{"id":31988,"date":"2023-03-20T05:57:12","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T12:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/?p=31988"},"modified":"2023-03-20T05:57:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T12:57:14","slug":"yet-another-guide-to-managing-remote-dev-teams-happiness-productivity-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/blog\/engineering-management\/yet-another-guide-to-managing-remote-dev-teams-happiness-productivity-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Yet Another Guide to Managing Remote Dev Teams: Happiness &amp; Productivity Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.codingame.com\/work\/codingame-and-coderpad-tech-hiring-survey-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1 out of 2 developers say they want to switch jobs.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That means that even in this environment of mass tech layoffs, half of your team would leave if given the right opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given that only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.codingame.com\/work\/codingame-and-coderpad-tech-hiring-survey-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">15% of surveyed developers work entirely on-site now<\/a>, there\u2019s a good chance this includes your remote team members.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Granted, most developers say they\u2019d leave for a higher salary \u2013 something that is very often out of your control to grant. However, you can make it easier for employees to want to stay by simply being a good manager and helping them thrive in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many employees have stayed in a job not because they like it but because they like the people they work for. So here are a few managerial tips you can use to help your team succeed and be happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Over Communicate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s be clear \u2013 there is a difference between over-communicating and nagging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nagging is a form of micro-management that reflects a lack of trust in someone\u2019s ability to get something done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over-communicating is a communication style that recognizes that humans can be imperfect at transmitting information in a digital environment, and that\u2019s compounded even further with remote work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can over-communicating come off as annoying? Sometimes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what\u2019s worse than over-communicating is having project delays because you forgot to remind someone of an upcoming deadline. Or having a great employee quit because you put them on a performance improvement plan when they didn\u2019t meet expectations they weren\u2019t aware of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no worse feeling than having unclear expectations or requirements and knowing you could easily meet them. While some of the onus is on individual contributors to confirm that they understand what you\u2019re asking for, ultimately it is your responsibility to ensure they understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s that mean in practice for over-communication?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Spend time crafting your messages to ensure they\u2019re clear, and be especially clear on any action items you\u2019d like the receiver to take.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure expectations are <strong>regularly<\/strong> communicated \u2013 not just during once-a-year performance reviews.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you\u2019ve communicated something over voice or video, also write it down and pass it along to the receiver. Some people need that visual reminder for things to stick (plus, paper trails are always good).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Verify that people received your message \u2013 follow up and see if they have any questions about the message they received.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep meetings to a minimum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Nothing pulls you out of the flow like a meeting. Individual contributors are not managers and don\u2019t spend nearly as much time in meetings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So any meeting that does happen will significantly reduce the efficiency of these employees, as it increases the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlassian.com\/blog\/productivity\/context-switching\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">context switching<\/a> they have to perform in order to do their jobs. In other words, they have to switch from \u201cfocus mode\u201d to \u201cmeeting mode\u201d and then back again, which takes time that could otherwise be spent on completing the task at hand.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And let\u2019s be honest, how much of the meeting has actually been filled with relevant, actionable information? You\u2019re potentially wasting hours of your employees\u2019 time by requiring them to attend unnecessary meetings to \u201ckeep them in the loop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next time an issue or project arises, and you want to keep someone in the loop, first ask yourself these three questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Does this person NEED to be at this meeting? In other words, will they be unable to do their job if they don\u2019t attend?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will their time be better spent working on something else?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can this meeting be an email instead?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>When in doubt, send an overly-communicative email. If things aren\u2019t settled after a couple of responses, or the email thread starts growing uncomfortably long, schedule a meeting (and learn how to write more straightforward emails).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019d be amazed at how much more productive your team becomes when you eliminate unnecessary meetings. Several companies are either designating \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehrdirector.com\/features\/hr-in-business\/implementing-no-meeting-days-improves-productivity\/#:~:text=Companies%20like%20Facebook%20and%20Atlassian,a%20formal%20and%20inflexible%20itinerary.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">no meeting days<\/a>\u201d or simply <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/story\/2023-01-04\/shopify-no-meetings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">removing meetings altogether<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Be flexible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Insisting employees work set hours might have been a thing in the 20th century, but it has no place in the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only is this inflexibility one of the main reasons employees will leave your organization, but it\u2019s also one of the main reasons remote work is so popular these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seriously, which would you prefer:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Donning an uncomfortable suit and shoes and driving 30 minutes in rush hour traffic, spending 8 hours of the day staring at a screen, and then driving 30 minutes back home (in rush hour traffic) where you then have to scramble to get quality time with my kids\/pet\/significant other (or all of the above) and do cooking and cleaning chores to boot.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Waking up, taking a walk, checking work emails, walking the kids to school, having morning meetings, petting the cat because meetings were stressful, knocking out the day\u2019s work in three hours, taking a short nap, getting a jump on tomorrow\u2019s work, then relaxing for the day with plenty of time to cook dinner and actually sit down and eat with the family.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>One is stressful and leads to burnout. It also comes from a place of not having enough trust in your employees to be responsible with their time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The other will keep employees happier and more productive. As a result, they\u2019ll be less likely to leave your company for a less stressful one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Things happen \u2013 kids get sick, pets need vet visits, spouses do yard work and accidentally chop through the internet cable \u2013 and it\u2019s times like those that your team needs understanding more than a reprimand that they were gone for 20 minutes. No point in making already stressful situations more stressful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being flexible with letting your employees choose their hours demonstrates a level of trust that makes your team an attractive one to work with \u2013 making it harder for your team members to want to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bonus: Make time for fun things<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No, work isn\u2019t family, nor should it be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t mean you should skip out on non-work activities, especially for remote workers who don\u2019t have the traditional physical space for ping pong tables and free Friday lunches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While offsites are nice, they\u2019re often not in the budget. But that shouldn\u2019t limit your ability to have some fun with your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, at <a href=\"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/careers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CoderPad<\/a>, we do things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/golunapark.com\/luna-park-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trivia competitions<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Play online board games like <a href=\"https:\/\/codenames.game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Codenames<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have a weekly \u201cno work talk\u201d coffee chat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.codingame.com\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Online escape and coding games<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airbnb.com\/s\/experiences\/online\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Celebrate different cultural events<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have \u201cget to know you\u201d Zoom lunches with new hires&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have weekly \u201cice breaker\u201d questions in Slack<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Use your imagination, or ask your employees what they want. For example, see if they\u2019d like to give a workshop for their particular hobby. Or take a group class in something completely unrelated to their day job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So what next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Being a great manager takes work, but the bulk of that work is just establishing enough rapport with your employees that you can empathize with them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Create this connection, and you\u2019ll be able to understand their needs better and create an environment that allows them to thrive, even in a home office on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking for other ways to be a great manager? Check out these resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/blog\/engineering-management\/no-longer-hiring-developers-how-to-stay-top-of-mind-for-candidates\/\">No longer hiring developers? How to stay top of mind for candidates<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/blog\/engineering-management\/managing-hybrid-development-teams\/\">Tips for Managing Hybrid Development Teams Effectively<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/blog\/engineering-management\/making-the-transition-from-software-engineer-to-software-engineering-manager\/\">Making the Transition from Software Engineer to Software Engineering Manager<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Up your remote management skills with these 3 simple tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":31993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"persona":[],"blog-programming-language":[],"keyword-cluster":[],"class_list":["post-31988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engineering-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31988"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32051,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31988\/revisions\/32051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31988"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=31988"},{"taxonomy":"blog-programming-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-programming-language?post=31988"},{"taxonomy":"keyword-cluster","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword-cluster?post=31988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}