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Planet Argon Planet Argon Engineering Handbook

Building Developer Community at Planet Argon

We are a distributed team split up working on multiple projects. This can lead to many devs feeling siloed and isolated in their work. The following are action items each person can do regularly to connect with and support their fellow devs.

  1. Remain responsive in the #developers Slack channel Slack notifications can be overwhelming and it’s tempting to ignore them or let them pile up. While not all channels require your immediate attention, you should regularly keep your eye on* the #developers channel. This channel is used to ask questions and share information so the entire team can learn from each other. Too often questions are asked and no one responds – sometimes people are busy (understandable), often times no one has an answer to the question (also understandable). But even in these situations, you should aim to let the person asking the question know that you saw their message, even if you can’t help them. This can be as simple as adding a “🚫” reaction to their message, or leaving a quick reply such as “I’m not sure, perhaps ask person XYZ or check out this resource!”.

Participation in the #developers channel doesn’t have to take up too much of your time, but it should be something that you do regularly.

  1. Send a shout-out via Know Your Team Know Your Team is the note-taking, community-building tool we use to track our 1:1 meetings, learn more about each other, and give kudos. Those kudos come in the form of shout-outs, a feature of the site that makes it easy to publicly congratulate or thank a team member for a job well done.

Using this feature is a great way to recognize the hard work your teammates have done and continue to do and motivate each other to continue to see and appreciate each other as valuable parts of the company.

  1. Send a small gift or Kudoboard to a teammate as recognition of a job well done Sometimes you want to congratulate your teammate in a bigger way than a mere shout-out. We encourage and help with the sending of gifts or gift cards ($5-$10) and Kudoboards (below) as a way to express thanks or recognize a teammate for a big accomplishment.

Gifts and gift cards can be coordinated with the office manager, who will approve the request and help you find something meaningful and specific to the recipient (think gift card to their favorite pizza place).

Kudoboards can be set up by you or by the office manager. Check with your manager or the office manager if you have questions about how to set one up, gather messages, and deliver the board.

  1. Set up regular pairing sessions with all teammates Your engineering manager will add you to the pair programming cycle when you first join Planet Argon and send you suggested times for pairing with your teammates. After that, it is up to you and your teammates to coordinate when and on what you’d like to pair. Keeping these scheduled pairing sessions is a very important tool in sharing knowledge and staying connected with your team remotely.

  2. Participate in Donuts We use a Slack-based scheduling tool called Donut to prompt casual conversations with each other on a regular basis. Every two weeks this bot will connect you with another Planet Argon employee and suggest times you two could meet to chat for 15 minutes.

These donut sessions are meant to be fun, informal, and not work-related. They’re a way to get to know your teammates in bite-sized interactions over time, much like you would in an in-person office setting. They’re not required of employees, but we strongly encourage taking advantage of them as a way to connect with your remote coworkers.

  1. Participate in Culture Club events and activities Similar to donut sessions, Culture Club events are fun, informal activities meant to bring the team together and offer a break from the normal work schedule. These events are optional, but participating in them helps you get to know your teammates and bond over shared interests. Culture Club events can include book or movie discussions, show-and-tell luncheons, and virtual gaming sessions. Not every activity is going to be for you, but taking part in at least some of them will really help build camaraderie with your remote team.

  2. Share your knowledge and experience in MTW, ETMs, and stand-ups We do have a few mandatory meetings for all developers and PA staff. These include the Monday morning Meet-the-Week (MTW), the all-hand Engineering Team Meeting (ETM), and project-specific stand-ups. While your attendance is required, level of participation is optional. However, the more you contribute to these meetings the more your teammates will get to know you and the more you will develop a connection with them. Like the #developers Slack channel, these meetings are often a chance to share your knowledge with other people on the team and helping them solve challenges similar to your own.

Conclusion

Section titled “Conclusion”

These are by no means the only ways you should connect with and support your fellow developers. As our team grows and remote-work becomes more normalized, new practices and events will likely come up, and we will adopt as many as we can to continue to make this company a connected and supportive place to work, regardless of location!

ALSO: https://blog.planetargon.com/blog/entries/remote-work-culture-10-fun-ways-we-stay-connected