Distributed Government - Strategic Overview

License Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Strategic Overview of
Long-Term Telework for Government Executives Helping distributed government teams work effectively together while physically apart John O’Duinn 16 Sept 2020

Shifting Our Mindset STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN
| @JODUINN | @CIVICACTIONS

STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN | @JODUINN |
@CIVICACTIONS SHIFTING OUR MINDSET Pandemic “WFH” is not normal remote work • Social, health concerns • Economic / job loss concerns • Caregiver concerns • School risks vs homeschooling?

@CIVICACTIONS SHIFTING OUR MINDSET Effective remote work IS possible • Many organizations already do this at scale • Cultural, Social and Generational trends • “High tech” not required

@CIVICACTIONS SHIFTING OUR MINDSET Opportunity to improve Distributed gov teams can be more: • Resilient • Crisply organized • Transparent • Hire faster, retain longer

@CIVICACTIONS SHIFTING OUR MINDSET Words matter • Distributed Team • Remote Work • Virtual Work • TeleWork

@CIVICACTIONS Employment status != Physical distance between coworkers

Before Covid-19 ...the rules were already changing STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM
TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN | @JODUINN | @CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS BEFORE COVID-19 • no more “hired for life” jobs • trend to per-project employees / M+A / aqui-hire • Companies ALWAYS hiring • Humans ALWAYS jobseeking

@CIVICACTIONS • people less willing to relocate for each new job • trend to double-income families - 62% BEFORE COVID-19

@CIVICACTIONS • 2016 Millennials now largest segment of US workforce • 2020 GenZ will be next largest segment of US workforce • First generation to grow up with internet, smartphones, Skype • “digital natives” — Marc Prensky BEFORE COVID-19

@CIVICACTIONS Requiring humans to live within commute distance of a building AND not have a job-for-life changes society

@CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS No home for sale in San Francisco affordable on 2x teacher’s salary since Dec 2014 (list price)

@CIVICACTIONS That’s the social and economic changes There are also environmental changes

@CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS California Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Since Covid-19 ...the rules are REALLY changing STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM
TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN | @JODUINN | @CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS When Back to Normal?

@CIVICACTIONS • It is normal & healthy to want human contact • People want to go back to “life before COVID-19” ◦ … but we don’t have a time-machine Back to the Ofﬁce?

@CIVICACTIONS • Offices that do re-open will be shockingly different • Need to undo decades of reducing sq.ft per human • CDC: no shared water cooler, coffee machines • Offices are not free – need to reduce costs? Back to the Office?

@CIVICACTIONS • Commute will be different • Offices were not working for some people • Some work is location-specific • Reduce risk for location-specific work by excluding location-independent work Back to the Office?

@CIVICACTIONS Back to the Ofﬁce?

Distributed Teams are not new STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK |
JOHN O’DUINN | @JODUINN | @CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS Changing how we communicate changes how we work DISTRIBUTED TEAMS ARE NOT NEW

@CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS DISTRIBUTED TEAMS ARE NOT NEW Changing how we communicate changes how we work

@CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS ~102 people, 0 offices

@CIVICACTIONS ~700 people, 0 offices

@CIVICACTIONS ~1100 people 12 offices

@CIVICACTIONS ~1150 people 10 office X

@CIVICACTIONS 4 2 ~1300 people, 0 offices

@CIVICACTIONS This is not a technical problem

@CIVICACTIONS This is not a technical problem a leadership

Collaboration and Productivity aka How To Get Stuff Done? STRATEGIC
OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN | @JODUINN | @CIVICACTIONS

Team Culture STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN |
@JODUINN | @CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS TEAM CULTURE Pandemic “WFH” is not normal remote work • Social, health concerns • Economic / job loss concerns • Caregiver concerns • School risks vs homeschooling

@CIVICACTIONS Avoid Burnout • Create “fake commute” - mental transition • Intentionally block calendar times to recharge and for focus work • Tell people when you are there/away • Model self-care behavior for others TEAM CULTURE

