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Ask HN: How do you communicate in a remote startup?

243 points aml183 | 10 comments | 15 Nov 24 19:17 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom

We are a remote company. Everything is going well. No plans to be in person, but I’d say we can do a better job at communicating. Any tips or articles to read?
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great_wubwub ◴[15 Nov 24 20:32 UTC] No.42150637[source]▶
One thing people miss about remote work is that it's inherently transactional. Show up to a meeting, get or give what's needed, then go back in your hole. This is nice but for many people the lack of genuine social interaction is a killer.

A few jobs ago we set up Donut (donut.com) to set up a couple 15- or 30-minute 1:1s per week and tried to stick to the rule that we weren't supposed to talk about work, just chat about whatever. A replacement for break room chatter, not Yet Another Meeting. It didn't always work very well but when it did, it was great.

Some of the best conversations I had were with an autistic SRE who spent his first month telling everyone how autistic he was in case we needed to know. He did better virtually than he would have in person - lack of eye contact due to camera angles, maybe? So yeah, this has value even for you neuro-atypical, "I don't need chatter, just code" types.

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dmitrygr ◴[15 Nov 24 20:46 UTC] No.42150801[source]▶
ALL work is transactional. I solve your problems, you pay me money.

I have family and friends for "social interaction" and "meaning". I do not seek that from a job, nor do I want a job that claims to provide it.

Any recruiter that tells me "our company is like a family" gets a reply that says "so i can cry on your shoulder in case of a bad breakup, and you'll help me move furniture?" and then gets blocked.

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1. dartos ◴[15 Nov 24 20:52 UTC] No.42150879[source]▶
I think you can read between the lines of the OC.

They obviously meant social interactions in remote environments are inherently transactional.

You never make a zoom call just to say hi to your coworker when your mouse moves past the icon, but you might say hi if you walk past their desk.

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2. dmitrygr ◴[15 Nov 24 21:18 UTC] No.42151213[source]▶

  > but you might say hi if you walk past their desk
No. I would never interrupt someone's flow for a "hi". What an insane take. Those like you, interrupting us for a "hi" and throwing us off a good thought process when you "walk by", is one of the main things which make us all want to work remotely, far from you, protected by a need to have a purpose for your "hi".
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3. dartos ◴[15 Nov 24 22:17 UTC] No.42151847[source]▶
You sound like a joy to have as a coworker…

Again… read between the lines. Think a little bit into what i said. Think about it a little critically

There are important ad hoc interactions that you have in an office that you don’t when you’re remote.

I personally prefer remote, but recognize that it’s easier to collaborate in real time in person.

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4. dmitrygr ◴[15 Nov 24 23:02 UTC] No.42152276{3}[source]▶
> I [...] recognize that it’s easier to collaborate in real time in person.

Not everyone is you and not everyone agrees with that evidence-free claim

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5. em-bee ◴[16 Nov 24 08:46 UTC] No.42155328[source]▶
there is a middle ground. if i walk past you and you make eye contact, i say hi. if you are focused on your screen ignoring me, then i remain silent
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6. dartos ◴[17 Nov 24 01:06 UTC] No.42161074{4}[source]▶
It’s both well known and self evident that communication is richer in person for the vast majority of people.

Not really something worth arguing about.

Water is also wet, but I don’t have a specific source to link for that.

7. AbstractH24 ◴[18 Nov 24 02:45 UTC] No.42169286{3}[source]▶
That doesn’t account for folks who fail to make eye contact (of which there are many in tech)
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8. em-bee ◴[18 Nov 24 03:43 UTC] No.42169547{4}[source]▶
it does, because i won't be greeting them, which is exactly what the poster above is asking for
9. mvdtnz ◴[19 Nov 24 18:12 UTC] No.42186484[source]▶
After reading your comments I have decided if I'm ever a recruiter I'm going to say "we're like a family" on every communication just to weed out folks like you.
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10. takemetoearth ◴[20 Nov 24 07:22 UTC] No.42191510{3}[source]▶
Love it, love the spite, but you will actually legitimately lose people who don't want to join a cult. If you wouldn't drive me to the airport for free, then we're not family, sorry. Save that term for, like... people who aren't paid to spend time with you.