Effective Distance Collaboration Hint: It’s more complicated than vendors admit Speakers Lisa Jervis, Information Ecology Alice Aguilar, Progressive Technology.

Effective Distance Collaboration

Hint: It’s more complicated than vendors admit

SpeakersLisa Jervis, Information Ecology

Alice Aguilar, Progressive Technology ProjectDutch (Lindsy) Embree, Free Press

Jeanine Shimatsu, Forward Together

March 4, 2015#15NTC

#15NTCdistance

Effective distance collaboration

Collaborative session notes: http://po.st/WuvAkZ

Hashtags:● #15NTC● #15NTCdistance

Agenda● Introductions● Context

o Remote work myths vs. realityo Collaboration profiles

● Topicso Tools and policieso Meeting practiceso File sharingo Chat and calendars

● Questions and discussion

Remote work myths

● Offices no longer matter!● Just get [insert product/service name

here] and nothing else will change!

Remote work reality

● There is extra work involved ● You will have to change your practices● The best tools and practices for your

org depend on many factors

Remote work: a holistic view

● Changes everyone’s work, even those on-site

● People + hardware + software + bandwidth + communication practices

Know your collaboration profile

● Organization size and scale● Work styles and organizational culture● Kinds of information being

stored/exchanged● Standard needs vs specialized needs● Budget

Progressive Technology Project● 8 staff● Main office and 4 remote staff● Long history of remote workers● Technology org = high tech skills in-house● Chat as water-cooler, focus on culture and buy-in● Major tools: Skype chat, administer VOIP &

softphone, Freeconference.com, ReadyTalk, EtherPad, PowerBase/CiviCRM, shared file server, Trac for project management of support issues

● 2x annual in-person full staff meetings

Free Press

● 22 staff● 2 offices, 2 remote staff, 5 who come to office but

work from home several times a week● Moved to remote structure over last 5 years● Tightly coupled work = lots of meetings and lots

of updates

Forward Together

● 22 staff● Main office, satellite office, 4 remote staff● Doubled in size and added satellite office over

last 3 years● Finding scalable systems and practices● Actively changing culture

PTP’s ops team—choosing tools and setting policies

● Hold monthly meetings to discuss PTP infrastructure needs and requests

● Set best practices & protocols for security, sharing data, working remotely

PTP’s ops team—choosing tools and setting policies #2

● Assess tools needed, with an open-source focus

● Set annual infrastructure budget

● Rotate tasks for training new staff on tech

Free Press’s meeting practices● More meetings or less meetings?● Less is more was not working—switched back

to more meetings● More meetings but shorter meetings

cross-team meetings nearly every day updates that reinforce collaboration

● Video meetings when possible more accountability more engagement

Free Press’s meeting practices #2

● When does less is more work? Tools● Keep it simple.

Choose one tool and go with that

● Tools we use: GoToMeeting, Google hangout (fall back)

● Culture of evaluation From best practices to tools

● if it’s not working, we evaluate and adjust

Forward Together’s file sharing● Internally managed file server → Box

● Google Docs + Box: what’s advertised vs. how it actually works

● The migration is complete, but the work isn’t over

● Keys: o Leadership buy-ino Training and support

● Highlighted the importance of policy

● Overall: Better access for all staff

Forward Together’s file sharing #2

Glue: chat, calendars, plain ol’ phone

● Chats—like water-cooler hangout, and team discussions

● Shared calendars ease the coordination burden when you can’t just pop over to someone’s desk

● Chat status = easy visibility of who’s “in”● Pick up the phone when a conversation

isn’t working over email or chat

Always remember

● Remote work has overhead—time and $

● Change management is key● Align your tools to your organization’s

collaboration profile● Think holistically: people + tools +

practices

Questions/comments?

Thanks for coming!

Session evaluation:http://po.st/OEplNc

Contact us:● [email protected]● [email protected]● [email protected]● [email protected]

Collaborative notes:http://po.st/WuvAkZ