
Articles and tips on the topic of working remotely are growing at a rapid rate, but there are few posts from companies like Splice Machine who moved to a 100% remote work environment before the pandemic. In this post, we discuss the steps Splice Machine took to put remote-first communication expectations into action.
Digital Communication Is The New Normal
Good communication is one the most critical factors for a project to succeed, and without it projects often fail. Proponents of remote-first work environments will tell you that one of the best outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic is a heightened awareness and broader use of communication technology to enable better communication and remote working. Many companies were unexpectedly forced to come up with a plan for their employees to work from home. Though more time to prepare would have been preferable, this forcing factor helped a very large group of people get comfortable communicating virtually, using video, email, and chat to meet, plan projects, problem solve, and make decisions outside the office.
Fortunately, Splice Machine initiated its move to a remote-first, distributed work model long before COVID-19, giving us ample time to research, plan and roll out our remote-work initiative versus other companies that had no time to prepare. Our remote-first strategy included a schedule and a description of our critical path to success, identifying different roles, responsibilities, and assignments for team members to complete. We also announced and later published a Company Playbook containing communication expectations so everyone understood and could anticipate the changes that would impact their workday. A sample of our communication expectations is listed below.
Team Communication Expectations
Splice Machine expects our team to
Agree to be available (not necessarily working) during core hours when necessary.
Acclimate to asynchronous collaboration.
Use cameras during meetings and record when appropriate.
Use dedicated Slack channels to communicate, collaborate, and memorialize important conversations versus direct messaging.
Pay it forward. Add new and update outdated content to benefit others.
Management Communication Expectations
Splice Machine expects managers to
Rethink and adjust learning, training, and coaching techniques.
Set goals that are measurable, encourage collaboration and autonomy.
Host regular 1:1 meetings and team meetings weekly to discuss progress.
Host and stagger meetings to accommodate multiple time zones.
Record on Zoom for team members unable to join.
Always ask for feedback.
Company Playbook Memorializes Expectations
To further help everyone in the company better understand what would be expected of them in our remote-first distributed work environment, and to combat common problems that have derailed other distributed teams, the People Ops team wrote a comprehensive Company Playbook. Our Company Playbook describes – oftentimes in granular detail – how to operate and conduct day-to-day business at Splice Machine.
Splice Machine’s Company Playbook Covers
Communication expectations designed to work in an asynchronous environment.
Memorialization of communication so it is easy to access and learn from.
Using goals to measure company, team, and individual performance.
Recruiting and onboarding best practices.
Career advancement and compensation philosophy.
Splice Machine’s company values and its commitment to a safe culture.
Our goal when writing the company playbook was to suggest best practices designed to capture our culture of trust, autonomy, and engagement as a distributed team for our team to use. Besides creating elaborate descriptions of how to use our communication and performance tools, we also spent quite a bit of time thinking about and publishing a protocol to address and resolve conflict. This is particularly important in a company representing global nationalities and cultures. We realize it is easy to take a written comment out of context, so we strongly encourage people to use their camera to gauge reactions while discussing weighty ideas, comments, and questions.
Define How Your Company Recognizes Remote
Whether you are writing your first company playbook or updating your existing playbook, handbook, or remote-first policies, it’s critical that you describe and publish your company’s interpretation of remote work if you plan on operating remote-first. Setting guidelines, boundaries, and expectations is the first step. Owl Labs’ Ultimate Guide to Crafting Remote Work, Flexible Schedule, and Working from Home Policies is a great document to refer to get started.
While we wouldn’t recommend relying solely on Splice Machine’s journey to base your decision and implement remote-first at your company, we believe that by the time you have read through our 12 posts or ebook, you will better understand the options, challenges, and advantages of building a remote-first company.
Watch for our next post which will focus on tips to recruit and hire remote-ready talent. You may also view all of our posts on Splice Machine’s career page or download the Splice Machine Journey From Office to 100% Remote ebook that our posts are based on.
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