For
Cisco
engineers
working
on
Duo,
having
a
remote-first
workplace
has
helped
them
reach
life
goals,
connect
with
colleagues
around
the
world,
and
be
intentional
communicators.
We
understand
that
working
remotely
can
be
an
adjustment
—
that’s
why
we’ve
compiled
the
10
parts
of
remote
work
that
surprised
our
team
members
most
and
their
advice
for
navigating
the
nuances.
If
you’re
interested
in
being
part
of
a
remote-first
workplace,
check
out
our
open
positions.
1.
More
perspectives
make
a
positive
impact
on
the
product
Senior
Engineering
Leader
David
Rines
has
worked
remotely
for
the
past
seven
years.
He’s
found
that
Cisco’s
approach
to
distributed
teams
has
“enabled
us
to
pick
up
the
right
talent,
and
not
necessarily
local
talent.
We
are
moving
towards
a
global,
follow
the
sun
environment,”
he
said.
One
of
the
aspects
Rines
appreciates
most
of
this
structure
is
getting
“a
widely
varied
set
of
perspectives
and
experiences
that
help
build
a
more
reliable,
more
robust
product,
which
is
why
we’re
here.”
Another
benefit
to
having
colleagues
across
the
globe
is
the
sharing
of
recipes,
a
perk
Senior
Site
Reliability
Engineer
Bernard
Ting
particularly
enjoys.
Proactively
communicating
with
colleagues
virtually
“helps
you
to
form
bonds
with
people
from
other
teams.
You
can
always
learn
something
new
about
cultures
elsewhere.
I
talk
to
people
about
food
and
so
I’m
always
gathering
recipes
from
people
from
all
over
the
world,”
Ting
shared.
2.
Gathering
virtually
inspires
collaborative
problem-solving
While
some
may
fear
that
working
remotely
could
lead
to
feelings
of
isolation
and
loneliness,
a
different
camaraderie
can
flourish
in
the
structure
of
our
distributed
teams.
With
colleagues
across
time
zones,
“there’s
always
someone
there
who
you
can
reach
out
to
help
solve
your
problem,”
Rines
said.
Collaboration
hours
are
another
way
Site
Reliability
Engineering
Manager
Jaya
Sistla
has
cultivated
virtual
community
and
problem-solving.
These
hours
are
blocked
off
for
team
members
to
talk
about
what
they’re
working
on.
“The
main
thing
is
being
able
to
ask
for
help
so
you
don’t
go
into
the
rabbit
hole
debugging
things,”
Sistla
said.
Ting
points
out
that
working
in
a
distributed
model
allows
you
to
really
engage
in
virtual
events
and
conversations.
Given
that
the
team
mainly
communicates
through
online
chat,
Ting
has
found
that
“forces
you
to
see
everyone
as
equally
approachable,
which
has
made
me
more
comfortable
reaching
out
to
people
from
anywhere
in
the
world.”
3.
Intentional
online
socializing
strengthens
teams
working
remotely
For
folks
sharing
an
office,
collaboration
can
happen
through
casual
chats
over
coffee.
When
facing
a
challenge,
you
can
ask
your
neighbor
for
support.
While
ideally
virtual
communication
could
have
a
similar
cadence
and
spontaneity,
the
logistics
of
remote
and
distributed
work
require
intentionality
and
being
proactive
in
connecting
with
colleagues
as
people
and
as
co-workers.
When
Ting
first
started
working
remotely,
he
felt
that
every
meeting
needed
to
be
formal
and
have
a
business
objective.
By
sharing
his
feelings
with
his
manager,
he
was
reassured
that
“socializing
is
a
very
important
part
of
teamwork,
because
if
you
don’t
have
a
good
relationship
with
your
colleagues
you’re
not
going
to
be
able
to
have
healthy
discussions,
healthy
conflict
or
be
able
to
critique
each
other
when
the
situation
arises.”
Since
that
conversation,
Ting
has
been
more
proactive
about
catching
up
with
colleagues,
which
can
include
sharing
a
coffee
over
video
chat.
Duo’s
“coffee
roulette”
formalizes
the
process
as
every
month,
employees
who
opt
in
can
be
randomly
paired
up
for
a
quick
half-hour
chat
focused
exclusively
on
socializing.
Ting
has
found
being
proactive
about
socializing
virtually
helpful.
“It’s
made
me
more
intentional
with
my
time
and
really
treasure
the
social
experience
you
can
get,”
he
said.
4.
Remote
management
+
training
can
be
effective
Some
folks
may
be
concerned
that
without
a
manager
observing
their
efforts
and
work
ethic
day
in
and
day
out,
it
may
be
harder
to
recognize
accomplishments
and
challenges.
Ting
found
that
within
his
team
“when
you
work
on
projects
and
in
your
one-on-ones
with
your
managers,
they’re
always
very
intentional
about
learning
what
you’ve
been
doing
and
seeing
what
your
progress
is
like
on
certain
projects.
I’ve
been
asked,
‘How
do
you
think
you
can
improve?
What
are
some
of
the
things
you’ve
been
doing
outside
of
the
team
work?’”
To
cultivate
cross-team
collaboration
and
education,
there
are
thoughtfully
planned
virtual
lunch
and
learns.
“We
schedule
training
sessions
and
common
meetings
at
times
that
are
flexible
for
everyone.
If
it
has
to
be
repeated,
we
do
it
so
people
can
comfortably
attend
rather
than
stretching
themselves
and
attending
at
odd
hours,”
Sistla
said.
5.
Informal
communication
=
hugely
important
[bonus
points
for
individualized
emojis]
For
Software
Engineer
Nick
Aspinall,
an
important
and
fun
part
of
working
remotely
is
keeping
in
touch
with
virtual
messaging.
