Jay shared this talk at the Agile and Scrum meetup in Melbourne in September 2019. It contains an overview of how remote teams work at Envato, as well as tips for working remote and working with people or teams that are remote.

1. Working together
from anywhere
Jay Hyett (he/him)
Senior Delivery Coach
Agile & Scrum
Melbourne
September 2019
Prostock-studio (Ukraine) Photodune Author

2. > 10,000,000 registered users Community have
earned > $800,000,000 USD

4. #WIIFM
THPStock (Australia) Photodune Author
● Why you should consider remote
or flexible working options.
● Types of remote working.
● Team structure at Envato.
● Alignment beyond teams.
● Tools to support remote working.
● Tips for working remotely.
● Tips for working with remote
people. Anna_Om Photodune Author

5. Why you should consider remote or flexible working options
Not all of the best talent is located
in the same place.
FiledIMAGE Photodune Author

6. Why you should consider remote or flexible working options
Work-life balance
● Parents returning to work
● Commitments outside of work
FiledIMAGE Photodune AuthorRawpixel Photodune Author

7. Why you should consider remote or flexible working options
Work when it’s best for you
FiledIMAGE Photodune AuthorRawpixel Photodune Author

8. Why you should consider remote or flexible working options
Autonomy to pick your working
environment.
● What type of work are you doing and
where is it best to do it?
FiledIMAGE Photodune AuthorProstock-studio Photodune Author

9. Why you should consider remote or flexible working options
Traffic - we’re all part of it but you
can help cut it down.
haveseen Photodune Author

10. Why you should consider remote or flexible working options
Real Estate Cost
● You don’t need to pay for space your not
using.
haveseen Photodune Author

11. Types of remote working
Outsource - sending
work to an external
third party.
Distributed -
members of the same
team that are not co-
located.
Working from
home.
Working from
anywhere -
location
independent.

12. Types of remote working at Envato
Hybrid - a mixed approach and the Envato way.
● Outsource our Help Desk.
● Distributed people and teams across
Australia and the world.
● Work from HQ.
● Work from home.
● Work from anywhere*.
(* = up to 3 months per year)

13. Team structure at Envato
Product Delivery Team
Delivery Lead Product Lead Engineer(s)
or BA
& UX
Envato teams work to the same two week sprint cadence
across the board.
All teams start and end their sprints at the same time.
Teams generally have:
● Sprint Planning
● Daily Stand-up
● Backlog Grooming
● Retrospective
Teams generally don’t have:
● A physical team wall
● A co-located team space
People can sit anywhere in HQ, or WFH, or WFA.

14. Tools to support remote collaboration
Trello = team boards, including W.I.P and backlogs.
Mural = remote friendly whiteboard, used for inception,
workshops, design sprints, planning, etc..
GroupMap = remote friendly retrospective and workshop tool.
Product Plan = company goals and team roadmaps.

15. Tools to support remote collaboration
Slack = real time and asynchronous communication.
Screenhero by Slack = pairing practice.
G-Suite = live working documents and video chat (hangouts).
Video conference = large workshop or all company sessions.

16. Tools to support remote collaboration
15five = company and personal
development goals, quarterly
performance reviews and
recognition.

17. Tools to support remote collaboration

18. Alignment beyond teams
All Hands - Fortnightly

19. Alignment beyond teams
Group planning and quarterly kick-
offs

20. Alignment beyond teams
Fortnightly showcases

21. Alignment beyond teams
Launch Wall - what has been
released and what is coming up.

22. Alignment beyond teams
Demopalooza - once a sprint and
rotated across groups

23. Alignment beyond teams
Hack Week -
Twice a year

24. Disclaimer
This works for us
Tips for working remotely
Perception of
working from
home… it’s all
PJ’s and Netflix

25. Tips for working remotely
Plan your day
○ Set a schedule just like you would in the office.
○ Do you have meetings?
○ When is your focus time?

26. Tips for working remotely
Dress like you’re going to work
○ Prepare like you’re going to the office e.g.
have a shower, get dressed.
○ Make it feel different to domestic life (if
you’re working from home).

27. Tips for working remotely
Be as visual as possible
○ In particular if you’re connecting with
team mates e.g. turn on your camera.
○ Mute your microphone if you’re
somewhere noisy.

28. Tips for working remotely
Work out loud
○ Communicate your movements
○ Share your progress
○ Slack presences

29. Tips for working remotely
Avoid back to back meetings
○ You’ll find yourself sitting in the same
place for hours.
○ No moving from meeting to meeting =
no mental refresh.
○ Try scheduling meetings for 5 past and
close at 5 to the hour.
Pressmaster (Russian Federation) Photodune Author

30. Tips for working remotely
Take breaks - it’s ok
○ Have lunch.
○ Exercise.
○ Make use of the flexibility.

31. Tips for working remotely
Experience new things
○ Try out a new environment e.g. a co-
working space, a park, a cafe.
○ A change of scene may give you a
fresh idea or perspective.

32. Tips for working remotely
● Know when to stop - don’t burn out.
○ Working long hours isn’t sustainable.
○ Create a finish line for your day - “Daily Retro”

33. Disclaimer
This works for us
Tips for working
with people and
teams that are
remote

34. Good and reliable technical
setup.
● Put some investment into it.
Tips for working with people and teams remotely

35. Tips for working with people remotely
Team Working Agreements

36. If one person is remote then everyone is
remote.
○ Digital boards, live documents, photos of whiteboards.
○ Look for signals in video chats - does someone want to
speak?
○ Ask questions and include remotes.
○ Turn your video on as it increases engagement.
○ Include remote people in decision making.
○ Collaboration supercards
Tips for working with people remotely

37. Be as visual as possible and
work out loud.
○ Boards
○ Pull requests
○ Roadmaps
○ Bring your team area to life
Tips for working with people remotely

38. Different time zones
○ Asynchronous updates and how
frequently you can meet face to face.
○ Record sessions.
○ Explore different feedback loops.
○ Alternate between Fahrenheit and
Celsius.
○ Bring people to the office - back to
base week.
Tips for working with people remotely

39. Asynchronous and prep work
before meetings or workshops
○ Help people with shared
understanding.
○ Need to create space as we’re not
sitting next to the person.
Tips for working with people remotely

40. If facilitating, slow down.
○ Give people space to answer and ask questions.
Tips for working with people remotely

41. Get an insight into their world.
○ Show us where you live.
○ Take us outside for a tour.
○ Photos of workspaces.
○ Meet their family or pets.
○ Icebreakers
Tips for working with people remotely

42. Virtual Water Cooler or place to
hangout #work-from-anywhere
Tips for working with people remotely

43. Disclaimer
This works for us
The decision to make the change
can be the hardest part so:
● Start small (one day a week
for a period of time).
● Start with a small group of
people.
● Try new things and adapt and
learn from them (agile
mindset)

44. Remote
Lean Coffee
Once a month
Check out Melbourne Lean
Coffee on Meetup.com

45. Thanks!
Twitter: @jhyett
jay.hyett@envato.com
den-belitsky Photodune Author