From the beginning, we have always been a remote first company. Consulting with customers remotely can be a challenge and was an important skill that we have been teaching to our teams. Though building trust with your team was harder than originally thought. We experimented and tried out a number of ways to be inclusive for our diverse team.
Attend this session to learn about
Enabling every employee to have an impact
Supporting and encouraging work/life balance
Encouraging innovation through experimentation
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Enabling and empowering remote employees #HOU365
1. Led by:
From the beginning, we have always been a remote first company. Consulting with customers remotely can be a
challenge and was an important skill that we have been teaching to our teams. Though building trust with your team
was harder than originally thought. We experimented and tried out several ways to be inclusive for our diverse team.
Kanwal Khipple
Enabling and Empowering Remote
Employees
2. HOU365 Virtual Friday
October 30th, 2020
The schedule is located at: https://www.spsevents.org/event/houston2020/schedule/
Teams meeting link will be in the Teams Meeting Link column for each session.
http://bit.ly/HOU365sessions
3. Thank you to our Diamond Sponsor
Sponsor Room
http://bit.ly/HOU365invoke
4. Thank you to
Platinum Sponsors
Sponsor Room
http://bit.ly/HOU365SkySync
Sponsor Room
http://bit.ly/HOU365KnowledgeLake
6. Online
meeting
etiquette
Mute your microphone when
you’re not talking
Be Kind to everyone
Please ask
questions by:
Raising your hand in
Teams
Posting in the Chat
If you unmute
yourself, please
state your name and
speak clearly.
8. SPEAKER | AUTHOR | SUPER GOOD LOOKING
KANWAL KHIPPLE, CEO
@kkhipple
bit.ly/linkedinkk
2014 2015
9. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
We are internationally recognized award winners, speakers, authors, and more.
Our staff has delivered over 500 keynotes, workshops, & sessions around the world.
10. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Our customers look to us to provide direction, strategy, guidance and advisory services
in addition to our technical consulting services. Here are where a few are headquarters.
19. WORK FROM HOME
• Configure your workspace
• Validate connectivity
• Continue normal routine
Tips on how to maintain and have a great work from home space
20. IF YOU AREN’T TALKING USE MUTE…
While it can be painful learning to remember to unmute yourself it is a lot better than distracting others
with breathing, typing, movement or background noise.
It’s okay to mute someone!
Just @mention them and
let them know.
21. SUPPORTING YOUR REMOTE WORKFORCE
Build a network within your team
Create structure for your meetings
Learn together
22. HOW WILL YOU BE PRESENT TODAY?
Let’s start with the core of a meeting experience. You attend a meeting. When you join you need to decide
whether this will be a video supported call or not.
23. BUILDING WILLPOWER
• Create a routine and maintain it
Share progress on personal goals
Inspire others with your home office setup
Share healthy eating recipes
24. USE THAT MESSAGING SPACE…
Anytime someone mentions a resource or something try and create a quick link for everyone on the call.
These really help others find things that are being discussed and encourages Q&A.
Don’t underestimate the value of simple reactions. They can acknowledge and communicate a lot with very little effort.
As an example Miguel during a discussion asked to be a search curator for our Microsoft 365 tenant. By thumbing this up
he saw a notification which acted as a marked as read/agreed acknowledgement from me at the time.
25. MAINTAIN CONNECTION WITH PEERS
• Send a ‘good morning’ chat
• Catch up over virtual coffee
• Have a ‘hallway conversation’
• Add memes and giphys to
chats to keep communication
fun
26. ANYTHING BUT WORK
Create a ‘watercoller’ channel in your team
Share insights on remote working
Be the Champion for your workgroup
Have frequent team connects
• Talk about activities outside of work
27. START ON TIME OR SOCIALIZE…
Is it a formal meeting? Is there an agenda? Is there productive discussion that can be had while we wait for a
stakeholder? Is it better to socialize if you join earlier? Can you pause and check in?
29. RECOGNIZE & USE RAISED HANDS…
One of the most challenging things in virtual meetings is interrupting or acknowledging you have
something to say. Even if you write it in the side discussion it can be useful to action it.
