I’m in my last 5 weeks at TPXimpact. It’s been so much fun and at its largest, the team was over 120 people. That’s the size of the orchestra required to play Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 ‘an expression of confidence in the eternal human spirit’. Fitting, except the orchestra is online and I played a supporting to Ben our CDO. Based on that experience, this is what I will take into the next remote team I work with:
- A little in person goes a long way I usually went to visit our non-London offices once a quarter and had lunch with whomever was willing to come meet me. I believe remote-first lets a much wider community of people take part in the design industry but it’s nice to check in with people in person too as it speeds up the building of trust with individuals. Sometimes, you have to be able to get on a train to work something difficult out with someone.
- Reminding people of the importance of gathering Large digital meetings are always inherently unsatisfying because they’re more like webinars and conferences. But they remind people of the community they belong to and especially the people they still haven’t met. Yes, the same kinds of people will inevitably take up space in the group chat and that’s normal. Designers both love to critique and put on a show. But there are moments when that can happen in person and then it doesn’t feel as weird because the digital equivalent has been happening regularly. People ‘feel’ familiar even if they’re not.
- Champion everyone at every level Make sure everyone gets a chance to show off some work regularly, no matter where they are. Give them the thrill of being able to show their skills to the most senior members of the team. It might take a while for them to put their hand up, so notice who is a little quieter and could do with a direct prompt or invitation.
- Letting the back-channelling happen The water-cooler moments, boozy lunch, after work pint and smoker’s corner have moved online. Everyone needs a good moan, especially designers. And when things get spicy and end up on your desk as a manager, don’t worry that people are talking in spaces you don’t see. I once worked in a business that tried to ban direct messaging between employees but that didn’t get very far for obvious reasons. People need a release of energy to build friendships and allies. You should do the same as a manager and find your little moan crew.
- Act on weak signals. The number and frequency of emoji on a messaging platform as well as the number of comments on a message can give you a sense of group vibes but you’re going to have to rely on other things in a remote team. I’ve done 4 days a week in the office for multiple jobs now so people know they can talk to me about someone they’re worried about, or I can notice someone isn’t doing great. Sometimes I take people out to lunch because I heard things aren’t right from someone else entirely. It’s sometimes a guessing game but it’s always worth trying to find out if you’re gut feeling is right or not. And sometimes, it’s just about reminding people where the door to the HR team is regularly so that they can ask for support without talking to you.
If these are the kinds of things you’re worried about, I’ll be available for work from mid-May either as a freelancer or in-house. Get in touch.