 Hi everybody, do you think we should start or maybe wait for five more minutes? All right, let's just start with interactions. Maybe. Hi. My name is Sushigar. I'm working as a technical team leader at this moment and The reason why I I decided to present on this particular Topic was that this is really close to my heart. I have been working remotely on and off since I think 2004 And that is why whatever I'm going to present today is not a theoretical thing. It's more of my experiences One thing I would like you I would like from you in particular this particular session is that let's make this more of a Not not a one-way session. Let's make it more of a discussion So anywhere you feel that you have any questions anywhere you feel you need to interject Please do and that would be really helpful for me as well Just to get a feel of the audience. How many of you are actually working remotely as of now? All right, that's that's a real Good number of people here who are actually working remotely so so, I mean When we say working remotely, what does? Working remotely or a telecommuting actually mean In layman terms if we say what it can be working from home Working from a coffee shop working from the library basically working from anywhere else Anywhere other than a structured office that you have that is what working remotely essentially means But if you are looking for an official definition So telecommuting is a work arrangement in which the employee works outside the office Often working from home or at location close to home It can be coffee shops. It can be libraries and other locations Essentially there are no defined types of work from homes, but the the the types of types of remote working that I have listed down here are the ones that I have experienced during my last let's say 11 years of of my experience so This is the first one probably so all the teammates are scattered They are they are working anywhere. I mean anywhere across the globe across different locations to give you an example my first telecom a job was a startup and we were four people in there and The locations were we were literally falling the sun. So we had one in Australia I'm from India then we had one in Romania and one in the US So essentially we used to joke about the fact that the Sun never sets sets on our Company because the Sun is like literally going through and we had to literally play a tag team but it was just four people in different different locations different time zones and that is one type of Telecommute the other type of telecommute is like all the team members are in the same geographic Area same time zones, etc But they don't really sit together One of the examples was the last company that I was working for so they have they have a real remote working culture So we have people from right from the top of India. That is Srinagar Kashmir too And if you don't go down we have people from Delhi from Ahmedabad from Jaipur and right on the bottom We have people from Bangalore. So the one of the advantages that this kind of working has over the one above is There's no time-zone gap. So that really helps out a bit and Then another type of thing that we I have essentially experiences that the team is Divided into smaller teams and those smaller teams go work together They are on locations, but essentially these teams are remotely working. So for example at Aqquia We have a 25 member team in Delhi and then we have a team in in the US There which are working together. We have our clients in let's say the Europe region or the US region and that's how things work But the the reason that we are sitting here to you guys are sitting there is why we Want why remote working is an essential thing today and how we want to make sure that it is a successful Remote working for is successful both from the employee point of view and from the employees point of view So before we go there, I'll just list down some benefits of remote working Essentially, I mean if if I seen in a nutshell it's a win-win situation for For everybody. How's it a win-win situation for everybody? I would like you guys to give me some examples or give me I mean there are so many people who are actually working remotely here. So Anybody You will think that you are a remote worker How does it that yes So, sorry, what's your name? Francesca. All right, so as for Francesca. It's it allows you to be flexible with time and allows you more time with your family Right anybody else any any other thoughts around that? Yep, totally agree. I live in a city in India, but it's the capital of India New Delhi and I mean essentially if I'm looking at our At our workplace. It's essentially a three-hour commute three to four hours commute easily. So it saves me on that. Yes So just listing down those things and I'm sure most of you will agree the moment you think that no, this doesn't work for me I would like you to just jump on it Better work family balance for employees working from home essentially Offers a better work family balance Some people might not agree with that because being too close with your spouse is also not a very good thing I mean living together for 24 hours and being together being sitting together with each other for 24 hours is not a very good thing But I really strongly believe that remote working allows us to have a better work family behavior To give you an example, I'll give you my own example and as I said this is this whole Presentation is all about my practical experiences. So I Started working remotely in 2011 2014 sorry and I was less than 30 years of age But my commute time was more than three hours per day. I had a young child. She's she was six at that time She needed me around but I was just too tired Just too tired to enjoy my life just to try to sit with my kids just to try to get to my family and then I mean I got an opportunity to telecommute and Frankly