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Why does writing matter in remote work?

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Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#21

Post by gexla »

aardvark291 wrote: post #7
gexla wrote: post #5

This piece is kind of fluffy, I don't see why it's on the front page. Not particularly insightful. From my experience, Filipino's speaking English as a second language generally have difficulty fitting in with Western culture when working remotely. This requires extra communication and emphasis on expectations to get everyone on the same sheet of music. Clearer explanations are required than with native English speak…

> From my experience, Filipino's speaking English Hey there - this seems like unnecessary ethnic stereotyping. Also, no apostrophe is used in this situation.

You're quoting out of context. The full quote was Filipinos who speak English as a second language. It's reasonable to point out that they'll (ESL's) need more help in getting up to speed with communication which may include fluent speakers.

Further context is the origin of the author. The author appears to be Filipino. The author specifically mentioned a scenario of a meeting between someone in London (most likely a fluent English speaker), San Francisco (most likely a fluent English speaker) and Manila (most likely ESL.) Why not point out the other difficulties of this scenario? I live in the Philippines, so I experience this regularly.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#22

Post by bryanrasmussen »

insickness wrote: post #2

Whenever you compose an email, put your ask in the first sentence. Do you want information from them? Do you want them to do something for you? Put it in the first sentence. Then put the explanation and details in the rest of the email.

Also, at least if you're writing it to me, don't write several rambling pages where you also disparage other people in the project and then ask me at the very end of the email to not share it with the group.

Put that don't share request at the top in caps, bold.

Sorry, still sore years later.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#23

Post by nikanj »

tluyben2 wrote: post #16

I work with many people who are against writing; they never write anything and they only want to do sync meetings (phone/in person); I am on the tech team usually which makes that even more painful as 'talking through tech' is a horrible thing. Nothing sticks as everyone needs time to think about things. Inevitably, after a while, you get people losing track of things that were actually said, that were actually agree…

For most companies, the process is not the product. Having immaculate meeting notes from sync meetings 3 years ago doesn't keep the lights on.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#24

Post by ivanovb »

silveroriole wrote: post #20
cachestash wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Miltary parlance does not always translate well to civilian. His first example email ~~~ Shannon, Bottom Line: We will reduce the number of days that employees can work from home from three to one day per week effective December 1st. Background: * This is an effort to encourage team morale and foster team collaboration * All members of the management committee supported this decision ~~~~ A lot of people would take t…

Yes, this seems like it’ll cause resentment and arguing unless Shannon is already bought in. She reads the first line and maybe thinks “but why? I don’t like it!”. She only gets to the reasoning after she’s set against the decision and looking for reasons to disagree. The other way round, she reads about increasing team morale and thinks “oh, good, I agree”, then is more likely to agree with the decision. If the boss…

But couldn't this be improved by just adding the 'condensed version' of the reason in the bottom line? For example:

'To improve team morale, we will reduce the number of days that employees can work from home from three to one day per week effective December 1st.'

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#25

Post by AmericanChopper »

cachestash wrote: post #14
AmericanChopper wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve followed this format ever since I read about BLUF [0], and I’ve found it to be highly effective. I don’t use the same subject keywords the article describes, but I try to keep it concise. I put the point of the email first, a bit of background, and further explanation below that if required. I don’t think anybody really appreciates the beating around the bush and story telling that goes into a lot of corporate e…

Miltary parlance does not always translate well to civilian. His first example email ~~~ Shannon, Bottom Line: We will reduce the number of days that employees can work from home from three to one day per week effective December 1st. Background: * This is an effort to encourage team morale and foster team collaboration * All members of the management committee supported this decision ~~~~ A lot of people would take t…

I’m exclusively talking about the suggested structure. The tone of the communication is up you. That said, if you have instructions to give somebody, it’s probably best to make sure there isn’t any ambiguity about it.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#26

Post by parallel »

thomk wrote: post #8
insickness wrote: post #2

Whenever you compose an email, put your ask in the first sentence. Do you want information from them? Do you want them to do something for you? Put it in the first sentence. Then put the explanation and details in the rest of the email.

