In a remote company, communication is more important than ever, as it is the key to ensuring that all team members are on the same page, that work is completed efficiently, and that everyone feels connected and engaged. However, at LinkORB, we communicate via asynchronous communication. This means you don’t need to wait up for discussions with your coworkers that might be over 6 hours ahead of your timezone.
Handling team communication can be broken down into six steps.
We may feel stuck at times because we don’t know what steps to take next or because we don’t have enough information to make a decision. In such situations, doing some research to gather more information can be beneficial. To start off, you can use resources such as Google, Cyans topics, LinkORB’s internal wiki, and even AI tools like ChatGPT.
It’s critical to use your judgment and know when to research and solve a problem on your own and when to seek help from others.
For instance, if you’re tasked with writing an article on the repo egg-zample, the very first thing to do would be to conduct research and gather as much information as possible.
After you’ve done your research and gathered knowledge on a topic, the following step is to take the lead in the conversation. This includes explaining what you’ve tried or looked into so far, as well as giving a comment or suggestion where possible. By doing so, you can demonstrate that you’ve made an attempt to discover a solution and potentially speed up the problem-solving process.
If you find it hard to understand certain things from your research, you can start conversations about it with team members that have used egg-zample or have an idea of what the tool does. Let them know what you have found out and what you might need help with.
You may achieve this by creating a Cyans topic, adding relevant SMEs, and highlighting key ideas or questions. You should include context, links, and any other relevant data that may aid the discussion and speed up the process of getting assistance.
It is critical to be clear and straightforward in your communication when reporting your findings to ensure that everyone understands the situation. It is also beneficial to give your recommendation in a flexible and open-for-feedback manner, as this may encourage collaboration and result in a better outcome.
When seeking assistance from others, it is key to ask specific questions and provide context. This includes avoiding vague questions and being clear about what you want. You can help the person you’re asking for help understand the situation and provide a more effective solution by providing detailed information.
Following your research and leading the discussion for egg-zample, questions might come up. It’s preferred to gather all of your questions and ask them all at once.
You should also anticipate and present possible responses to their follow-up clarifying questions. This helps to avoid too many communication delays.
I have discovered some potential security issues that could arise with egg-zample, and I’m trying to find ways to mitigate them. I have tried out solutions A and B. But both solutions can cause problem B, and I’m unsure of which is a preferable solution.
Do you suggest the best solution to the problem is solution A or solution B?
If solution A, my follow-up question is____.
If solution B, then here is my follow-up question____.
It’s important to allow people some time to answer after requesting assistance. If one team member is unavailable, other team members in the Cyans discussion are likely to assist. However, if you haven’t received a response within a fair amount of time, you have a few options. First, you can send a gentle reminder to the Cyans topic or your person of interest, which will act as a prompt for them to respond. If that doesn’t work, you can create a child-task and set the Status to input to keep the issue on their radar.
Alternatively, you can ask the subject matter expert or your team lead if someone else can help you. You should ensure to speak freely and completely with the individual you are requesting assistance from, as well as to express gratitude for their efforts.
Sometimes the person you’re seeking help from is the only one who can help you with a particular issue. In this case, an in-person meeting to discuss further and resolve the issue may be needed. If this happens, you should propose a few times when you’re available to meet. You can indicate that you’re willing to work around their schedule and that you’re committed to finding a solution by doing so.
When suggesting times, it’s important to be flexible and offer a range of options.
It’s also a good idea to give a brief outline of the problem you’re trying to solve so that the person you’re meeting with is prepared. In this outline, you can also include links to associated topics, work items, pull requests, and documentation.
I have discovered some potential security issues that could arise with egg-zample, and I’m trying to find ways to mitigate them. I have tried out solutions A and B. But both solutions can cause problem B, and I’m unsure of which is a preferable solution.
When I try solution A, problem B happens and causes the whole program to fail. And with solution B, problem B escalates and causes C & D to also happen.
I would like to schedule a meeting with you to discuss & attempt both solutions and find the best solution to this problem. Here are a few possible meeting times; please let me know which one works best for you:
Tuesday at 11:00 AM
Wednesday at 3:00 PM
Friday at 10:00 AM
If none of these times work for you, please let me know, and we can find another time that works better. Thank you!
It is essential to express gratitude and thank the person who helped you with resolving an issue. You can do this in a variety of ways, including a dedicated subject for a task, a 1:1 conversation, or as part of your weekly update when you successfully complete a task with their assistance.
Additionally, when you’re requesting assistance from a team member, it’s important to;