Especially Useful In
Larger Meetings
30. GETTING WORK DONE
Configure personal settings in Teams
Allow colleagues to “see” you
Be active in meetings
• Ensuring you can focus to get your work completed
31. VISUAL NOTE TAKING IS IMPORTANT…
When conducting any meeting there should never be a blank screen (if it’s not about eye contact). Use
PowerPoint, OneNote, Word, or an open Email. Take notes as people talk and facilitate.
When running meetings
- Share notes
- Take notes interactively
32. VISUAL NOTE TAKING IS IMPORTANT…
Shared notes are even better so everyone can add to them interactively as the meeting proceeds instead of
just a facilitator.
33. VISUAL NOTE TAKING IS IMPORTANT…
Advanced concepts like mind mapping can take this even further and may be an even better visual tool to
create shared understanding.
34. WHERE DO MEETING NOTES GO?
You have two approaches for taking and managing meeting notes OneNote or Notes/Wiki (beyond email or
structured word docs and other more formal/informal methods).
41. ASK & RECORD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE…
There is no risk if you agreed to record it since most teams are private and even 1:1 calls when recorded are
only for the individuals who took part. This can be extremely useful in the future.
42. SHARING RECORDINGS EXTERNALLY…
When you record a meeting it’s easy to find and it shows in the team discussion or in your inbox, but to
share it externally you have to download it and share it in SP or OneDrive.
45. VISUAL NOTE TAKING IS IMPORTANT…
When conducting any meeting there should never be a blank screen (if it’s not about eye contact). Use
PowerPoint, OneNote, Word, or an open Email. Take notes as people talk and facilitate.
When running meetings
- Share notes
- Take notes interactively
46. VISUAL NOTE TAKING IS IMPORTANT…
Shared notes are even better so everyone can add to them interactively as the meeting proceeds instead of
just a facilitator.
47. VISUAL NOTE TAKING IS IMPORTANT…
Advanced concepts like mind mapping can take this even further and may be an even better visual tool to
create shared understanding.
48. WHERE DO MEETING NOTES GO?
You have two approaches for taking and managing meeting notes OneNote or Notes/Wiki (beyond email or
structured word docs and other more formal/informal methods).
50. CELEBRATE GROWTH
• Take every opportunity to celebrate and share lessons learned
Project completion
Showcase to peers
Share customer feedback
During performance reviews
51. SPEAKER | AUTHOR | SUPER GOOD LOOKING
KANWAL KHIPPLE, CEO
@kkhipple
bit.ly/linkedinkk
2014 2015
Editor's Notes
From the beginning, we have always been a remote first company. Consulting with customers remotely can be a challenge and was an important skill that we have been teaching to our teams. Though building trust with your team was harder than originally thought. We experimented and tried out a number of ways to be inclusive for our diverse team.Attend this session to learn about- Enabling every employee to have an impact- Supporting and encouraging work/life balance- Encouraging innovation through experimentation
Employees needed support.
people were working too many hours
People were on too many projects
Research was not reflected
Tips on working from home
Tips on improving employee connections
Tips on improving employee happiness
Designate a location
Separate from your living space
Commute to work
Set ground rules
Configure your workspace
Mimic office setup
Secure devices
Play music
Validate internet and network connectivity
Check your internet provider
Confirm vpn with your help desk
Limit non-work internet use
Continue normal work routine
Maintain standard working hours
Dress for the office
Take breaks
Build a network within your team
Set up a team/channels for your team
Make 1:1s a priority
Establish/maintain weekly team meetings
Encourage video, which includes blur background. Currently my office is an absolute mess - but with blur (In Microsoft Teams) is a great help there. Ensure to respect people that for any reason dont cant/want to go on video, but video should (in my opinion) be an opt-out not opt-in.
Create structure for your meetings
Minimize distractions with a formal agenda
Encourage everyone to speak up
Schedule breaks for long meetings/planning sessions
Learn together
Embrace the distractions (kids, dogs, doorbells, etc)
Be open to flex time
Encoruage your team to connect with one another
Employees with a strong ability to self-regulate can mitigate the stress of constant connectivity. Also known as “willpower,” self-regulation represents our ability to resist temptation. Anyone who has been expecting an update on Slack while eating dinner with the family knows that the “need” to check for that update is a very real temptation.