speaking, it was a big big risk in India in 2014. Nobody knew what telecommute is Nobody expected that a person can actually work from home do some legal work and earn money And it was a big risk for me as well because I had not met the the person who was offering me employment There was no Indian entity that they have so I was worried. Okay. What if I work for one month and they don't pay me But that was a risk. I just took and I'm happy that I took that risk and thankfully it paid off But work family balance is one of the biggest reasons why Telecommute is becoming the end thing nowadays Another thing is of course flexible timings. So I might want to Sorry So I might want to like start my day at 8 o'clock. Somebody else wants to start his or her day at 10 o'clock Telecommuting is something that allows you that at times nowadays. Thankfully most of the offices don't really force on a Strict office timings, but still we do have it's especially in India We have a lot of offices which have a punch in and a punch out calendar punch out Whole sculpture so you have to be there at 9 o'clock if you're not there by 9 o'clock You reach there by 9 30 for example, you're half day vacation I mean they take it off from as a half day for you and that kind of culture still exists exists in many companies But telecommute allows you to get out of that financials We did say that yes, we save a lot of time in Travelling but we do save a lot of money as well Travelling to and from office is not expense and not easy and it's it doesn't come for free So we have maybe the petrol diesel or whatever gas cost. We have maybe a train cost or whatever and Let's not talk about just the cost of traveling there are there are incident other incidents also if I'm I mean If I'm going to the office, I have to I mean make sure that I am wearing a proper dress I'm wearing proper makeup. Maybe so those cost all else also count I mean sitting on it. Anyways pajamas is always Less expensive than a pair of proper pants and suits and you know and in fact pajamas also not required when you're still you come eating so that's one of their Major plus points when it comes to remote working that yes people save a lot. That's a fact. There was a time When I was telecommuting for three four years on a stretch and frankly speaking I did notice that I was not buying a lot of clothes because when I'm sitting at home I don't really need a lot of clothes, but when I have to go to the office every day That is the saving whether I mean you might not think of it as a saving But it actually matters the biggest biggest biggest reason for me today for Everyone of us. I think time is the biggest cost for everybody of us and if we are saving on time. Yes We are saving Saving a lot and that is so for employees. These are the four Major things that come to my mind if there is something else that any of the telecom eaters here any of the remote working people here Feel that yes, that should be added to the list. Please do tell me and You know Yeah Sorry, I didn't get it. Huh? Silence peace of mind silence Yes, and that is I would say that's a Two-way thing some people want that some people don't want that But yes, so people who work better when there is calm around them and there's silence around them Yes, it really works because at times offices are so clattered and so Chirpy that you don't really get a lot of productivity out of it Coming on to productivity. Why is it? Why is telecom eating a good option for employers? How many of you agree to this? Thank you, why don't you agree? The people who haven't really put their hands up. I really want to ask why don't you agree because? if if an employee has a better work life balance if he's saving in financials if he's saving in time he's happy naturally Happy employee is a productive employee and for employees. I think that is the biggest biggest biggest plus Like you just said silence increasing productivity I mean in an independent study it was seen that 53 percent of remote workers actually Worked overtime as compared to only 28 percent of non-remote workers and that I mean this is one just one of the stats which shows that remote working Does increase the productivity a lot? I don't know how many of you have actually seen this but If I am in let's say I'm in India I'm in Delhi and if I limit myself my company only to the If I limit myself saying that okay, I'm going to hire only people who will come to the office So essentially I'm limiting myself to people who are available in the Delhi area Or maybe who are people the people who are willing to relocate, right? So essentially I'm I am limiting my talent pool But the moment I open up to them to an option of Remote working my talent pool explodes like anything. I'll give you my example. I have been working in Drupal for the past More than nine years now But I cannot move. I just cannot move So the company that wants to hire me either has to be in the Delhi area or they have to have Offer me if they really want me or they have to offer me a remote working option Otherwise, I will not be able to join them. So this is a very simple thing. There are so many companies now that Offer remote working. So essentially, I mean, I'll give an example of one of my earlier companies So we have I was working in Delhi. We have Alia here. She was working from Srinagar We have we have a person working from Australia. We have a person working from Syria and another one working from Japan Because we found the right people the right mix and we didn't have to limit ourselves geographically This is a big plus for the employers And of course financials our aquia office in Boston downtown or I mean Think of any any location any prime office location. It doesn't come cheap it doesn't come cheap at all and So having not having a physical office just having a Virtual office does help a lot in the financials in the