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How to set junior employees up for success in remote

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

#31

Post by PuppyTailWags »

kevinmchugh wrote: post #11
pluc wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Maybe I should make a blog post... but here are my suggestions:

1. It is now vitally important to have a clear, mutually agreed upon 30/60/90 program the junior is aware of. These need to be measurable, achievable goals, with specific seniors to reach out to to accomplish. The seniors should also be aware and consenting to play as mentor.

2. Senior engineers should proactively pair program, review, or otherwise attend to the junior as much as the junior is comfortable with. (If the junior's discomfort with mentorship gets in the way of their growth, we need to manage the junior. This shouldn't be mistaken for a junior that doesn't need the mentorship and would understandably find this intense attention to be smothering.)

3. The entire team needs to be aware of onboarding the junior. Expect velocity to slow noticeably for a little bit, until the junior is able to do minor bugfixes and tool building, then slow again when the junior takes meatier projects like features.

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

#32

Post by zero_shift »

I fear that WFH is becoming one of those hot topics divided down cultural lines: workers who enjoy a life without commuting, bosses and older employees who are suspicious of it.

I'm happy to work from home and it's a big benefit to me, but I won't deny it sometimes has its drawbacks. I just think the balance lies more in favour of remote work than colocation.

Hopefully there's a way to express that, yes, junior employees might benefit from some face to face support, but in such a way that doesn't imply everyone else must be chained to a desk forty hours a week.

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

#33

Post by bigDinosaur »

staticassertion wrote: post #23
pluc wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You say "duh" but this is pretty controversial and there's a big push for remote work right now. I'm "pro remote" - my company is full remote, for example. I also think I'd have a much worse career if my first job hadn't been in an office, especially such a cool office with great coworkers to chat with. Being in an office was incredibly motivating and exciting as a junior developer. Being in an office also made it cl…

Conversely, I despise my first in-office experience and it completely turned me off ever going into an office ever again. It was incredibly demotivating to go there when I didn't actually need to - and the idea of 'watercooler creativity' is something I found to be a lie in an office environment. I've developed a real hatred for in-office work as a result of seeing how unnecessary it was when I went remote for two years and was just as productive.

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

#35

Post by throwaway0a5e »

_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…

Your comment reminds me of all the people screeching about their good school district, as if it is somehow capable of covering for them if they choose to be a crap parent.

In both cases the stuff people are fussing over is basically a rounding error compared to the big factors.

Beyond some basic utility, e.g. being able to compile the code in under 5min, the hardware one uses is of negligible impact to their success. A developer will succeed or fail based on their training, mentorship, the nature of the tasks they are given, and all the other more social and interpersonal facets of the business they fine themselves in. A glitchy mouse won't make them or break them.

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

#36

Post by selfhoster11 »

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.

Not just junior engineers, unfortunately

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

#37

Post by bilekas »

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.

I brought in my favorite keyboard before to the office .. They didn't appreciate the noise but MY productivity was top that day.

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

#38

Post by indymike »

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.

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

This is true, but the learning process is much more enjoyable when you are correctly equipped.

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

#39

Post by api »

I've speculated for a while that remote-first will reverse the traditional ageism of the industry, giving older developers a distinct advantage and making it harder for younger developers to get their footing.

(I am not saying that's good, just observing.)

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