This conversation was interesting enough to pull me out of lurker mode.
I have worked at home off-and-on for 10 years. The last 4 years I have worked exclusively at home as a remote employee.
Working remote all the time is much different from occasionally working remotely. Working remote a couple of days a week is an escape from office distractions, and one can then show the results when one is physically with the team. When working remote all of the time, one is at a real risk of dropping of team visibility which eventually leads to a perception that one isn't pulling enough weight. This must be proactively combated.
Responses inline: On 12/19/2014 04:10 PM, Nicholas Stewart wrote:
I apologize if I shouldn't send this email because it's not related to Linux. I know many of you have IT and software jobs and I'm wondering if you periodically work from home. If you do, how do you to stay in communication with members of your team and department?
I use the communication method that my team wants me to. It varies from team to team, and person to person. The trick is that we deliberately discuss communication preferences (technology, work hours, frequency).
Do you send an email in the morning about what you're going to work on?
My current team asks me to send a daily email (I prefer the end of day).
Are you expected to be available on IRC or some other chat platform?
I maintain presence on various chat platforms all the time. If I am going to be away for more than a few minutes, I take my cell phone. My team is very flexible with when I work, so I am very flexible about answering questions outside of normal work hours. I use email a lot to discuss involved issues that require research and follow up.
Do you phone in for standup or some scrum-like meeting?
Our daily email is our scrum. On my last team it was a weekly report.
Do you spend a lot of time on Skype?
I am always available on Skype and Biba (annoying due to no Linux support). I regularly use Google Hangouts, BlueJeans, and Vidyo for voice + video + screenshare. I am also in IRC a lot.
In short, how do you maintain the lines of communication while working from home?
* I have regular 1 on 1 calls with various members of my team. I make sure that the person who measures my performance makes regular meetings with me a priority. I plan an agenda in advance, and make sure that he or she knows in detail what I have accomplished and what I am doing next.
* I travel to meet my team for a few days every other month. I plan in advance so that I can spend time with the right people while I am at the office. I try to socialize in person as much as possible.
* I work hard to meet new members of the team, and help them get oriented. I let them know that they can ask me any sort of question, and I will try to help them out.
* I have to be very patient in my communications. People don't read their email, ignore Skype, forget what I told them, and assume the worst about what I was saying. I just have to repeat myself, kindly offer corrections, and follow up. And follow up. And repeat myself.
* I spend a few minutes each call discussing non-work stuff and building friendships and relationships. I keep notes so that I can remember details about people. I take a sincere interest. Sometimes people think this wastes a little time, but when I explain that as a remote employee those are very productive conversations, they always seem to enjoy it.
I am interested in hearing more thoughts. Richard /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
