Learn how Fission models its work and communication style on the distributed systems we help build and support.

The Case for Fewer Meetings

A study by the University of California, Irvine and Humboldt University on the cost of interrupted work found that while work was still complete and accurate after the person was interrupted, that person demonstrated increased levels of stress and speed while trying to get their work done.

Furthermore, in an extended analysis of 10 years of published research on flexible work practices, it was determined that employee productivity increased by over 70% when meetings were reduced by 40%.

So if stress levels decrease and productivity increases when there are fewer meetings, and it's already a big challenge for a distributed company to find a time when everyone can meet for a weekly all-hands meeting, why not look at a different approach?

FissionCast

Several months ago we did just that. Our VP of Engineering keeps track of any team news or project updates being shared on Discord and community calls, and at the end of the week he records a podcast. He reports on each working group's progress, which is helpful if you haven't had an opportunity to follow what your co-workers are working on.

Team members are also encouraged to share their own updates using Loom recordings. Looms allow you to record your screen, so if you wanted to walk team members through a process or demo a project, you can do that while making it more personable and engaging. You can also do a traditional recording and share an update that way. We record our Looms and ping our VP of Engineering in Discord when we're done, and then he compiles them together and peppers them throughout the podcast.

FissionCasts are shared on Friday afternoons, so folks can watch them on Friday or Monday at their convenience. One of the strengths of FissionCast is not just letting people catch up when it works for them, but also how. Some watch the video at 2x speed, and others will skim the transcription and notes. It keeps us connected without having to block everyone's calendars and coordinate across timezones!

FissionCasts are also shared in an internal post on our discussion forum, Discourse, which is helpful for adding relevant links and continuing the conversation asynchronously via comments. We can also tag the post for easy filtering in the future.

Supporting Employees

A survey by Buffer found that the majority of remote workers are supported by regular 1:1 meetings and they have systems for remote team collaboration and communication. A slimmer majority reported that they have regular 1:1 meetings as well as opportunities to socialize with coworkers.

At Fission, we use Discord for async communication and have regular 1:1 meetings with our supervisors. We use Zoom or Discord pairing when we need to chat something through for work, and we socialize virtually through occasional get-togethers in Gather (and by playing Among Us)! We also have one to two in-person retreats or co-working meetups during the year, but more on that in our next installment!


How does your remote team handle meetings across time zones? What suggestions do you have for hosting productive meetings? Let us know in the comments!