One
unique
perk
has
been
getting
to
create
and
customize
emojis
with
team
members
including
a
few
of
himself
in
“various
ridiculous
states,”
he
said.
Connecting
with
colleagues
on
themed
channels
focused
on
personal
and
professional
interests
from
coffee
to
pets
“makes
it
really
cool
because
you
can
meet
people
across
different
teams
and
still
get
some
of
the
feeling
of
rubbing
elbows
that
you
get
when
you’re
in
the
office,”
Aspinall
said.
Participating
in
these
virtual
conversations
boosts
morale
while
also
providing
an
endless
supply
of
cute
animal
pics.
6.
Conveying
different
information
requires
different
formats
Given
the
multi-faceted
nature
of
our
work
and
the
importance
of
consistent
information
sharing,
having
different
communication
channels
and
formats
to
communicate
data
with
varying
degrees
of
complexity
is
vital.
Having
information
readily
accessible,
accurate
and
updated
is
particularly
necessary
in
a
field
like
cybersecurity.
Senior
Software
Engineer
Mario
Lopez
finds
that
the
variety
of
information
sources
contributes
to
an
easeful
remote
working
experience.
For
instance,
for
complex
architecture
decisions
or
detailing,
Duo’s
Wiki
is
the
best
source.
Software
Engineer
Hanna
Fernandez
has
benefited
from
chat
channels
dedicated
to
design
and
engineering
topics
to
“see
what
everyone’s
up
to
and
what
thoughts
people
have,”
she
said.
Sista
pointed
out
these
are
great
places
to
ask
questions
and
open
up
dialogue
to
solve
problems.
7.
Video-on
culture
increases
empathy
and
smiles
Our
culture
is
“video-on,”
meaning
that
it
is
preferred
that
during
video
meetings,
as
much
as
possible,
attendees
have
their
cameras
on.
Lopez
loves
this
because
“you
get
a
bit
of
that
personal
human
element.”
“We’re
all
people
behind
these
screens.
You
definitely
get
some
of
people’s
personality
through
text,
but
you
get
it
more
when
you
actually
see
them.
It’s
infectious
when
you
see
someone
smiling.
You’ve
got
to
smile
back,”
he
shared
(while
we
both
smiled).
8.
Small
talk
matters
When
Fernandez
started
at
Cisco,
she
was
advised
to
schedule
individual
meetings
with
everyone
she
would
be
working
with
on
every
team
that
she
joined.
That
suggestion
is
one
she’s
applied
even
virtually.
“It’s
a
great
strategy
because
I
already
know
that
my
team
is
super
talented
and
very
smart,
but
this
way
I
also
get
to
know
them
as
humans
beyond
their
roles,”
Fernandez
said.
Fernandez
also
finds
it
important
to
check
in
with
co-workers
and
ask
how
they’re
feeling
and
how
their
time
off
was.
“I
know
a
lot
of
people
hate
small
talk,
but
it’s
not
just
small
talk.
I’m
genuinely
interested
in
how
my
co-workers
are
doing.”
9.
Life
goals
can
more
easily
become
reality
One
of
Ting’s
biggest
goals
was
buying
his
first
house
in
the
countryside
outside
of
London.
By
working
remotely,
Ting
has
flexibility
in
his
location
which
allowed
him
to
achieve
his
goal
of
buying
a
house
and
settling
down
with
his
partner,
while
giving
their
dogs
the
space
they
need
to
be
dogs.
10.
Take
time
to
transition
as
an
engineer
working
remotely
When
transitioning
from
fully
remote
to
hybrid,
it’s
important
to
recognize
that
there
will
be
some
shifts
to
get
accustomed
to.
As
the
structures
of
remote,
distributed
and
hybrid
work
evolve,
it’s
important
to
stay
flexible
and
notice
what’s
possible
through
multiple
modalities
of
team
building.
Many
teams
have
enjoyed
in-person
gatherings
and
connecting
through
virtual
lunches
and
team
games
when
remote.
Fernandez
has
had
multiple
roles
with
multiple
structures
at
Cisco.
As
an
intern,
she
was
fully
in
person
and
shared
desk
space
with
other
interns
who
collaborated
on
full
stack
engineering.
While
working
in
finance
IT,
Fernandez
was
hybrid
and
many
of
her
colleagues
were
distributed
among
multiple
offices.
The
pandemic
began
while
she
was
in
a
DevOps
role,
forcing
her
to
maintain
boundaries
around
her
work
time
while
working
fully
remotely.
In
her
current
role
working
on
Duo,
Fernandez
is
completely
remote
but
advocates
for
in-person
events
if
possible,
because
“humans
are
social
creatures
who
want
to
see
each
other’s
faces
in
real
life
once
in
a
while.”
For
Aspinall,
“when
we
did
come
back
to
the
office,
there
was
a
bit
of
an
adjustment
period
where
you
were
overstimulated
from
the
office.”
He
also
wanted
to
ensure
team
members
who
were
100%
remote
were
fully
included.
Now
he
sees
that
while
half
his
team
is
fully
remote
and
the
other
half
is
hybrid,
“that
doesn’t
stop
anyone
from
doing
anything.
All
of
our
meetings
feel
the
same.
They’re
all
seamless.”
If
you’re
interested
in
joining
our
team
from
wherever
you
are
in
the
world,
check
out
our
open
roles.
We’d
love
to
hear
what
you
think.
Ask
a
Question,
Comment
Below,
and
Stay
Connected
with
Cisco
Secure
on
social!
Cisco
Secure
Social
Channels
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
About Author