in the financials of the company There's no need to invest in office space. There's no need to invest in furniture, there's no need to invest in infrastructure like let's say the internet connection Phone connections etc etc etc and that does save a lot So Yeah, sure Agree. So so what you're it? Sorry Sorry, I didn't get your last line from the employer point of view. Yeah, so when yes I do understand that there's a difference between self-employed and remotely working people and people who are working remotely for a company but then again what you're essentially saying is that working remotely is also a An art that not everybody has it doesn't I mean it's it's a culture that needs to be developed And it's it's something that and that is what we will be coming to in later in the in the Presentation because everybody is not suited for remote working and there is some there are some things that you need to do to be Successful as a remote worker as well as a remote employer and that's what we will be touching based on So I mean It's every job suited for remote working Sorry, no answers Is every job suited for remote working Some very simple examples of jobs not suited for remote remote working a cab driver any other I would not agree with that I Would not agree with that a teacher can be remote Things are changing there I Have Seen people doing remote surgeries, but yes, I do agree with you. So not every job is suited for And I don't think I need to really expand on this there are certain jobs, but I Think for most of the people who are working here. We are droopalers We are working with technology and for most of us. I think remote working is an option. I would say So coming back to the point that you raised Sorry, I don't remember. I don't know your name Coming back to the point that you raised. So who is suited for remote working? This is where we'll be talking a bit about From the hiring perspective that if as an employer or as a person who has just Started a startup. I'm looking for people and what kind of people I should be looking when I'm looking for remote people make sense working in an office is A lot about working, but it's more. It's a lot about having a social workplace as well. What a cooler talks Going let's go for a coffee. I mean General chit chats So a remote worker a person who will fit this role is a person who is Okay Without a social workplace. I think that is one of the one of the key criteria Exactly Yes. Yeah, so I should probably rephrase it a bit saying without a physical social workplace So yes, a virtual social workplace is a must if we have to have Let's say a good remote environment in the company in the in the wherever we are working a remote social workplace Is a must but what essentially I'm saying about here is a physical social workplace How do us see? Propensity towards action is really really important This this is a type of person that I mean if he doesn't have a task list He'll find something to do and I'm sorry. I'm saying he I should say they to be more diplomatic here myself Should not be saying that okay. So this is the type of person They will find something to do they don't have to have a task list They don't have to have somebody standing above their shoulders and you know keeping a tap on what they are doing and what Are you done with this? Okay? Here's the the next test to do. Here's the next test to do No, they'll find something to do if they don't have something to do. They'll go to their managers They'll go to their peers and Figure out something to do people who are able to prioritize at times And I'm especially talking about teams where time zones is a big concern. I Have two three tasks in my hand and I don't have anybody whom I can talk to about prioritization But I know about the whole project. Let's say in a project environment I know about the project so I should be able to prioritize or I should make sure that the day before I have Already talked to people who know what to prioritize how to prioritize. It's very important This is I think a really really important trait to have we need people Remote people who are successful are essentially people who can write well and the reason is that most of the remote communication doesn't happen You just go don't go to a person's, you know Cubicle or a person's office and say hi. I have this issue. Let's talk about it No, you either send out an email and I am or something like that. So unless until you can write Properly unless until you are actually able to explain yourself in a nice manner and You know, it's it becomes very difficult to be able to communicate to be able to put your thoughts across If someone struggles to write clearly and concisely they'll naturally struggle in a remote team And that's what my experience has been one of one of very important aspects of this Of writing is that often an email or an I am or a message Can also sound very curt and very, you know rude. So we have to Be cognizant of that fact and we have to make sure That we write accordingly make use of a lot of smileys maybe emoticons, etc But it's really important because in verbal communication What we are saying is important But the tone is also really important and that is what we lose in written communication And that's what we have to really cater to when we are focusing on on a remote team And I think one of the most most most important Aspects of remote working is you need to hire somebody who is trustworthy From whatever my experience has been Trust is a golden word when it comes to remote working unless until and it's not just a one-way street You the employer needs to him to trust the employee as well as the employee needs to trust the employer and so when you're hiring When you're let's say taking the interview for example There was a sixth sense which does tell you that okay This person is not trustworthy do listen to that Sixth