making remote workers feel like they’re in the same room
Post on 21-Oct-2014
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Paul Hepworth USERTESTING When you have a central office, remote workers can wind up feeling uninformed, disempowered and disconnected. But they absolutely don’t have to have those experiences. Paul Hepworth, VP of Engineering at UserTesting, an 87-person company with more than a dozen remote workers, will talk about the very practical things you can do to ensure that remote team members can “see” into the office and are as connected and informed as co-located workers. In addition to interpersonal processes, he’ll also talk about cheap hardware setups that make a big difference.TRANSCRIPT
10 Tips to help remote workers succeed inside the
office
Paul HepworthVP Engineering
A little aboutUserTesting
14 of our 87 employees are
located across 12 cities in North
America
Lets begin with the right technology
Tip 1: Use dedicated computers that allow
proactive chat
Use dedicated computers that allow proactive
chat…• Remotes can “see” in the office when they want
• Allows for the proverbial “tap on the shoulder”
• Here is what is looks like at UserTesting…
Tip 2: Use wide-angle webcams
Use wide-angle webcams…
• Remotes can see the “big picture”
• Non-verbal communication
• I would recommend….
Genius 120-degree Ultra Wide Angle Full HD Conference Webcam — $42 on
Amazonhttp://bit.ly/best-webcam-ever
Genius 120-degree Ultra Wide Angle Full HD Conference Webcam — $42 on
Amazonhttp://bit.ly/best-webcam-ever
Tip 3: Microphones are important
Microphones are important…
• Hearing is crucial to good communication
• Your internal microphone is BAD!
• I would recommend…..
MXL AC404 USB Conference Microphone
— $67 on Amazonhttp://bit.ly/best-mic-ever
Tip 4: Invest in good speakers
Invest in good speakers…
• Good sound gives equal footing in a conversation
• Poor sound reflects poorly on the person speaking
• I would recommend….
JBL Duet III Premium High Performance Speaker System — $149
on Amazonhttp://bit.ly/best-speakers-ever
Tip 5: Use permalinks for “virtual conference
rooms”
Use permalinks for “virtual conference
rooms”…• Meetings should never end
• Use bit.ly to shorten long URLs
• Give distinct names that are easy to reference in chat, email, or in person
• Mobile device friendly
Howtos for creating permalinks for “virtual conference rooms”…
• Google Hangout:http://bit.ly/never-ending-hangout
• GoToMeeting:http://bit.ly/never-ending-gotomeeting
Now, lets build the right culture on top of
the technology
Tip 6: Balance teams with co-located and remote members
If possible balance teams with co-located and remote
members…• Locals are less likely to forget remotes
• Less tempted to hold a meeting without the remotes
• Remote can compare notes & influence change
Tip 7: Invite remotes to office parties and
spontaneous discussions
Invite remotes to office parties and spontaneous
discussions…• Knowing you are always invited goes a long way
• Send remotes a pizza
• Record and share “offline” conversations
• Leverage mobile devices and bring them along
Tip 8: Provide office context to remote
workers
Provide office context to remote workers…
• Remotes should know about office layout, coffee, snacks
• Leverage your most chatty team members
• Knowing about “small things” builds confidence
Tip 9: Proactively invite remote workers
to visit the office
Proactively invite remote workers to visit the
office…• Inviting ensures that they feel support
• Let them book their own travel
• Webcam’s can’t replace in person relationship building
Tip 10: Everyone should work from home sometimes
Everyone should work from home sometimes…
• Locals build empathy
• People appreciate advantages of remote work
• Unfriendly processes and tools are found and fixed
Good luck!
Thank you.
Paul HepworthVP [email protected]@peppyheppy