@CIVICACTIONS Plan With Others At Home • “Do Not Disturb” cues • Have meals together • Talk, walk, play together. Not more-screen-time • Plan solo time TEAM CULTURE

@CIVICACTIONS Human connection • Don’t assume that your time schedule is same as coworkers • Be clear when response is expected by • Use the appropriate communication channel TEAM CULTURE

@CIVICACTIONS Human connection • Group chat channels for non-work topics ◦ #parenting, #pets, #weekend-plans, #random, #health … • Recurring “Virtual” coffee breaks with co-workers • Daily checkin meetings • Weekly small-group socials ◦ The “boss” talks the LEAST TEAM CULTURE

@CIVICACTIONS Build a culture of trust • 1x1 every week ◦ even if you both think you don’t need to • 30 mins • Manage-ee sends the agenda beforehand • Manage-ee starts ﬁrst, does most of the talking TEAM CULTURE

@CIVICACTIONS Build a culture of trust • Frequent human connection • Working in the open • Don’t ask for status; do ask for SSoT • Model the behavior you’d like to see TEAM CULTURE

@CIVICACTIONS Explicit team norms • Everyone knows what’s expected • Write it down, share and refer to it often • Keep it simple ◦ “Post in group chat when we join/leave the computer during working hours.” ◦ “We take shared notes in an editable agenda.” ◦ “We start meetings 3 minutes after scheduled time, out of respect for the punctual.” TEAM CULTURE

Meetings STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN | @JODUINN
| @CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS MEETINGS • Too Many Meetings?! • Zoom Fatigue

@CIVICACTIONS • Too Many Meetings?! • Zoom Fatigue • Single Source Of Truth MEETINGS

@CIVICACTIONS 5 8 Do I really need a meeting to know what’s going on?

@CIVICACTIONS Exercise: Where does your time go? • % Status • % Decision/Brainstorm • % Co-working • % Social • % Working on something

@CIVICACTIONS Daily check-ins • Schedule recurring remote meeting ◦ What I did yesterday ◦ What I’m doing today ◦ Blockers / questions ◦ Action items • Updates on covid-19, ﬁres, any agency announcements MEETINGS

@CIVICACTIONS Recommended Structure • All-group check-in (daily at ﬁrst, then weekly) ◦ Blockers / questions ◦ Crisis Comms • 1x1 (weekly) • Impromptu coffees • Group Social (weekly) - the “boss” talks LEAST MEETINGS

@CIVICACTIONS • Aggressively limit number of meetings ◦ “needs to attend” vs “welcome-if-curious” • Default meetings 30mins • Schedule meetings near each other ◦ uninterrupted days of work is important ◦ leave 30mins between for cleanup / catchup MEETINGS

@CIVICACTIONS • People remember when meetings end late ◦ People usually forget when meetings start late • Join video call when 10 min. reminder happens • Start after 3 minutes • “out of respect for those who were punctual” MEETINGS

Video Etiquette STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN |

@CIVICACTIONS VIDEO ETIQUETTE Audio-video meetings are FASTER than audio-only conference calls

@CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS Audio-video meetings are FASTER than audio-only conference calls • Avoid “green screens” unless you are a trained professional VIDEO ETIQUETTE

Meeting Moderator STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN |

@CIVICACTIONS MEETING MODERATOR • Use editable agendas, send reminder email in advance ◦ use simple format • People add/comment on agenda in advance = faster meeting • All take notes in same shared editable agenda

@CIVICACTIONS Dialin/video/room info:.... Date: [dd-mmm-yyyy time-with-timezone] Attendees: Upcoming Vacations/OOO: * Agenda/Roundtable: * * MEETING MODERATOR

