Scalable communication in  a distributed organization

HIGH CONTEXT, LOW CONTEXT Scalable communication in   a distributed
organization LENA MORITA

@mirka Software Engineer at Automattic Co-Director at  Women Who Code
Tokyo LENA MORITA

and more!

@mirka Uruguay United States Spain (living in UK) Slovakia Romania
Japan Philippines MY TEAMMATES BY COUNTRY

SIX MONTHS AGO…

@mirka HIGH-CONTEXT COMMUNITY • Common values and ideals • Shared
history • Everybody knows each other • Similar cultural background • Running jokes and jargon

@mirka EXTREMELY HIGH CONTEXT! MY PREVIOUS JOBS • 3-person, all-Japanese
agency  where we had a similar sense of humor and taste in music • 2-person agency with my significant other

MY BEGINNINGS AT  AUTOMATTIC

@mirka OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE • Audience • Longevity

@mirka FOR AUTOMATTIC “WHY” REMOTE WORK? • Things can be
built remotely (OSS). • When building for a diverse user base,  it’s better for the workforce to be diverse. • Only way to hire from the global talent pool.  “Talent and intelligence are equally distributed  throughout the world. But opportunity is not.”

@mirka Remote work can be much more than “WORKING FROM
HOME”

@mirka FOR AUTOMATTIC REMOTE WORK IS… Replicating the co-located workplace
experience Synchronous → Asynchronous  Verbal → Written

SCALABLE COMMUNICATION

@mirka ADVANTAGES ASYNC, WRITTEN COMMUNICATION • Public by default =
No silos • Newcomers have access to historical context

@mirka A framework for thinking about SCALABLE COMMUNICATION is useful
for any organization,  remote or not.

@mirka SYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION can be very useful, but is expensive.

@mirka In an async, written context, COMMUNICATION = EMITTING INFORMATION

@mirka 1. Lifespan 2. Audience 3. Mode EMITTING INFO HOW
AND WHERE?

@mirka WILL WE NEED TO RETRIEVE THIS INFORMATION? LIFESPAN •
Zero — Calls, meetings • Less than a few weeks — Slack, chat • More than a month — Blog, wiki, or any agreed-upon, searchable repository

@mirka WHO WOULD WANT THIS INFORMATION? AUDIENCE • Only a
specific person (private) • Only my immediate team • Topic-based narrower broader

@mirka PUSH OR PULL? MODE FEED  Timely information that is
mainly useful now. WIKI  Evergreen information that is retrieved when needed.  Anyone can edit.

LOW-CONTEXT  COMMUNICATION

@mirka LOTS OF SHARED CONTEXT HIGH-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION • Easier •
Faster • More fun! But not scalable

@mirka NOT MUCH SHARED CONTEXT LOW-CONTEXT COMMUNICATION • Takes empathy
• Takes more time • Aﬀords less “personality” But scalable

@mirka 1. Topic 2. Structure 3. Rhetoric CALIBRATE IS THERE
ENOUGH CONTEXT?

@mirka HOW FAMILIAR IS MY AUDIENCE? TOPIC • Imagine being
a newcomer, or yourself in six months • Hypertext is your friend

@mirka DOES IT SUPPORT DIFFERENT CONTEXTUAL NEEDS? STRUCTURE • Provide
a TLDR • Clear structure with subheadings • If you have an “ask”, be clear about it

@mirka ARE MY EXPRESSIONS STRAIGHTFORWARD? RHETORIC • Be careful: Slang,
acronyms, colloquial expressions • Restrain the impulse to be “clever”

@mirka Async & written Public by default Low context SCALABLE 
COMMUNICATION

THANK YOU!

Scalable communication in  a distributed organization

Scalable communication in  a distributed organization

Lena Morita

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HIGH CONTEXT, LOW CONTEXT Scalable communication in   a distributed

@mirka Software Engineer at Automattic Co-Director at  Women Who Code

and more!

@mirka Uruguay United States Spain (living in UK) Slovakia Romania

SIX MONTHS AGO…

@mirka HIGH-CONTEXT COMMUNITY • Common values and ideals • Shared

@mirka EXTREMELY HIGH CONTEXT! MY PREVIOUS JOBS • 3-person, all-Japanese

MY BEGINNINGS AT  AUTOMATTIC

@mirka OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE • Audience • Longevity

@mirka FOR AUTOMATTIC “WHY” REMOTE WORK? • Things can be

@mirka Remote work can be much more than “WORKING FROM

@mirka FOR AUTOMATTIC REMOTE WORK IS… Replicating the co-located workplace