What works for us when we work from home
Like many across the world, we’ve changed the way we work – our whole team is working
remotely. We’ve been lucky: many of our team at Web Summit have decades’ experience
working from home, while others are based in offices away from our Dublin, Ireland
headquarters. We’d like to share some of the things that have made our transition to remote
work as painless as possible.
The first section deals with how our teams have adapted to working from home: the nuts and
bolts of working remotely. The second deals with the broader, structural changes we’ve gone
through as a company. We hope some of it helps.
Please feel free to copy and paste or screenshot and share whatever you like from this
document.
Take what you need and see what works.
1: The nuts and bolts
The three unbreakable rules
1. You lose the information you don’t write down
2. Discipline and environment beat motivation
3. Support yourself and your teammates – keep each other accountable
Your workspace
Quality headphones are a must
You’re going to have a lot of calls, so you’re going to need comfortable headphones. If
you’re using bluetooth headphones, keep an eye on your battery levels.
● If you are sharing a space, set some boundaries
Help your family, friends and housemates know when you’re working and not to be
distrubed with clear signals: headphones, post-its and closed doors usually work.
● Watch your energy levels
Keep some healthy snacks and drinks nearby, and don’t miss any meals.
Your mental health
● Isolation may hit you unexpectedly
You’ll miss your usual face-to-face interactions, so try to schedule video calls with
colleagues and clients – you’ll find you communicate better. Make an effort to stay
connected with the outside world – smalltalk, even if it’s online, can be a big help.
● Routines will help you stay focused
When you’re on your own, it’s easy to get distracted. Setting yourself a routine will help
keep your day on track.
● Cabin fever is real
Let’s be clear: working remotely is hard to cope with at first. With no commute to your
office, it can be easy to let a day pass without leaving your home. If possible and
appropriate, try to get some fresh air, even if it’s just for a solitary walk around your
garden or block.
The etiquette for dial-in meetings
● If you’re not talking, keep your microphone muted
Like when using a walkie-talkie, keep the channel open for whoever is talking.
Be strict about this rule! If a teammate isn’t abiding by it, mute them – it cuts down on
interruptions.
● Unless you have connection problems, keep your camera on
This helps maintain a level of body language – critical for effective communication.
When on video calls, don’t check your email or do other work. The face-to-face video
call should be your sole focus.
● Make sure all your teammates are heard
It can be easy to miss the body language cue indicating a teammate wants to speak on a
video call. Make an extra effort to ensure everyone gets their points across. Pro tip:
unmuting yourself is a clear signal that “I want to speak next”.
How to hold meetings
● Think of meetings as virtual conferences
Allow for everyone to connect from wherever they are in the world. Your scheduling
needs to answer the five Ws: what, why, when, where and with whom.
● Add an agenda and follow-up with minutes
If a meeting doesn’t have an agenda, feel free to ask for one.
After the meeting, sum up decisions and key information over email or Slack.
● Be prepared to share your screen often
When doing so, review the information you need to and then immediately stop sharing.
When you jump on a call, mute your other apps, like Slack or Whatsapp.
Collaborating with your team
● See each other every day
It’s important for everyone to see each other regularly. Be sure to sync each day to
keep everyone up-to-date with what you’re all working on.
● Look back and discuss
Set a recurring virtual meeting to review how you’re working together. Be honest and
blameless. Decide on how the team will work on improving specific points.
● Make time for chat and conversation
Chatting with your teammates about anything but work is important. Try setting aside
time to check-in and chat about how your day is going. Maybe set up a permanent
“team pod” hangout, where people can jump in and talk when the time suits. Finding the
right fit for your team is crucial.
One-to-one communication
● Don’t expect immediate answers
Remote work can often be about one-sided communication – that’s just the nature of
this way of working. Be understanding of your teammates. Something that helps:
structure your communication – whether it be a Slack message or email or otherwise –
as a single question or update, rather than a conversation.
● Set availability expectations
Starting a big piece of work? Set your Slack status accordingly (or close it).
Are you going to be away from your desk for a while? Let your team know.
● What is your backup for when things break?
Things break all the time – the internet fails or you need to reboot your laptop
mid-meeting. Communicate early that you’re facing issues and set clear expectations
for when you’ll be back online.
2: The broad and structural
How to move to remote work as a result of Covid-19
The three unbreakable rules
1. Enact your business continuity plan
2. Find the right tools
3. Enable your people
Written by Tomé Duarte , Senior Engineering Manager, Web Summit
Tomé has 10+ years experience working remotely, as well as managing remote teams
