How to Lose an iOS Developer in 10 Days

From 360|iDev 2015 in Denver.

Are you leading a team of iOS developers? How do you find them? What about your team makes them want to be there? What makes them stay there?

Are you an iOS developer looking for a great place to work? What do you look for? What makes you decide to stay there?

This talk will cover all these questions by talking about things you shouldn’t do. How do you make an environment that drives iOS Developers away? What are the traits that lead to horrible workplaces? In talking about building a horrible environment for iOS developers, this session show what actually makes a great environment.

Transcript

2. Hello, My Name is Josh.
8. Acquired by Ticketmaster (on April 1st)
13. Meet Dave
14. He works over at Evil Corp (Dave has told me a lot of stories)
15. “Hi Dave, it's 8:10am and we noticed that you weren't at your desk. You must be there by 8:00am.” — Evil Corp's HR Manager on Dave's first day.
16. “Photoshop is too expensive, here's a pirated version from a few years ago.” — Dave's Manager
17. “No you can't go to this 365 iDeveloper thing, you already know how to do this and there is no budget” — Dave's Manager
18. “I don't really understand Objective-C so rewrite that stuff in C# using my libraries." — Dave's Manager
19. “It's okay if you work from home, but I need you to report everything you do and the times so I can be sure you were working” — Dave's Manager
20. “How many developers do we need? Can you just do Android too?” — Dave's Manager
21. “Stop bitching and just do your work!” — Dave's Manager
23. Dave just resigned.
24. What was great at Two Toasters?
25. Growth
26. Growth • Intentional Learning • CocoaBrains • Swift Study Group • Conferences (360|iDev, WWDC) • Community (CocoaHeads, NSCoder Night) • Apple Announcements
27. Growth • “What happens after I'm a Senior Developer?” • “How do I become a 'Mid-level' Developer?” • “Should I become a Manager?” • Think about Teaching Hospitals.
28. Feedback
29. Feedback • Monthly 1:1 • 15 minute walk • “How are you?” • Quarterly 1:1 • 30 minute talk • Review and make new Goals
30. Trust
31. Trust • If you don't trust your team then why are they there? • Avoid the “Hands of the VP” Syndrome
32. Trust • If you don't trust your team then why are they there? • Avoid the “Hands of the VP” Syndrome • Micro-managers, please leave.
33. Challenging Work
34. Challenging Work • It might not be a good fit. That's OK. • During 1:1, ask “Are you bored?”. • The team can be involved in what projects to even take on.
35. Culture
36. Culture • Maintaining a mindset of improvement and optimization. • Respect each other, respect clients, respect time.
37. The Rest of the Team
38. The Rest of the Team • People want to work with people who will challenge them. • The team is included in deciding who they work with. • Take the time to hire right.
39. Transparency
40. Transparency • Show and Tell • Actively share what other teams or the leadership team is doing
42. “Um, Josh, these are all really obvious” — You, right now.
44. The Future
45. Thanks! Josh Johnson @jnjosh