sense that has really helped me a lot when I have been hiring in the past and Last but not least I think this is something which is sort of related with the first point because of the absence of Physical social Workplace and physical social Infrastructure I think it's important that they have a local support system. It can be it can be a technical support system It can be their family support etc etc so that The person doesn't feel lonely. I have seen people who Who lose? They're who literally lose their sanity I mean because of the fact that they don't have an a proper interaction with people They don't have people around so if they don't have people around it becomes at times I've seen it become a become a concern Anything you guys might want to add please. Yeah, I don't deny that yes, but Yes, I mean yes, it's important to hire a trustworthy person when you are in a physical I think that kind of environment as well but you know In a physical environment you still have that option to be able to keep a constant check of that person just Staying with him sitting with him being on top of him always but But in a remote environment, that's just not possible so it becomes I would say having a trustworthy person is a physical actual office is Important, but it's even more important when it comes to building our remote teams. That's the point I'm trying to put here. I'm not saying that trustworthy is not needed. Yeah, I agree and I'm frankly speaking I don't have an answer to that Sure Does that answer a bit? Yeah, I mean I don't totally agree that trust is not something you can you cannot trust a person with just let's say two Interviews or two meetings. Yes, it builds up over time, but this is one of the traits that we should be looking out for sorry, I Don't know what I did Sorry for that. So coming back to our main thing here how to make it work and My answer to that is Number one communication number two communication number three communication number four communication and number five communication Because I think that is the one most the five most important things that we need to have communicate communicate communicate Regular communication now. I'm just trying to be nitpicking here So regular communication make sure that your teams have a regular Meetup a regular. Let's say a stand-up meeting every day You know, so you do meet regularly and you do communicate with each other on a regular basis It just doesn't depend what you talk about but it's very important Having an official time Scheduled, I mean it's really important on you know in a remote team communication proactive communication So I am a remote worker and I just saw a piece of code Again, I'm a developer. So I talk in terms of code So I see a piece of code written by somebody else written by somebody else. Let's say one year down the line But I feel that this piece of code is going to come back and bite us in the future, right? This is just an example. I'm giving it. It is my responsibility to go ahead and bring that up in the team Bring that up to my manager to the team as a whole to the person Maybe who wrote this code or whatever even though it's not a problem as of now So proactive communication is really really important. This might be a problem later. So let's talk about it a bit now Of course reactive reactive So I deployed to production and the production went down This is reactive communication. We have to talk we have to talk in that and frequent communication Talk to each other frequently Even if you have a regular schedule doesn't mean that you have to talk to each other only at that time Keep on talking on a regular basis So basically what I'm saying is that in a remote I mean set up there is nothing like over communicating because Because of the fact that when you're co-located in a team, you know, you gain an incredible wealth of contextual information about your teammates just by being around them So, I mean they those details might seem superfluous when we are talking Talking about it, but they it really helps us out In understanding the team understanding how they are working what they are working on just by being around But because of the fact that you are working remotely That is something that you don't really get and that is where this comes in just talk up talk remotely I mean there have been cases There I mean we just shared a video of you know a depth smash video of One of the friends one of our team is just shared a depth smash video of Their vice saying some Bollywood dialogue and just like that. I mean That that's what what I mean when I say Communicate just like that because I just wanted to share it It it doesn't make sense when we talk about a team as such It's not important project-wise, but it's important to understand the people that you're working with and that's where communication comes in And whenever we have that richness of context by being around that is where Trust building starts. So that is why it's important The five communications is something that we really need to have so in remote teams Communication is I think one of the most important things that we you know have to have might not be An expert at that, but I can I can tell you how that works for us. Let's say So at this moment, I'll explain to you about our current scenario. We have a small team in India Delhi We have like Seven developers a manager, you know kind of a team and then we have a US team as well So the regular standards that we have is we have I'm talking about I'm talking time zone wise I'm talking Delhi time So we have a morning stand up with our team and we you know take the updates and we talk about what needs to be done today What was done today? What was done yesterday? And is there a blocker? Just a 10 to 10 minutes stand up not more than that That's the way we go about and then in the evening We have a stand up with our US team as well in