Remote working

[NotAllThere]

I know people who were gagging to come into the office to escape their family, or because they crave human interaction with colleagues to work effectively.

So... not contractors then?

[vetran]

60-80% of communication is none verbal. You sort of have to. The really senior people have lovely libraries behind them my boss for instance wrote the book on our speciality so he has a few to chose from behind him, clients love it. Other consultants have unmade beds, sorry that looks sh1te.

I have my camera on all the time in meetings , internally I have fun backgrounds, externally I have the boring stock ones. I explain my manshack is also an electronics workshop owned by a hoarder (channelling my internal Zeity!) if I turn off the background people are so busy trying to identify the junk on the wall they don't notice how untidy it is. People seem to love that.

[Whorty]

I don't do video teams/zoom/whatever meetings. audio only.

It's a team agreement that we all put video on unless on a specific day there is a personal reason not to. It's good manners, plus not all communication is verbal.

[Whorty]

i only do remote work.i'll use video for interviews, but not bau.
and i don't really care what you think. you do what You like, i'll do what I like.

If you're in my team and it's my meeting then cameras are mandatory unless there is a reason that day that you can't put it on. No camera, I kick you out the meeting. If you can't participate in meetings then you can't do your role and you'll be released.

I won't have anyone, however good they think they are, being an @rse on my team ... just plain bad manners mate.

[hobnob]

60-80% of communication is none verbal.

That's a figure that gets thrown around a lot, but I've never seen a decent source for it. Personally, I think it depends on context. E.g. suppose that you watched an episode of Eastenders on mute. I agree that you could probably follow most of the plot, e.g. "those two were kissing but now her boyfriend's found out and he's not happy about it".

On the other hand, suppose that someone filmed a daily Scrum meeting. I've never attended one, but as I understand it each person will stand up in turn and say 3 things:
1. What I achieved yesterday.
2. What I intend to achieve today.
3. Any obstacles.

Do you really think that you'd get 60-80% of the information by watching that video on mute?

I had a similar conversation with a trainer a few years ago, and they suggested that "not every 10% is equal", but I didn't find that very convincing!

If you're in my team and it's my meeting then cameras are mandatory unless there is a reason that day that you can't put it on. No camera, I kick you out the meeting. If you can't participate in meetings then you can't do your role and you'll be released.

I won't have anyone, however good they think they are, being an @rse on my team ... just plain bad manners mate.

You're welcome to set that policy, but it feels a bit draconian. I don't mind using my camera, it's just a bit of a faff. It's built into the laptop lid, and I normally have my laptop closed (connected to external monitors); when I open the laptop, that will block part of the monitor behind it, so I wind up peering over the top. Also, I'll need to close my curtains and turn on the lights, otherwise the daylight from the window will give too much glare.

More generally, think of other scenarios where people don't use video. Online gaming is a good example: everyone's looking at their own screen, so they'll talk via headsets but they don't need to see each other faces; they'll just yell out "I need healing" or whatever. A work equivalent is when someone does a screenshare to go through an Excel file (e.g. the risk register). If everyone has that full screen then it won't matter whether other people have cameras on or not (because you won't see them); even if you do split the screen, you'll be squinting at tiny faces.

Another scenario is an old-school phone call. If I'm on the phone, that gives me the flexibility to stand up and walk around, rather than sitting still the whole time. Is it bad manners not to turn on video for every phone call?

[jainnode]

If you're in my team and it's my meeting then cameras are mandatory unless there is a reason that day that you can't put it on. No camera, I kick you out the meeting. If you can't participate in meetings then you can't do your role and you'll be released.

I won't have anyone, however good they think they are, being an @rse on my team ... just plain bad manners mate.

WOW! - you do have a high opinion of yourself.
just as well we're never likely to cross paths then, 'cos i really don't care what you trhink, either.

[OwlHoot]

If you're in my team and it's my meeting then cameras are mandatory unless there is a reason that day that you can't put it on. No camera, I kick you out the meeting. If you can't participate in meetings then you can't do your role and you'll be released.

I won't have anyone, however good they think they are, being an @rse on my team ... just plain bad manners mate.

hobnob made some fair points, but in my experience most clients prefer "prayer meeting" participants to have their video on, and my current client actually canned an Indian team because their members were reluctant to appear on video, for some unfathomable reason, and replaced them with a team from the Czech Republic, who weren't so camera shy!

One obvious reason for havng video is that it means you get to know remote team members better, so in a sense they are more than just a name.

[SimonMac]

If you're in my team and it's my meeting then cameras are mandatory unless there is a reason that day that you can't put it on. No camera, I kick you out the meeting. If you can't participate in meetings then you can't do your role and you'll be released.

I won't have anyone, however good they think they are, being an @rse on my team ... just plain bad manners mate.

Im calling bulltulip, permie HR won’t let you arbitrarily get rid of staff and if you’re using contractors I’ll get a pound to a pinch of tulip business needs will override some middle management on a power trip

[Whorty]

Im calling bulltulip, permie HR won’t let you arbitrarily get rid of staff and if you’re using contractors I’ll get a pound to a pinch of tulip business needs will override some middle management on a power trip

Who said they are permie?

If a team member who is a permie then I will deal with it via correct HR procedures. It's good manners to have cameras on and I'm not having a prima donna in the team who think they are better than everyone else. And yes I probably am classed as middle management but I'm also a PM, and I have to deliver a project, and there are certain behaviours I expect. Don't like it, go find another contract.

[Whorty]

hobnob made some fair points, but in my experience most clients prefer "prayer meeting" participants to have their video on, and my current client actually canned an Indian team because their members were reluctant to appear on video, for some unfathomable reason, and replaced them with a team from the Czech Republic, who weren't so camera shy!

One obvious reason for havng video is that it means you get to know remote team members better, so in a sense they are more than just a name.

It also means you know they are taking part in the mtg and not doing something else ... too often the camera goes off so that the person can be doing something distracting (which may be work) ... but this shows a lack of respect to the rest of the meeting attendees. If someone needs to go do something, then they can say this .. but I don't accept that some people can be fully engaged whilst others are not.

We wouldn't allow this in a face to face meeting, so I don't get why people think it's acceptable just because it's a TEAMs call.