How do you manage the well-being of your remote developers?
Tomasz Korzeniowski
38 replies
Any tips or strategies you find effective? Let's start a discussion in the comments below! π¬
Replies
Freek Teunen@mindfreek
We work remotely and meet each other once in the office every week. Plus we see each other every day during standup.
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How Are You
@mindfreek Hi Freek, thanks for the reply! We are also remote-first.
Personally, I am a big fan of Zoom 1:1 meetings.
I even built a small well-being monitoring assistant for them. It monitors the happiness of my devs and gives more context for the upcoming 1:1.
It works pretty well in our company. Maybe it will also help you? Today I released on product hunt :)
https://www.producthunt.com/post...
UX Playbook
Humans are social creatures so we need to have as many bonding activities as possible. I have weekly meetings with my team and most of the time they are just the time to chat π©
And if you are lucky to live close together, monthly meetups are recommended
Those activities will bring the team together and team members are more willing to share their thoughts/concerns to you
How Are You
@semigrownkid true, anything f2f works pretty well. We also try to have regular company retreats. Unfortunately, not everyone can attend them... So the thing is: how to establish this bond with remote-only members... Personally, I try to use 1:1s alongside regular well-being surveys but maybe there are better ideas?
UX Playbook
@korzonek Well, for staff to start sharing, they need to be comfortable enough. And an effective modern way to ice break is sharing memes in general group chat π
One of my team members did it first and now everyone is using memes to communicate (most of the time). I can see that we are getting closer and more engaging. Thus, 1:1 conversations are easier
How Are You
@semigrownkid totally! I think it's generally underestimated how much memes make a company culture :)
How Are You
@semigrownkid speaking of 1:1s - today I released on product hunt a small tool that helps me run more meaningful 1:1s with my devs.
It monitors the well-being of my team so I have more context for upcoming 1:1.
Maybe it will also help you?
link: https://www.producthunt.com/post...
What works best for me is the possibility of working with motivated individuals who are driven to excel each day. People become who they work with.
I manage my remote employees by providing resources and support for mental health, such as access to counseling or mental health resources, to help them manage stress and maintain their well-being.
How Are You
@shaur_ul_asar interesting... how do you know if someone needs mental health? Do you have any process for identifying well-being issues? or red flags?I think that identification is the hardest part here, isn't it? (at least from the engineering manager's perspective)
How Are You
@shaur_ul_asar personally I try to support devs' mental health with the help of a small tool I built myself. It monitors the well-being of my team so I have more context for upcoming 1:1.
Today I released it on Product Hunt, maybe it will also help you?
link: https://www.producthunt.com/post...
We are constantly in touch, checking in with one another. It sounds a little redundant but communication is really the key!
How Are You
@thomas_boulesteix totally agree! Just wondering: how to maintain this communication flow in the remote first company so it will not be... awkward... I've heard about companies that try to have ongoing Zoom calls/Slack huddles for the whole team. As an online "watercooler", I guess. TBH - not sure if that's a good idea..
How Are You
@thomas_boulesteix speaking of communication - today I released on product hunt a small tool that helps me run more meaningful check-ins with my devs.
It monitors the well-being of my team so I have more context for upcoming 1:1.
Maybe it will also help you?
link: https://www.producthunt.com/post...
How Are You
How Are You
Weekly calls and open to conversations every time they needed.
How Are You
@agustin_spada definitely! Do you use any specific techniques during those calls to understand the happiness level of your direct report? For me asking just `How are you...?` is a little bit awkward/generic.
How Are You
@agustin_spada Personally, I am a big fan of 1:1 meetings. I even built a small tool that helps me run more meaningful check-ins with my devs.
It monitors the well-being of my team so I have more context for upcoming 1:1.
Today I released it on Product Hunt. Maybe it will also help you ;) ?
here is a link: https://www.producthunt.com/post...
Best way is Work-Life Balance, depending on the company's culture, you can implement a fun way to interact or a reward system for your remote developers
How Are You
@oswaldsoto_ thanks! Do you have any examples of systems like that?
How Are You
@oswaldsoto_ when it comes to the system, I actually implement sth in my company and it works pretty well. Basically, I built a small tool that helps me run more meaningful check-ins with my devs. It monitors the well-being of my team so I have more context for the upcoming 1:1. Today I released it on Product Hunt. Maybe it will also help you ;)?
https://www.producthunt.com/post...
Edworking
Having a channel always open to discuss any difficulties is necessary. Considering their need when they are working remotely is really important. Communication is the only way to improve this.
How Are You
@edworking right! do you have any examples of those channels that work for you?
Edworking
How Are You
@edworking we are remote-first, so we use mostly online channels.
For me, Zoom 1:1s are the best.
I even built a small well-being monitoring assistant for those meetings.
It monitors the happiness of my devs and gives more context for the upcoming 1:1.
Maybe it will also help you? Today I released on product hunt :)
link: https://www.producthunt.com/post...
How Are You
@edworking perfect, makes sense!
Great question π For me, it always begins with honest and open conversations during 1:1 meetings.
How Are You
@sapero_45 yep, for me 1:1s are also an essential tool for monitoring my team's well-being. Do you have any specific questions you like to ask? Or any processes you use during 1:1s to monitor their happiness?
@sapero_45 Agree with that! 1:1s are so incredibly valuable. I found it extremely helpful to always leave a few min for small talk before diving into task reviews and to-dos. It felt challenging at first, because who has time for small talk... But once we started that, I felt I got a much better understanding of what's going on with everybody.
How Are You
@sapero_45 @sara_nelissen @elifares speaking of 1:1s - today I released on product hunt a small tool that helps me run more meaningful 1:1s with my devs.
It monitors the well-being of my team so I have more context for upcoming 1:1.
Maybe it will also help you?
link: https://www.producthunt.com/post...
Booomerang
@sapero_45 I completely agree π―
I read a article under the same title some time ago, but this articles quality is much, much better. How you do this.. https://powerroofr.com/
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