The good news is that self-regulation is a muscle that gets stronger the more you use it. In other words, no one is cursed to live a life without willpower — it can be improved. Even better, self-regulation is universal; the willpower used to resist that second piece of cheesecake is the same willpower that can keep you from checking your phone for the 14th time this hour.
To improve your willpower, we recommend starting with the basics. With your new work environment being the home, it is easy to grow lax when it comes to daily chores and following basic routines. Not making the bed anymore? Make your bed. Instead of slouching at your desk chair — sit up straight. Diet gone out the window after your third week in quarantine? Get back on the healthy eating wagon. All of these little, minor disciplines are small workouts that strengthen your overall willpower and will ultimately help you in separating your work life from your home life.
Our recommendations for combatting this lack of willpower are twofold. First, don’t give your willpower a chance to falter. Set a hard cut-off for checking your messages from work and then physically enforce it — close Slack, log out of Teams, turn off your phone. At a minimum, turn off all notifications so that you don’t hear or see the “incoming” message alert. Remember, if you don’t have cheesecake in your refrigerator, you can’t eat it — similarly, if you can’t see the messages, you can’t check them. Note that this may mean you need to “manage your boss” to set realistic expectations as to how quickly you will be able to respond after certain hours.
Second, as the pandemic continues to wear on, some people may begin to feel like they are struggling with a lack of willpower and an absence of motivation. This is a vicious cycle because willpower requires motivation. This makes intuitive sense; there is no reason to self-regulate your behavior if you have no motivation to do so. Thus, if you are feeling unmotivated right now, it is going to be incredibly difficult to self-regulate. No one is going to fault you for failing to stay motivated during this pandemic, especially when the vast majority of us have been labeled “unessential.” However, this is the time to take a moment and reflect on why your job is “essential” to you, to your clients, and to the greater community. Try not to forget that all of us are contributing to something bigger than ourselves.
Share progress on personal goals
Inspire others with your home office setup
Share healthy eating recipes
Send a ‘good morning’ chat
Catch up over virtual coffee
Have a ‘hallway conversation’
Add memes and giphys to chats to keep communication fun
Create a ‘watercoller’ channel in your team
Share insights on remote working
Be the Champion for your workgroup
Have frequent team connects
Facilitate productivity in Teams
Post shared files to your teams channels
Pin important apps/resources for easy access
Encourage channel chats to keep everyone aligned
Establish communication norms
Limit how much/often you share the same message
Set expectations for response times
Allow opportunity to everyone to respond
Use the general channel for team announcements
Build an inclusive environment
Encourage feedback and questions
Do ‘round-robins’ in team meetings/chats
Be mindful of schedules and locations
Configure personal settings in Teams
Test your headset/webcam
Set your status and status message
Pin active chats and conversations
Allow colleagues to “see” you
Embrace “do not disturb” status
Use @mentions to grab attention
Enable video with background blur
Be active in meetings
Make every meeting a Teams meeting
Use a headset to alleviate background noise
Leverage meeting chat to share thoughts/files
Mute when not talking
What are the key indicators of a successful employee
Encourage feedback and support
Celebrate success
self-motivatedPeople who are self-motivated will have a solid answer to this question. They love a good challenge and stay focused on it, even when they face a setback, or a shiny new object enters their field of vision
INITIATIVE
This question varies based on what type of role you’re interviewing for. If it’s a design or marketing role, ask what struck them about the company’s website. If it’s a finance role, ask what struck them about the numbers you released last quarter. And so on. “What struck you about our company values?” is a good all-purpose variant.
What you’re sniffing out here is how pro-active the candidate is. Did they take the initiative to research the company a bit? As a manager, you have better things to do that prod remote workers into action all the time. So make sure you won’t have to.
PURPOSEFULNESS
Effective remote workers are hyper-engaged in their work. They understand why it’s valuable and that shows through. It’s hard to course-correct someone’s sense of purpose if they’re remote, so make sure your candidate nails this one.
Ideally, they’ll say that their passionate about the company’s mission. Or they might be excited to hone a new skill. Or work at a different type of company. However they answer, make sure their sense of purpose and yours are in alignment.
SELF-AWARENESS
Even the most introverted remote workers need a little social nourishment. How does your candidate plan to get it? It’s less important what exactly their answer is. Really, you want to see that they’ve considered how being remote will affect them and have some idea what they’ll do to adapt.
