Nahia, you have been leading a team in four different locations for over a year and a half, so you must be already used to remote working?

 Yes, we are working virtually in an agile way for a long time already. I have been at Vodafone since 2012, always home-based. I worked previously for other companies as Cisco Systems, where I was also working from home many times.

Has the situation not changed since you all work from home? What challenges do you face currently?

The working from home situation has not changed at all. The current engagement with my team is the same. I used to travel internationally once a month to visit the team in UK and I had to cancel planned trips. Vodafone has sent everyone who can to work from home and is working well so far. We are fortunate that we were more prepared than most. 

To be honest, the main challenge I have right now is that my small kids are at home, and we have agreed a new routine as a family which works for us for now. I feel lucky that at least I am already not only used to work from home, but also to work in a flexible and agile way, which has definitely helped me to face the current chaos.

Let´s talk about agile. You criticise the agile manifesto for saying that face to face is “the most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team”

I think that saying that face to face communication is the most efficient method overlooks multiple advantages.

That are?

Having employees in different locations promotes a diverse way of thinking and working which sparks new ideas. It also helps to attract and retain top talent who do not need to move location.

Remote employees feel empowered with a better work-life balance and have a shorter commute, contributing to avoid health risks.

I´m sure that many can think of other advantages, I invite them to join me in my webinar to discuss these. 

Take a company who has always made its decisions in a traditional meeting room. How do they enable the above benefits in a short amount of time?

One, embrace the new collaboration tools and two deepen your connections.

Ee can work anywhere, anytime in 2020 with the right tools. There are multiple tools in the market and many have free trial offers, so spend some time testing them. 

It is not about doing video calls all the time.

In these times of flexibility, where we are at home and interrupted, I think is more valuable to be able to share files, discuss in chats or have virtual kanban boards to understand who is working in what when. 

Also, there are certain ways to ensure you get feedback of your employees, and tricks to ensure you stay productive.

Is there a chance that they have an advantage compared to remote companies like Gitlab for example? Put differently: are there mistakes that others have made and that they can now avoid?

We can learn that the companies who are experimenting and failing more often, are the ones more succeding.

Adopting agile practices are also bringing benefits: increased customer satisfaction, faster time to market, more significant innovation or increased employee engagement. 

Nahia Orduna

Senior Manager in Analytics and Digital Integration

www.linkedin.com/in/nahiaorduna/

"I am a firm believer that technology improves the world and that the impact of digitalisation in our lives is extremely positive. I am proud of my contribution in the last 15+ years in companies which are connecting the world and driving this change. My favourite topic is about how the big amount of data which is available today can transform businesses enabling informed decisions."