March 18th 2020, Shannon Mitchell
For the past 6 years GameTheory has worked remotely together, and learned a massive amount about what it takes to make this happen. Given the recent news with COVID-19, we wanted to take a minute and share some of what we’ve learned for partners who may be getting set up with remote options, or moving to a fully remote setup for the first time.
“Start slow and simple. Avoid adding too many tools at once and stick with the ones you know will work. ”
There are four major areas your tools should cover. They are:
Cloud Storage & File Sharing: Before you do anything else, make sure important files are secure and structured on a folder system, and that your team has access to this for sharing work back and forth. Some options are:
Some options are: Google Drive, Dropbox, Sharefile, OneDrive
Communication: People need a consistent way to communicate internally, get information, and chat. Email is just not going to cut it and will quickly turn into information overload. Some options are:
Some options are: Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams
Meetings: A few communication tools have virtual meetings and calls built in, but we recommend setting up a tool specifically for meetings. Preferably one that allows for dialing in for those without reliable internet access. Some options are:
Some options are: Google Meet, Zoom, Skype, Phone calls
Work Visibility: For project based work, get a task tracking tool in place where everyone can show their progress remotely. This keeps updates and questions organized and transparent. If you’re a more traditional office, make sure there’s a digital tool that shows who is working and when so that availability is visible:
Some options are: Google Calendar, Monday, Trello, Jira, Asana
My advice for these tools - it doesn’t matter too much which tool you pick as long as you choose one primary tool in each category. If you can avoid it, don’t add too many tools at once. It’s common during the transition to feel unsure about what tool to use and when, so keep the options simple. Pick the primary tool or tools you’re using, stick to them, and require everyone to get set up there.
The organization structure you create within the tool is actually much more important than the tool itself. The reason most people avoid using digital tools like Slack and Trello is because they can get cluttered, and disorganized. Everyone has their own “flavor” of how they think it should be set up and it can make it even harder to find the information you need. Before you add any new digital tools, stop and make a plan for how you’re going to set up and make sure the layout reflects your digital workflow rather than a personalized set up.
This doesn’t have to be anything fancy! In fact, we recommend starting out with the less is more approach. Most people (myself included) would rather have a few broad options for where to check or post an update than a bunch of very niche, under-used channels or boards. Keep the structure easy to understand. That said — there’s no one way to do this. It needs to be what feels right for your team.
For example, with Slack we have a channel for each of our ongoing projects, and an internal team channel discussing company work outside of projects. With our office discord, we have voice channels that people can join at any time which helps simulate the feeling of being in the office which leads to more familiar, immediate collaboration. You really don’t need too much to get started, but you need to be decisive about what the structure is and document it for everyone on your team to reference. Then, everyone needs to get comfortable with this structure as soon as possible.
You’ll need to apply this same line of thinking to your digital files. If you’re able to, have everyone take some time to get caught up and upload all of their recent work on a cloud storage solution which can be shared within the team. My guess is that right now work isn’t being shared as often as it could be, and when it is it might be buried in email or next to too many versions to know which one is right (no judgement… we’ve all been there). It’s important to take the time to get everyone organized, and to make the file organization is as consistent as possible for your team. Lastly, don’t forget to make sure all work is backed up and secured!
“The organization structure you create within the tool is actually much more important than the tool itself.”
“Have an open discussion about what you expect from each other. Set boundaries to keep work and home separate. ”
Once your tools are in place and everyone is set up, take time to onboard them. If possible have a call and demo the tools to everyone, walking them through the organization and structure. Support this with documentation, and share out any tutorials your tools may provide to help people learn. Most importantly, communicate that everyone is expected to use the tools when working remotely. One of the biggest issues that can come up when working remotely is fractured communication. You may recommend a tool, but suddenly people start using facebook, texting, or other personal tools to communicate instead. It’s really important to express that the selected tools, whatever they are, are the only tools that should be used for professional chat. Everyone needs to be using them together or else it won’t work!
Take this as a time to open up to your team for feedback too. Although it’s necessary that everyone gets transitioned to using these tools, there are probably ways that you’ll need to specialize and adapt them to your team over time. It’s important to also remember that you or your teammates could have genuine access barriers to using these tools, in which case you’ll need to work to get a more personalized option set up.
Finally, take time to communicate expectations to your team about what’s needed of everyone now that you’re all working online. Make this an open conversation with them and allow them to explain their needs to the rest of the team. This conversation can be different for each group, but in general it usually covers the followings:
Availability: When are you working? What are the expectations for answering messages, documenting work, and responding digitally? What are the barriers? When does your day “end” (aka, when should people stop messaging you)?
Transparency: How should everyone give updates on their work and get feedback? How will you make your day and what you’re working on visible to the rest of the team? How frequently should the team get updates from you, and what should the updates cover?
Deliverables: Where does “finished” work get stored compared to in-progress work? How do you let people know it’s there? Should in-progress work be digitally accessible to the team or is that stored locally?
Communication: How will meetings work? What new meetings need to get created to stay in touch? What are the barriers? What’s a backup option for reaching you (phone, email, etc.)?
Workflow: What will our new routine be? How can we work better together? Do we need extra checks or changes to our normal process based on this shift?
I would encourage you to set clear ground rules for dividing office time and home time for the team. If it’s possible, have communication end at the normal end of the work day. With remote work, there’s a risk of office work bleeding into your regular life. Set boundaries at the beginning so that your workers don’t end up putting in extra work or having this transition disrupt their personal lives.
I think having a routine has helped make remote work feel sustainable for our team. It makes me feel like my day has predictability, and gives me planned communication with the rest of the team. If you can add a routine, unstructured “check in” that’s open, you can start to replace the all-important face to face communication that you’d normally get in the office. You need to provide the opportunity for people to say “Oh by the way, I had this random idea…” or “Hey can you show me how that works later today?.” There’s a ton of communication that needs to happen outside of normal meeting time, so try to make room for that as part of a routine.
At GameTheory, we do this by having scrum meetings for our ongoing projects at the start of every day. We go around and answer “What did I do yesterday?” “What will I do today?” and “What’s blocking me? (aka preventing work, or slowing me down).” This routine gives everyone a chance to talk through what’s on their mind, share where they’re at, and reach out to people who they need help from.
It’s important to recognize that you’ll need to start forming a new set of habits in your own life as a remote worker. It will feel weird at first - staying at home rather than being around everyone in person. It can be hard to focus given your normal at home distractions. I think one of the most helpful things to remember is that it’s still important to give yourself breaks at home. It’s important to get up and stretch your legs every so often, or to start a load of laundry or take a break. When you’re feeling yourself start to “zone out” at your home desk, give yourself a moment to recharge away from your work. That way you can come back to your task with more focus and intention. Think through how this could work for you and build a routine for yourself to break up the day and feel connected with your work.
“Keep a routine so that your day feels predictable, but remember, It’s okay to get up and stretch your legs every so often, or to start a load of laundry. Regular breaks will help you recharge.”
