Remote-first teams work better - Nassim Kammah | #LeadDevNewYork

Full talk title: Remote-first teams work better: productivity lessons for co-located and remote-friendly teams

Your team has communication problems. You just can't see them because you all sit in the same room. Techniques that work well for co-located teams break down once remote workers join a team. The local team dials-in the remote to make them feel part of the team, yet remotes still feel disconnected. They don't feel like they have an equal voice in meetings. They feel like they're missing key conversations from the hallway track. And having an ad-hoc, impromptu conversation usually requires booking a meeting room. What if we are approaching this problem the wrong way? What if the issues are not about remotes but rather latent issues exacerbated by being remotes?

An environment with everyone in close proximity encourages synchronous communication. You will learn how asynchronous communication and systematic documentation offers a far more inclusive environment and more accountability.

An open office makes it easy to break into impromptu brainstorming sessions. You will understand why fostering the distraction-free environment that remotes enjoy can also benefit your co-located team and let them get into the zone.

This talk will uncover how to improve your team’s productivity by learning from remote team best practices. By approaching team collaboration from a remote-first perspective, you can gain insight into your co-located teams’ inefficiencies.

About Nassim Kammah
Nassim is an Engineering Manager at Mailchimp. He leads the Search team, whose members span 3 time zones in a fully distributed fashion. As a remote manager, he’s been experimenting with and developing team collaboration and communication habits over the past 5 years. Nassim is a French native and presently lives in Colorado with his wife and daughter, and enjoys climbings, cooking and outdoor time in his free time.

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[SergeyBolshchikov]

Amazing, really a must-watch for 99% of teams

[JasonHoningford]

I'd just stop using the word co-locate altogether. lol!