async message?" - Everyone

Truth is that, in general, I'm an advocate for meetings or quick calls inside my team bubble. I'm a people person, and depending on the outcome I want to get, the human connection we have in a 5 minute face to face conversation will never be achieved with an email.

  • That't said, be smart, judge whether what you are trying to communicate it is just reporting, sharing information or updates where there is nothing to discuss nor emotions attached.

It is not the same to inform about an Office change: "From July until September the company core hours will be from 9 to 15", as informing your team that a someone just passed away. I'm exaggerating, but you get my point, right?

While writing this, it just came to mind the time when one of my former managers sent me the summary of my 360 performance review over an email, with no follow up meeting for context or anything. Mate, I forgive you, it was not nice but we're all learning in life.

💡
Use meetings when real-time collaboration or creativity is needed. Also for sensitive topics or immediate decisions
  1. Meetings - choose the attendees accordingly

Time is precious; time is money. I am sure you have heard someone from management ask how costly a meeting was. If you sum up the cost per hour of each member of a meeting, you will be surprised how much money is running out every time. I'm not pushing you to become obsessed with the cost per minute, but it's important for you to keep this in mind when preparing for it.

💡
Ask yourself: who is relevant for this meeting? who will move the needle? Who is the expert on this topic? Is the forum too big? Who really knows the answers?
  1. Meetings - keep it outcome-oriented 

Before creating a meeting we should all follow a simple rule: have a clear idea of the goal. What is the meeting for? It has to be well shaped from the moment you book the time in someone else's calendar. Add a few sentences in the invite about what you're looking for. It helps attendees to prepare, read previous documentation if needed, or ask questions in advance. It will make the meeting to be efficient.

💡
Define the goal before the meeting

If you are attending a meeting, please, make the exercise of reading the description.

During the meeting, it's really useful to have a structure. If you created the meeting, kick it off with a brief introduction. There is always someone who does not know why they are there, did not come prepared. Repeat the goal you want to achieve.

Come prepared with visuals, or points you can share, give context, cases to evaluate. This makes it easier for others to digest information but do not add noise. Share only what's needed for the discussion.

Watch out for endless conversation that won't lead to the goal.

💡
Keep asking: What is this meeting for? what we want to achieve? Whether you created the meeting request or not, make the exercise of answering those questions.

Lead by example and be consistent. You will build a team that delivers, stays engaged and stills feels connected even if the only thing between you is a screen.

I hope this lines help you out as a first-time manager. See you in the next.

Read more