@CIVICACTIONS Dialin/video/room info:.... Date: [dd-mmm-yyyy time-with-timezone] Attendees: Upcoming Vacations/OOO: * ann vacation next week Agenda/Roundtable: * release date for security fix (john) * update on project snoopy (charlie) * review of budget numbers (mary) * ... MEETING MODERATOR

@CIVICACTIONS MEETING MODERATOR Dialin/video/room info:.... Date: [dd-mmm-yyyy time-with-timezone] Attendees: ann, fred, charlie, john, mary Upcoming Vacations/OOO: * ann vacation next week Agenda/Roundtable: * release date for security fix (john) ** needed before Friday 5pm PST, details in bug#1234567 * update on project snoopy (charlie) ** looks good - but Mary+Tom to check budget for firewall hardware. * review of budget numbers (mary) * possible dates for Christmas Party (john) ** hold Christmas Party after the big December release deadline ** 20dec works for everyone; John to confirm date of Dec release.

@CIVICACTIONS Don’t ask someone to take notes. Do ask everyone to take shared notes. MEETING MODERATOR

Other Best Practices STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN
| @JODUINN | @CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS OTHER BEST PRACTICES Different communication channels have different response expectations • Cellphone • SMS • Group Chat • Direct Email • CC on email • Ticket/bug

@CIVICACTIONS Group chat tips • Create ‘channels’ that work for your team ◦ #stormwater-project, #data-management, #just-for-fun • Group open channel = anyone can join • Group private channel = good for closed project groups • Talk in group channels rather than DM, if at all possible • All group chat is transient OTHER BEST PRACTICES

@CIVICACTIONS Practice clear communication INSTEAD OF THIS... • “You there?” • “Could we chat?“ DO THIS... • “I have a non-urgent question about … “ • “Could we schedule 15 minutes this afternoon to chat about … “ • “You’re 3rd in line -- is that okay, or is it urgent?” OTHER BEST PRACTICES

Disaster Planning STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN |

@CIVICACTIONS Short Term Disaster Planning vs Long Term Disaster Planning

@CIVICACTIONS DISASTER PLANNING Recent Experiences • CoronaVirus / COVID-19 • Ebola • Avian Flu (H1N1) • Protests (Occupy WallStreet, BLM, Women’s March) • Fires (California 2017, 2018, 2020)

@CIVICACTIONS DISASTER PLANNING

@CIVICACTIONS “If someone has the option to stay home, work from home, that's a great choice …” de Blasio, Mayor, NYC 2015 DISASTER PLANNING

@CIVICACTIONS Paris, 2018 DISASTER PLANNING

@CIVICACTIONS DISASTER PLANNING California, 2019-2020

@CIVICACTIONS DISASTER PLANNING Christchurch, NZ, 2011

@CIVICACTIONS We build fault tolerant systems We need fault tolerant Government

@CIVICACTIONS DISASTER PLANNING Could your team work if the ofﬁce was closed for an extended time?

@CIVICACTIONS Learn now, prepare for next time Once you learn, keep those skills fresh • At least once a week (not M-F) • Do your “normal” work not just solo-work DISASTER PLANNING

@CIVICACTIONS Also tackle some hard problems These same skills help you: • Hire faster, retain longer • Hire more diversely DISASTER PLANNING

Takeaways STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN | @JODUINN
| @CIVICACTIONS

@CIVICACTIONS This is not a technical problem Takeaway #1 a leadership

@CIVICACTIONS Takeaway #2 Changing how you communicate changes how you work …and (maybe) changes the world

@CIVICACTIONS California Greenhouse Gas Emissions

@CIVICACTIONS Takeaway #3 Start now Start small Plan for long term

DistributedGov.com Ask any other questions at: • distributedgov.slack.com • @DistributedGov
Distributed Government Handbook: • distributedgov.com/guide STRATEGIC OVERVIEW LONG-TERM TELEWORK | JOHN O’DUINN | @JODUINN | @CIVICACTIONS

Distributed Government - Strategic Overview

Distributed Government - Strategic Overview

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