If you’ve ever worked in an office with software developers you have probably heard of something called a “daily standup”. In physical offices, this is a short (up to 15 minute) meeting, with the participants physically standing to keep it brief and focused. During the meeting, each team member shares their progress since the last standup, what they plan to accomplish before the next one and any obstacles they may be facing. While software teams started the practice, it has since spread to teams doing all kinds of work.

A few weeks back in this newsletter we mentioned how daily standups can help in remote work settings and based on your feedback, it raised a few eyebrows. Some of you pointed out that a daily standup forces everyone to connect at the same time, and isn’t the point of remote work that it allows you flexibility in when and where you work?

Our answer to that in any work environment, there is a need to promote communication and collaboration among team members, help identify any blockers or issues and ensure everyone is on the same page. Standups can be a very effective way to accomplish that, but of course are not the only way. However, any work environment is a balance between meeting the needs of individuals, teams and organizations, and while you may have more flexibility over your schedule, it doesn’t mean you should expect total flexibility.

A final couple of thoughts on this. Virtual teams often work across different time zones, so if you decide to do regular standups, you need to pick a time that will work for everyone. A good rule of thumb to use is the earliest reasonable time that regularly works for all participants. This is because standups can act as a great trigger to get going on work and you want that benefit to be felt by as many team members as possible. Oh, and does everyone need to actually stand up when remote? Not necessarily, but most remote workers sit way too much anyway, so why not use the health benefit?