Communication Agreement in a remote environment

How to manage tasks remotely? How to build your working day properly?

For less interruption during the working process, we created a Communication Agreement in JetThoughts.

We need to provide fast feedback to have better chances of closing the case we’re working on, dealing with new tasks and not forgetting about requests, etc.

These are clear directions and tips that are essential for effective remote teamwork. The main goal of this agreement is quick feedback from the manager’s team.

Solution

Monitor Working Channel

The Discord channel is the place where members will post questions/requests and managers are supposed to react to it. Trello is a place where the team members will create some big tasks for implementation.

The aim is to take and small tasks from Discord channel when dealing with the main work and don’t forget about them.

Provide Feedback per each Request by adding Reactions

In order to make sure that we are on the same page, we need to have some feedback routine in place, know that someone has reviewed the request and would help as soon as he is available, ensuring working on these issues during his working day.

The simple reaction for the message will be enough:

Don’t leave requests without reply, try to answer during 30–60min while you are switching between tasks

We are expecting to provide updates based on priority in a reasonable time. Critical issues require the ASAP response. For normal requests, we could wait till the following or next standup.

Requests should have assigned owner(s)

The assignment is provided by the available member. When somebody from the team is free, he/she switches to the request. On standup, we should explicitly see who takes which request.

Provide Daily Progress Updates per Each Request in Standups

There is no special column in Trello for these small tasks, so for now, we will be using the channel in Discord and for bigger tasks — cards in Trello.

Requester checks progress per requests on daily Standups or asks the team during the daily Standup calls.

Make sure that all questions/requests have been replied if there has been a lot of them at once and even provide numeration going through them one by one.

Sometimes it could be a lot of questions and requests, so it is expected to give answers to all of them — even to number them if someone else did not do it.

How might we set Priority per Request from Chat

Move to the task without finishing the current tasks on the board if:

• Potential client / Lead expects us to act (until the end of the next client’s working day)

• Anyone is using bad language: top priority on this one

• Short deadlines (less than a day) are clearly indicated waiting for the result

• The author points out the High priority

Opportunities

Do not deal with proposals from potential customers/partners that are not part of the sprint (which are not scheduled), and if the Sales team has already taken it, then they are expected to write the advantages of these proposals the company might get.

Tips & Tricks / Q&A

How to find out the details? How to respond if there is not enough information?

• Once write to chat / Trello

• If there are more than 3 answers -> transfer the solution to the online chat room

How not to miss the request in the full text?

• Mention by name/group

• Pin posts — problems on retrospective

• Every day, at the end of the working day — just go through the chat and check that things are not taken care of

Summary

Members of the team make high-quality decisions together and have the support and commitment of the group to carry out the decisions made. CEO hopes to communicate with the Sales team every day without distracting them from their work.

Ruslana is a Lead Generation Manager at JetThoughts. Follow her on LinkedIn.

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