which the whole team in Delhi and the whole team in the US participates And then we talk about All these things which was what whatever was accomplished today. What are the priorities for tomorrow? Etc. Etc. Sorry. I am not able to hear you That is something I'll be covering a bit in tools and then we can talk about that a bit more on that And I would say this is not a Problem the problem that you just raised this is not a problem just in remote in this is a gendered problem in any kind of office I mean in offices there have been times when we have to take a call and the office is just too noisy you can't Actually take a call you have to really go into a conference room shut yourself up and maybe take a call So this is more of a gendered problem and I do agree with whatever what the solution It's it will if this is a let's say a solution. There's no Fixed solution for this. This is based on the teams and this is based on the The kind of environment the kind of setup you open. Yes, but yes, that is one of the solutions Yes, and which is arranged out. How can everybody agrees to a particular time? And then they are available at that time But other than that it's as you said that it's more asynchronous So the other person responds as and when they are available as in when they're able to answer So he might be we are developers and we go into a zone at times We don't want to be disturbed and at that time a skyping or a slack pink can be disastrous I do agree with that. So again, it depends from team to team from a person to person and how they want to manage it But it's a team decision. I would say all right remote working some very very important stuff and You won't believe I mean this might sound obvious to many of the people who are working remotely But you'd be surprised that I mean how many people and who want to work remotely? They don't really miss and they don't really check all the boxes here The biggest biggest requirement for everybody of us if our internet is not working We are not working and This might not seem to be a big problem from for people who are from us Maybe from Europe in India. It's a big problem. It's a real big problem So there was a time when I was working remotely and I had three different connections So a backup a backup of backup I mean a main connection a backup and a backup of backup of backup because that's what happens The the connections are not stable. So unless until you have a stable internet connection You cannot be a good remote worker This may or may as I said, this may or may not be required But as she had just pointed out that peace I mean and quiet and silence is one of the most important things but what if you have a two-year-old toddler and Then that silence is really difficult to have So you would need to have a separate room a separate corner where you are you can work, you know That's I think really important You won't believe how many people don't agree to that and don't have that a good headset with speakers I have been on calls with people I mean they take a call just without any headset and without any speaker and then it becomes really difficult to understand They're not able to listen me. I don't I'm not able to listen to them And you know, I just wanted to put this here because just to put the point across I know most of you are already working remotely and most of you will have all three of these But I think this very important Now we'll be coming to the tools that we were we I said I'll be coming back to What are the tools that are really that really work for a remote set up What are the tools that really make a remote team work properly a very very good chat tool a Chat tool which offers you calls which offers your video calls is preferable. We currently use Slack But Skype has worked for us very well At times we do switch to Google Hangouts Slack is Slack has an integration with Google Hangouts for videos. So essentially we use Google Hangouts a lot Some people use, you know camfire whatever works for the team, but it's it's imperative that you have a single chat tool which Which everybody is on because we don't want hundreds of different channels. I have also mentioned WhatsApp here. I Don't know if many of you know what a whatsapp is so it's what's Okay, so essentially what's up is a phone application It works on the phone and that is essentially what we use within our team to connect but mostly for non Non-project and non-work stuff. So like I mentioned when when we are sharing our dub smash videos That's that will probably go on a whatsapp and not on the Slack channel That's just a normal code of conduct that we follow Okay, as I mentioned a good video Video tool video conference tool and I I would like to point out We are we are saying conferencing tool and not just a video calling tool The reason here is that at times we there's just not a one-on-one communication There are five people calling up for example the standards that we are having if we if we have to have a good video Conferencing tool sky Google Hangouts and It really helps if it if it has a screen share option because at times I'll give an example. So I am a developer and I Fixed a ticket fixed a bug and gave it to my QA now the QA is saying that it's not working It's not working. That just doesn't help me and they say they are able to reproduce it with certain steps So if they have a screen share option They are they show me the the steps that they followed or maybe I get them No, you have to go there and not there. That's where screen share really helps project management tools In aquea we use Jira in my earlier company. They had a A home-based homegrown version of red mine Some people use base camp whatever works But it's important to stick to a project management tool and make sure that everything is there Because it's in a remote team. It's very important to keep on document everything when