Number of Attendees
100
In this crazy world in which we now find ourselves, I'm curious to hear anecdotes/experiences from YOU as to what you're doing, and how it's going. Let's get together and share/connect.
Notes
I was fortunate-enough to have TWO note-takers, so you can see two different "takes" on this session. There were ~50 people in the room and ~50 people participating via Zoom. My big takeaway was that it's REALLY hard to have a collaborative conversation with those numbers, hybrid, as we were (and which ended up being a great example/learning experience for all of us, on the topic of the session!).
Note-taker 1:
Stories
- Pre-pandemic SoM service desk proposal: Can we work remote? Gave it a try. Metrics looked good! Were on Amazon [] system, tested over Winter Break. Some staff missed working in office. Was good preparation for pandemic. SHC remote access had some hiccups. ISP providers can go down.
- CRC (history of being 'by your side'): Hybrid 'interesting' for both staff and clients. Staffing has been hard - having enough on site and scheduling to pass physical items. Successful at getting things done remotely. [Remote] solutions needed to be more rigorous. '3.2' not working [I have no idea what this means. ~Notetaker]. Single-point of failure on site is challenging. Most staff like having option to be onsite or remote. Harder to lead a group that is mixed.
- Pre-pandemic FT remote staff - some sense of job insecurity, fly under the radar; post-pandemic became an 'equal citizen.'
- Some staff wouldn't be here [at Stanford] without opportunity to continue to be employed remotely. However, navigating the org could be challenging for those hired as remote.
- New hire just prior to hiring freeze in 2020, was hired and onboarded entirely on Zoom, understanding that onboarding can/will take longer working remotely. When 'new' hire eventually came onsite, did not do any 'real' work, just getting them onboarded to physical Stanford - photo opp!
- Everyone remote was 'great equalizer' for SLAC. Two-day onsite retreat to help get team connected.
- During pandemic - focus on written communication degraded customer experience and relationships.
- Missed interacting with other teams during remote; getting to interact more outside of own team was benefit of returning to campus.
Challenges
- Remote/hybrid *and* distributed. Building team cohesion is a challenge. Luncheons sometimes.
- How to build 'soft power' and organizational understanding for fully remote staff.
- Messages in writing are/can be perceived more negatively. How to communicate in multiple modes/best modes.
- How to best focus time on remote vs onsite or make time to build relationships.
- How to obtain unscheduled career growth opportunities.
- ISP outages/issues for remote workers. What to do about support issues with non-Stanford providers?
- Even new conference rooms don't always have adequate audio.
What's Working
- All-remote meant everyone on Zoom = equality of presence. Half-hour weekly get together and hang out. Better for onsite folks also to be on Zoom with remote folks. Wanted to retain 'equality.'
- Doing online games, such as trivia.
- Working with offshore developers and other remote staff - daily standups, M-Th, one minute to half hour, share code - wouldn't really work in person.
- Onsite retreats and experiences to help connect staff to Stanford and to each other.
- Competitive advantage for being able to recruit nationally.
- Fully remote team - once per quarter, non-work-related lunch over Zoom; get together once a quarter in person, too. Virtual time together specifically for socializing.
- Let people just chat at the end of meeting.
- Proliferation of social Slack channels; use of team Slacks to encourage 'watercooler' conversations.
- CRC - Each team has a private channel just for social communication, can be some snark. Try to make sure to copy info to Slack for those who may have missed it.
- SRCC: 15 minute daily Zoom with director to chat about anything - not the same time every day, morning and afternoon offerings, depending on time zone.
- Fantasy Football League. Did you read/see this _____? Let's chat about _____ !
- Start of sprint planning meeting: Recap weekend, bring up a topic.
- Donut! on IT Connect Slack channel.
- Building up strong trust relationships with staff.
- Slack-first support for general questions and answers and office hours.
- Communities of Practice can be crucial.
Thoughts and Questions
- Tools we use every day were created online.
- How do we create bonding for those who are or choose to remain remote?
- What strategies and tactics have been used to create more intentional connection?
Suggestions from FT Remote Workers
- Conduct *accessible* hybrid meetings (there is a guide) so that everyone can participate.
- If using a game -- make sure it is accessible for those with disabilities.
- The Owl can be disorienting. Use technology that doesn't steal focus.
- Think about how to collaborate online (as opposed to exclusively on site or online as an afterthought). How to have a meeting and just jump in?
- In hybrid meetings, remote workers can feel put on the spot if it's possible for the onsite staff to blend in to the background.
- More open socially focused Slack channels would be nice.
- Have the same ground rules for all participants.
Note-taker 2:
Things that work
- Piloted remote work, reviewed the metrics, team was actually more productive when remote
- fully remote was easier than hybrid, could see and hear everyone on screen, easier for everyone to participate
- Having daily standups with remote team, especially if spread across timezones, offshore
- A guide for facilitating accessible and inclusive virtual meetings: https://uit.stanford.edu/accessibility/virtual-meetings
- Communicating in multiple ways (written, verbal, etc)
- Fully remote positions have a wider candidate pool compared to many Ivy+ institutions that require on-campus presence
- Online social events
- Allow time for socializing
- Online games
- teambuilding activities
- Quarterly lunch over Zoom, everyone places a Doordash order, no shop talk, it’s only for connection
- Zoom happy hour
- Drop-in sessions, offer at different days/times
- Fantasy football league
- On campus events
- Bringing staff together in person when possible
- Giving remote employees the opportunity to visit campus, meet team members in person, see the campus
- Quarterly in-person event to bring the whole team together
- Slack channels
- Having dedicated channels for fun, non-work chat
- #it-connect channel for random pairings with IT folks in other units
- Focus on establishing trust and open communication
Challenges
- Need a solid internet connection, especially if on video/phone calls
- Building team cohesion
- Support desk
- Hard to predict how many users are on campus versus remote, difficult to provide hybrid support
- Have staff at different campus locations and remote
- Hybrid meeting challenges
- very hard for remote participants to see faces and hear everyone in a conference room
- Most conference rooms don’t have great audio setups - usually difficult for online participants to hear everyone
- Someone in the room needs to monitor the Zoom chat and reactions
- Ensure folks online are included in discussions, asked to contribute, etc
- Difficult to read tone in written communications, can be interpreted as more negative
- Lack of inter-group communication and collaboration
Resources
A guide for facilitating accessible and inclusive virtual meetings: https://uit.stanford.edu/accessibility/virtual-meetings
