Sherlock Holmes and the Remote Policy
As a manager, if you struggle with the transition to full remote since the lockdown, you are not the only one, and this article will give you one tool to cope with the distance. A common fear is to lose touch with the team. The nagging question remains: How to know if everyone is still happy? When a member of my team quit in April 2020, I didn’t see it coming. I couldn’t understand how I missed it. Surprisingly enough, Sherlock Holmes gave me the solution…
Remote Policies will last
In March 2020, we all had to adapt quickly to local lockdowns imposed by governments. In summer 2020, some offices were allowed to reopen, but GAFAs were pushing for a longer trend. Google, Apple, and Facebook announced that their remote policy will extend until July 2021. Twitter fully embraced remote, by allowing all their employees to transition permanently. So most of the startups including mine are now working on their own remote policy. I have no idea what will happen to remote work in five years, it’s too soon to say. One thing is sure, some employees are already making arrangements, and those decisions will at least shape the work environment for the next two years. In the startup ecosystem, it’s a really long time, so we better get used to it.
Remote communication is hard
In every company, communication is key. When we all went full remote it became crucial for our management team to know how people felt during this crisis. We tried a lot of things. Team lead planned daily catchup, HR team sent a weekly form asking for the mood of people on a five stars scale. Managers adopted shorter but more frequent 1:1 to probe people individually. The office manager organized virtual drinks on Thursday nights and virtual coffee on Monday mornings. Deep down, we needed to see people, we were looking for signs that our team members were happy.
Despite all these efforts, one of my team members resigned during the lockdown, and it took me by surprise. I usually know when people are at risk, but here I just missed it. Knowing when people are so unhappy they want to leave is a key part of our jobs, and I failed to see this one coming. I asked myself a lot, “How did I miss that?”
Sherlock Holmes
In August 2020, I was tired by five months of lockdown, so I took holidays and stopped thinking about work for two weeks. I was reading a Conan Doyle detective novel when the solution hit me. Here is the quote from Sherlock Holmes that made me realized:
- Inspector Gregory: “Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?’
- Sherlock Holmes: ‘To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.’
- Inspector Gregory: ‘The dog did nothing in the night-time.’
- Sherlock Holmes: ‘That was the curious incident’
― Arthur Conan Doyle, Silver Blaze
A bit of context on this quote. “Silver Blaze” is the name of a racehorse who disappeared on the eve of an important competition. On the same night, its trainer was found dead in the stable. The solution resides not on the clues that are present on the crime scene, but on what’s missing. The dog didn’t bark, because he knew the murderer…
Looks for what’s missing
What I didn’t realize at first, is that we didn’t adapt to the remote environment. We merely used technics we already knew. We still needed to see people via Zoom. For instance, when I was in the office I would observe everyone. I knew how to interpret a specific behaviour. A sarcastic comment during a meeting or someone looking at his phone usually means they don’t want to be here. People laughing at the coffee machine or playing table tennis during the lunch break is a good sign. It’s easy to see what’s there.
When you go remote, managers should start to look for what’s missing. The colleague who often makes jokes and doesn’t do them anymore. People who always talk about their dog, and abruptly stop. These are signs that it’s not going well for them.
In my case, that’s what I missed. The employee who quit used to stand for his opinion, he wasn’t afraid to argue. I didn’t notice it at first but during the lockdown, he stopped. Retrospectively, I realized he avoided a couple of heated discussions. I remember a meeting, where he didn’t give his opinion. I misinterpreted his silence. I thought it was harder for him to speak up via Zoom, he didn’t want to be rude and interrupt someone. Or maybe, his child was in the same room making noise, so he preferred to stay on mute. As Sherlock Holmes would say ‘That was the curious incident’.
TL;DR
As a manager, we will have to adapt to remote teams for at least a couple of years. In the office, the clues we used to detect if our team was dysfunctional are now obsolete. Like someone always being late, a colleague always complaining at the coffee machine, the ones looking at their phone during meetings.
So instead, pay attention to what’s missing. The employee who always made jokes and doesn’t do them anymore. If you are asking for a weekly mood form, double-check people who didn’t fill it.
Keep an eye on people who complain but invest time in people who stopped complaining. Someone who complains may think there is still hope for a change, someone who stopped just gave up.