I say document I'm not talking about writing down a big documentation about anything. No, what I am saying essentially is that Okay, so there was a bug. I had a call with my QA about that bug Whatever was discussed there that needs to go into Jira because it's important to have The whole flow of whatever was discussed Jira for us has really worked. Well, I don't know if I mean for others what has been working Document sharing Google Drive Google Docs. I think this is something almost everybody here would be using This is a big question mark probably but for us for duck for our development tools for our Developers to be able to share code and work Collaborately github has been helping us a lot There are some other tools github is a sort of a github version only Only and that has also helped a lot of people But for us github has been working really well. I think this is a really really important tool to have So for example, I want to discuss a certain feature that needs to come in the next print or I want to organize a sprint Planning meeting Google calendars allows me to be able to look at the agenda of everybody to the calendar of everybody and Be able to schedule a meeting based working around their Schedules This may or might not be useful for some but for me even out is really very important because that's where I managed my own to do sketch for you know Screen sharing and screenshots, etc. If you are in a team which with very time zones. This is really important I live in Delhi Indian time zone So and my US team some of them are in Portland some of them are in Boston We have a project which is running in England So, I mean I'm talking about just four time zones here Then we have a team member who's in Australia the moment five different time zones comes in Calculation of plus twelve point three and calculation of plus five point three three is a nightmare So a good time zone convert a clock In fact on my on my machine on chrome. I have an app I have a plug-in installed which on a blank sheet whenever I Open a new tap. It gives me time zones of five different places, which I'm really concerned about Any other tool that you guys have used that you feel is really helpful when Sorry Trello would be I Think it would probably come in a project management tool kind of a thing Trello is the is a really yes Some for some people Trello has worked then we have other versions of we have a sauna is something that some people have Worked on there's so many things So I just mentioned what I have worked on and what has been working well for us But yes Trello is a tool that many people have used Sorry Wonder I don't know on that as if you could explain that would be great Awesome. So wonder list. That's what you're saying. Yeah Okay, great. I Saw another hand. Yeah are I would not say for actual estimation, but for Grooming of tickets and for planning of a sprint. Yes, there are tools available. So I don't know If you have heard of in like planning poker So there is a website which actually offers something like that. I Can give you a name of that? One of our teams uses it. I have not used it. So I don't remember that but there is for planning poker specifically There's already then for retrospectives for example, we have Essentially three things when we are doing a retrospective what is going well what needs to what what should stop what should start and what needs to Continue so for retrospectives. Also, there is a tool which offers something like that So yes, there are tons of tools available again. It depends from team to team on what works for well For you and your team This was just an example of So as a manager as you were saying when we were talking about Jam as you were saying when we were talking about trust. This is where you know having a specific work plan and having a certain Milestone kind of a thing of task list and that's when you keep on tracking those When you keep on tracking your work plan, that's where the trust starts building So this is really important as an employer or as a manager who's managing a remote team It's even more. It's normally To put that in a physical workplace. Yes having a work plan plan is important But it's more important when you are in a remote team because you have to keep on tracking stuff. Yeah, I agree that I agree on that Because when you are trying to hire a person, you don't know how to store the others But you have to go on your gut feeling that very important as Employer as a manager you have to make sure that you have a regular Face time with each and every person just a regular stand-up of 10 minutes per day doesn't really work Because you have to understand what your employees or what your team members are feeling and In a in a normal workplace that these kinds of things come to you from tone of a person from non-verbal communication, but For remote teams, this is what is really important video calls video calls not flying on a plane I Don't want I mean on one point we are saying we are saving and then we are flying people across that would not be saving This is sort of a correlated thing from number two Again, it's not easy to be an employer of a remote team It's not easy to manage a remote team because of so many non-verbal forms of communications that are absent So this is we have to be aware of what is team expecting We have to set the teams expectations correctly and that's where again communication and a regular communication Comes becomes really important as a remote team member. That was employees for employers perspective How what that guy needs to do and as a remote team member, how can you be an effective remote team member? I think this is one of the most important aspect being at home It's very easy to slip into the you know an undisciplined thing saying okay I need to log in at nine. Let me log in at 9 30 and tomorrow it will be 10 and next day It will be 11 So