This. Even if you are emailing an old friend for a favor, put your request up front then put the cordial stuff after, its much more sincere that way. > Joe, we are looking for advisors to sit on our board. This is a non-paying position so I'm emailing all my old friends and asking for favors. Hey, how are you? How is your wife and son? Either way lets get together soon! --Aaron

I disagree with this but it may just be a style thing. Reading "Hey, how are you?" in the middle of the content put me on guard, I feel like I might be being manipulated somehow.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#28

Post by smu »

nikanj wrote: post #23
tluyben2 wrote: post #16

I work with many people who are against writing; they never write anything and they only want to do sync meetings (phone/in person); I am on the tech team usually which makes that even more painful as 'talking through tech' is a horrible thing. Nothing sticks as everyone needs time to think about things. Inevitably, after a while, you get people losing track of things that were actually said, that were actually agree…

For most companies, the process is not the product. Having immaculate meeting notes from sync meetings 3 years ago doesn't keep the lights on.

OP mentioned he's in a business owner role. He's probably talking to customers often, possibly scoping projects or features.

In these cases, having notes will prevent scope creep and will be necessary to have customers accept the work. Customers will forget what was discussed and what was agreed to. They will want to add that "one last thing" just when you're expecting to close the project.

Even in different roles (or internally), I think many would benefit from writing down meeting notes because it anchors the discussion and creates shared understanding. Voice only will cause many to forget specifics or move the goal.

I don't think OP is in favor of writing a book for every meeting. Having notes / documentation will make you more effective. It will also lower the frequency of you and the other party having different expectations. It's a good habit to have for these reasons and the many others outlined in this thread.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#29

Post by ilaksh »

I agree. First thing that comes to mind though is that you need the other person to have a certain level of competence, writing and reading skills, and dedicated time in order for written communication to work. If any of those things break down, you might be more successful with voice chat or phone calls.

For example, I have worked with clients or bosses who unfortunately were unable or unwilling to handle written communication effectively. Different types of problems can occur. Some people may be busy and decide they don't have time to acknowledge emails. So you literally don't know if they even read them. The next issue is they will read the first one or two sentences and get the gist, but are unwilling or unable to do any real thinking about what you wrote, and so will reply with something fairly obvious that may actually have been covered in your email. So technically they read it, but they didn't understand it well or do any analysis of the information.

The other one is where the other guy has a different viewpoint and that causes them to not want to understand the part of your message that contradicts it.

The other issue that can occur is that some people just don't quite have enough will power or cognitive ability to focus on something without having an audio chat. So something that requires their input but isn't their own task, they are not able to put adequate analysis into it in an email, even though you can see they are trying. Sometimes they are a manager and can't really operate well without a meeting or oral discussion of some kind.

Having said all of that, I prefer working with people that can work asynchronously on a project.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#30

Post by C1sc0cat »

nikanj wrote: post #23
tluyben2 wrote: post #16

I work with many people who are against writing; they never write anything and they only want to do sync meetings (phone/in person); I am on the tech team usually which makes that even more painful as 'talking through tech' is a horrible thing. Nothing sticks as everyone needs time to think about things. Inevitably, after a while, you get people losing track of things that were actually said, that were actually agree…

For most companies, the process is not the product. Having immaculate meeting notes from sync meetings 3 years ago doesn't keep the lights on.

Sorry no - I work on enterprise websites for a very big brand and the process is a key part of the product - liaising with European developers creative agencies in the UK / US and the brand and ourselves is a key part.

Unfortunately a lot of the big name consultancies and agencies are terrible at written communications and quite often farm out work to what appears to be interns with poor writing skills and very little knowledge of the web.

I got sent a scrappy unformatted PDF yesterday that if I had delivered that when I worked for British Telecom would have got my appraisal marked as needs improvement (the first step to a PIP)

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