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How to set junior employees up for success in remote

slite.com

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Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#11

Post by kevinmchugh »

pluc wrote: post #3
Icathian wrote: post #2

While I can understand some of the arguments made about juniors getting some extra benefit from having everything close to hand, the sheer pace of the hit pieces against remote the last month or so is hilarious and very telling.

It's very obvious too... of course junior employees don't do as well as veterans when you take out the entire physical support system. Like.. duh? What you need to solve this is merely competent managers/mentoring culture.

Can you provide some links on how to support junior employees while totally remote? I've struggled mightily with it and a lot of the most pro-remote teams I'm familiar with most don't hire juniors

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#12

Post by chadash »

pluc wrote: post #3
Icathian wrote: post #2

While I can understand some of the arguments made about juniors getting some extra benefit from having everything close to hand, the sheer pace of the hit pieces against remote the last month or so is hilarious and very telling.

It's very obvious too... of course junior employees don't do as well as veterans when you take out the entire physical support system. Like.. duh? What you need to solve this is merely competent managers/mentoring culture.

> What you need to solve this is merely competent managers/mentoring culture.

I see this claim thrown around frequently as if finding great managers or building a great management culture is an easy thing to do. A great manager in engineering needs to be good at engineering and good at management. It's hard enough to hire for one or the other, let alone both.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#14

Post by Darkstryder »

Icathian wrote: post #2

While I can understand some of the arguments made about juniors getting some extra benefit from having everything close to hand, the sheer pace of the hit pieces against remote the last month or so is hilarious and very telling.

Slite is a SaaS company providing tooling for remote work and is a fully remote company itself, all of that since well before the pandemic. So I think calling the article a "hit piece against remote" is unwarranted in this case.

Disclaimer: I have an acquaintance who works there.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#15

Post by zwkrt »

mcv wrote: post #9
slackfan wrote: post #7

For junior engineers it's really easy to fall into the trap of trying to solve everything themselves instead of asking for help when they are remote. I say this as somebody who has spent the last five years working remote team-based gigs.

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.

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

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#16

Post by kevinmchugh »

mcv wrote: post #9
slackfan wrote: post #7

For junior engineers it's really easy to fall into the trap of trying to solve everything themselves instead of asking for help when they are remote. I say this as somebody who has spent the last five years working remote team-based gigs.

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.

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.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#17

Post by II2II »

pluc wrote: post #3
Icathian wrote: post #2

While I can understand some of the arguments made about juniors getting some extra benefit from having everything close to hand, the sheer pace of the hit pieces against remote the last month or so is hilarious and very telling.

It's very obvious too... of course junior employees don't do as well as veterans when you take out the entire physical support system. Like.. duh? What you need to solve this is merely competent managers/mentoring culture.

It takes more than competent managers and a traditional mentoring culture. Everybody has to be as receptive to new employees in remote as they are to new employees on site. That is remarkably difficult to do when, at best, you see the new employees during meetings. When people do make a point of reaching out to remote employees, it also tends to be more artificial than organic.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#18

Post by _dain_ »

ZetaZero wrote: post #8
geraldwhen wrote: post #5

Before remote, the office was already increasingly hostile. Open floor plans, some groups having shared seating, and offices for roughly no one. Now, it’s worse. Everything is “reservable equipment” of garbage monitors, windows keyboards, and 400 dpi mice. I suspect it’s harder for a junior to succeed anywhere today vs 2012. The office is not built to foster development or innovation. It’s an exec’s idea of what a so…

IMO, an expensive keyboard/mouse/monitor isn't necessary for a junior to succeed. Plenty of coders learned on much worse.

That's penny wise, pound foolish thinking. A good keyboard and mouse and monitor for your developers (who directly earn you revenue) is not going to break the bank. But the lack of them will reduce productivity and morale, possibly even causing (on the margin) some talented people to leave. RSI and posture problems are no joke!

In other industries you need immense capital investment in equipment for workers to be productive; no serious software company should care about the comparative pittance that office hardware costs.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#19

Post by calvinmorrison »

_dain_ wrote: post #18
ZetaZero wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, an expensive keyboard/mouse/monitor isn't necessary for a junior to succeed. Plenty of coders learned on much worse.

That's penny wise, pound foolish thinking. A good keyboard and mouse and monitor for your developers (who directly earn you revenue) is not going to break the bank. But the lack of them will reduce productivity and morale, possibly even causing (on the margin) some talented people to leave. RSI and posture problems are no joke! In other industries you need immense capital investment in equipment for workers to be pro…

the amount of times i see critical business users getting slowed down because their laptop is a piece of crap astounds me. The value of the laptop is negligible amortized over it's lifespan so give people good stuff to work with.

Re: How to set junior employees up for success in remote

#20

Post by donatj »

It’s certainly been a very long time since I was a junior, but I don’t think I would have succeeded at WFH as one.

I learned so much from the people in the cubes around me just via osmosis. Working from home the last couple years I have barely spoken to anyone without a reason to. Random chitchatting with people outside your bubble is how real growth happens, especially early on.

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