it's important that you have that kind of self-discipline and self-focus to say that no I need to be online at you know nine o'clock because I need to do this kind of work It's more about discipline and self-responsibility awareness of awareness of responsibility feedback Don't be shy when giving feedback and don't and try to take take feedback Constructively so both giving and taking of feedback is really important as an employee Be available when I say be available. I don't mean that you're available 24 hours, but what I mean is that? You are working remotely. Yes, but you have to understand that you're working in a team as well So be available for the team so that if they have any questions for you if they have any Clarifications, they're able to clear that those things up and the next thing is understand the impact So the moment you are unavailable the moment you are you decide to play hooky and you decide no Let's let me not work today and let me go for Go for some tourists saying or whatever It has an impact on your productivity Yes, but it also has an impact on the the productive video of the team as a whole because it does happen that There is that some certain team member is looking is waiting for a feedback from you So it's important to understand if I'm not available during this time. What is the impact of that on my whole team? As an employer as a company for example, Akoya, which is important that regular face time is arranged. We have regular retreats We have we participate in events where people can Meet each other and you know, we can connect to actual faces behind the thumbnails and behind the videos We I mean for example in Akoya We had a retreat the India team retreat in Goa in April Then we are meeting we are flying to Boston in October. So all these things are really important Also, it is very important to With the tools I mean they should the company should provide the tools but the process is for example When a new remote employee joins it's important for them to not feel Like offense literally it's important to have a certain culture or certain certain process in place So that they have let's say maybe a buddy culture so whenever a new person joins as they have a virtual buddy who will be taking them across and you know across the whole system and I mean that's that's One of the unconventional ways I found was you know to feel connected Turn you on the webcam on the whole day and let it just So it this sort of everybody anybody can come in and say hi I saw that in the in our Akoya office in the support thing. They have a huge TV there and People have their webcams connected. So anybody just can just go and say hi This is something that has been Four square has this implemented they call it the portal and so the interactions are not pre-planned They are very spontaneous and they have a huge Cisco router in this router, but this can be done using a basic webcam as well and most important Like I said earlier Trust when you're on in a team you have to trust as an employee You have to trust your employers and as an employer you have to trust your employees and this questions While we are looking at while we are taking questions just some Pictures I wanted to share. Yes Tricky Master I mean I would not say I have mastered that for example I do take a lot of interviews and I do ask that the The interview a lot of technical questions based on what they want to what based on the place But I do ask them a lot of non-technical and behavioral questions as well and Frankly speaking, there are no specific set of questions that I ask it's more about how the flow of the interviews going and Having that the answer to those behavioral questions really helps me understand on the kind of person that That guy is because most of those questions don't have a right or wrong answer It's just that the way they answer So I'm sorry. I will not be able to really list out a few questions for you But not only technical questions behavioral questions are really important when you are taking an interview especially for remote employees Just to tell you this was I mean We had organized a potluck. So we had potluck as different locations because our team was in different locations So different locations different potlucks This was that in a retreat and this was a meeting that was happening. You can see who's the only person working there. That's me Any other questions, please? As I said, we have a WhatsApp group and this is too funny to not share Yeah, you had a question. Oh, yes I Maybe agree. I mean it depends again on the person to person some people don't work very well that way But some people they want to explore the world and that's why But I really don't I don't know what to say about them I mean it depends entirely on person to person some people again. I know of a person who has been traveling. I mean From right from Italy. He's an American who's married to a Taiwanese So he has a home in Taiwan, but he lives in India at times So he's a stretch he lives for six months in India and then he'll plan. Okay. No, I want to go to the US So he'll stay three years three months in US and then he'll know I want to go to Italy and do some organic farming So people are like that. It depends from person to person. I Have seen some people who don't work very well when they have to travel a lot. So depends again Any other questions, please? Yeah, I totally agree with that So empathy is also really important when working in a remote environment. I mean in remote teams So you need to understand what the person other person is. Yeah, it's needed any other questions I have had people who have worked part-time and they were remote and they worked well So I don't think that should be a concern There were people who were already studying, but they wanted to earn, you know, and they worked remotely So thanks a lot for attending. Thank you. Bye