4 ms·

That trap also exists in the office, though. Even in the office, you need to give juniors active guidance. It's just that the way you give that guidance is diff

by mcv 4y ago

That trap also exists in the office, though. Even in the office, you need to give juniors active guidance. It's just that the way you give that guidance is different online and in the office.

zwkrt 4y ago
The difference is it in the office you can just actively see that somebody is anxious and you can ask them what’s up.
- mcv 4y ago
  True, but there have been plenty of cases where juniors languishing in an office with little guidance. And remote you can still ask them how they're doing by chat. It's true that the barrier is a bit higher remote, but it's not unsurpassable.
  - fendy3002 4y ago
    In office, there's watercooler chat that can lead to debugging session. In remote there isn't. That being said, with the former culture, it's harder to ask question online and asynchronously, since usually they prefer and wait to have in face session instead.
    - toshaga 4y ago
      The equivalent in remote is a chat/thread turn into a call with a screen share. Managers and seniors encourage juniors to ask questions or just “speak” their minds. There are multiple touchpoints for that to happen, dailies, 1:1’s, spontaneous check-ins b/c people care. In a culture where remote work habits are good, these will be imparted on new-joiners, especially less experienced ones.
kevinmchugh 4y ago
It's a lot easier for me to observe a junior struggling, spinning their wheels, and give corrective feedback in the office. I don't know the remote equivalent of glancing at their screen and body language while I get up for a bathroom break.
- mcv 4y ago
  Listen to what they say during the daily team meeting, and occasionally ask by chat how they're doing. It's true that it has to be a bit more explicit, and it may be a bit slower, but it's far from impossible.
  - Consultant32452 4y ago
    It's really this simple. Junior employees need to be more actively managed than senior employees. They literally do not know what they're doing, that's what makes them junior. Remote or local, they need more oversight to help them learn and become productive.
    - kevinmchugh 4y ago
      Can you give me advice on how to provide oversight in a way that's not demoralizing, infuriating, patronizing? I found working with juniors _fun_ and rewarding in person. Remote i have hated it and don't think I've been good at it
      - Consultant32452 4y ago
        One thing that has worked for me in the past is to do some regularly scheduled pair programming. When I'm driving I narrate my thought process and encourage questions. They get to see things and when I make a little typo and they can catch it, not only does it save me a few seconds but it makes them feel GREAT that they helped the senior dev. Making this highly interactive and the senior driving FIRST makes it still "fun" when the junior is in the driver's seat. One of the biggest skills you're helping a junior to learn is how to break apart a big task into small, workable components. Maybe they are assigned a user story, but that user story is going to need multiple functions written, or something like that. So you might start with pseudo-coding or creating the interfaces together, talk high level about how a particular method should work, and then let them do that part by themself. "Let me know if you get stuck or done with that and then let's do a little informal code review." Beyond that it's the normal management stuff of compliment sandwich on negative feedback, etc. The normal things you do to build and maintain rapport with coworkers.

by mcv 4y ago

That trap also exists in the office, though. Even in the office, you need to give juniors active guidance. It's just that the way you give that guidance is different online and in the office.

zwkrt 4y ago

The difference is it in the office you can just actively see that somebody is anxious and you can ask them what’s up.

mcv 4y ago
True, but there have been plenty of cases where juniors languishing in an office with little guidance. And remote you can still ask them how they're doing by chat. It's true that the barrier is a bit higher remote, but it's not unsurpassable.
- fendy3002 4y ago
  In office, there's watercooler chat that can lead to debugging session. In remote there isn't. That being said, with the former culture, it's harder to ask question online and asynchronously, since usually they prefer and wait to have in face session instead.
  - toshaga 4y ago
    The equivalent in remote is a chat/thread turn into a call with a screen share. Managers and seniors encourage juniors to ask questions or just “speak” their minds. There are multiple touchpoints for that to happen, dailies, 1:1’s, spontaneous check-ins b/c people care. In a culture where remote work habits are good, these will be imparted on new-joiners, especially less experienced ones.

kevinmchugh 4y ago

It's a lot easier for me to observe a junior struggling, spinning their wheels, and give corrective feedback in the office. I don't know the remote equivalent of glancing at their screen and body language while I get up for a bathroom break.

mcv 4y ago
Listen to what they say during the daily team meeting, and occasionally ask by chat how they're doing. It's true that it has to be a bit more explicit, and it may be a bit slower, but it's far from impossible.
- Consultant32452 4y ago
  It's really this simple. Junior employees need to be more actively managed than senior employees. They literally do not know what they're doing, that's what makes them junior. Remote or local, they need more oversight to help them learn and become productive.
  - kevinmchugh 4y ago
    Can you give me advice on how to provide oversight in a way that's not demoralizing, infuriating, patronizing? I found working with juniors _fun_ and rewarding in person. Remote i have hated it and don't think I've been good at it
    - Consultant32452 4y ago
      One thing that has worked for me in the past is to do some regularly scheduled pair programming. When I'm driving I narrate my thought process and encourage questions. They get to see things and when I make a little typo and they can catch it, not only does it save me a few seconds but it makes them feel GREAT that they helped the senior dev. Making this highly interactive and the senior driving FIRST makes it still "fun" when the junior is in the driver's seat. One of the biggest skills you're helping a junior to learn is how to break apart a big task into small, workable components. Maybe they are assigned a user story, but that user story is going to need multiple functions written, or something like that. So you might start with pseudo-coding or creating the interfaces together, talk high level about how a particular method should work, and then let them do that part by themself. "Let me know if you get stuck or done with that and then let's do a little informal code review." Beyond that it's the normal management stuff of compliment sandwich on negative feedback, etc. The normal things you do to build and maintain rapport with coworkers.