In an office setting, people tacitly look out for each other (“Hey, you look really tired today – everything ok?”). Remote workers, on the other hand, have to be keenly self-aware and good at self-care or they risk burning out.
INDEPENDENT DECISION MAKING
You’ll have an easier time managing remote team members who you can trust to make the right call on small and medium-sized decisions autonomously. The best remote workers take time to understand the bigger picture, as well as what they need to optimize for at all costs vs. where they can be flexible so they can evaluate trade-offs effectively.
Hearing how they’ve handled decisions where they were flying blind to some extent gives you an especially good window into their decision-making process. It reveals what information they sought out and what information they felt they could do without. Keep an eye ear out for how they thought about their decision’s impact on customers and stakeholders – not just themselves or their immediate team.
LEADERSHIP
Even if the job isn’t managerial, leadership skills are still important – especially if your company is one where individual contributors frequently play the role of project lead.
Leading from afar means being extra-intentional about coordinating and communicating. So listen carefully to how they’d build the business case for the project and convince the leadership team to give it the green light. Then, how would they pull a project team together? A good remote worker will instinctively think about all the different job functions or skills needed for the project and won’t hesitate to get other teams involved if need be.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Ok, this is sort of a trick question. It’s unlikely anyone you’re interviewing would walk in with enough information to answer it authoritatively. And that’s the point. A good remote worker will ask clarifying questions right away. What are the team’s priorities right now? What projects are already in flight? What have we already tried that didn’t work?
Once they’ve got enough context to formulate an answer, look for candidates who get right to the point. A low signal-to-noise ratio is key for effective, efficient remote work.
When all your interactions with colleagues are virtual – either voice, video, or text – it’s easy to miss out on social cues like body language or tone of voice. That’s why remote workers with a high level of emotional intelligence are more successful. They’re able to empathize and anticipate that person’s concerns or mood, then let that influence their communications with that person.
This question will reveal whether the candidate imagined themselves in the other person’s shoes before speaking with them, and how they took that into account. Candidates with an especially high EQ will talk about how they focused the feedback on the other person’s actions and behaviors, rather than their innate characteristics or worth. Also, take note of whether they offered to help the other person work on a solution or make changes – another sign of emotional intelligence.
A more effective approach is to actively choose what to request of your employees and work with them to determine a realistic timeline for that task’s completion. This aids in establishing standards of “how” work will be done, not just “what” work will be done. Setting such expectations acknowledges the stresses employees are experiencing and likely will result in reduced stress and higher quality job performance.
Different in Leading meetings in person versus remotely
Give feedback
Ensure you are providing regular feedback
Walking meetings
Take the opportunity to both get up and walk during you connect with team members
Peer Feedback
Ask team members to provide feedback
Reverse Mentoring
Ask for feedback from team members
Celebrate Growth
Quarterly connects to learn about what they learned
Give feedback
Ensure you are providing regular feedback
Walking meetings
Take the opportunity to both get up and walk during you connect with team members
Peer Feedback
Ask team members to provide feedback
Reverse Mentoring
Ask for feedback from team members
Celebrate Growth
Quarterly connects to learn about what they learned
A lot of times what you set out to do, is not always achievable
Shorter deliberate meetings
Reduce longer meetings with shorter meetings (15/30 min)
Increase in planned ‘informal meetups’
Informal conversations benefit a lot to remote employees. Bringing structure with predictable-yet optional social activities meetings see an increase-as an alternative to the coffee corner conversations
The collaboration practices that worked well in their last job, might not work in this one. Especially if your team isn’t used to having a remote member, or if this would be the candidate’s first remote-based job. You need someone who is flexible, persevering, eager to experiment, and doesn’t assume they already know the best way of doing things. Sound familiar? Those are key components of a growth mindset.
A candidate who is all about growth and continuous improvement will have at least one story in this vein. Listen carefully to how they frame the failure, though. Do they take ownership, or shift the blame elsewhere? Unless they openly accept responsibility, they probably didn’t learn anything. Owning the failure also demonstrates a desirable blend of humility, confidence, and integrity.
Project completion
Showcase to peers
Share customer feedback
During performance reviews