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Conduct and norms

At TTSC, we follow various policies and practices to foster an open and inclusive community. In everything we do as a distributed team, we strive to create a work environment that encourages collaboration — both with our partners and each other.

In general, err on the side of over-communication, such as by asking clarifying questions and restating information to confirm understanding.

  • Default to open conversations in the widest appropriate forum.
  • Document and make work visible to others. Storing information in your head or notebook makes collaboration and handoffs more difficult.
  • Treat everyone as a remote worker. There is no such thing as a partially remote team: If any one person works from a different location than the rest of that team, everyone should default to remote practices — even if this means having people sit separately in the same office, calling into the same remote meeting.
  • Set aside time for meeting prep to help attendees use time efficiently and come ready to contribute. (18F blog post: How to run an efficient meeting)

Codes of conduct

As employees of GSA, FAS, TTS, and TTS Consulting, we are required to adhere to these codes of conduct:

If you have a question about the codes of conduct, reach out to your supervisor.

Collaborating in a remote-first workplace

TTSC is a remote-first workplace. The following practices help us collaborate virtually.

Working hours

TTSC staff are spread across many time zones, states, and territories. Indicate your working hours on your Google calendar, and be mindful of your colleagues’ time zones.

If you work outside of standard business hours, take care not to imply that others should do the same: use the scheduled send functions in Slack and Gmail so that messages arrive during standard business hours.

Interacting on Slack

Using Slack at TTS is different from using Slack at other workplaces because we’re federal employees, and Slack is a TTS-only, Public Record System. That means that — like email and recorded meetings — it is subject to the , external,Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Follow the TTSC Slack Code of Conduct:

Be kind

  • Since we’re remote-first, Slack is a critical part of our culture. It’s one of the primary ways you’ll interact with your coworkers.
  • In TTS, this interaction is often through reaction emoji (“reactji”). Take as much care with these as you would with a written response, and be mindful that in-jokes and past references aren’t universally understood.
  • Slack is not always the right tool for what you need to do. Constructive feedback is best delivered face to face, such as on a video call or in person.

Be professional

  • Anyone with access to TTS Slack can see every message in public Slack channels to which they have access, even if they’re not a member of the channel, and all public channel content appears in Slack search results. If a less accessible space is appropriate for a conversation, consider email, a video call, or Google chat.
  • Remember, users have no expectation of privacy on GSA IT resources as all activities are subject to monitoring.
  • Since TTS works across multiple time zones, set expectations for response times, or be clear if an asynchronous or later response is fine.
  • TTS Slack has been and will continue to be a subject of FOIA and public records requests, which can often remove context, or place comments in a context you didn’t intend.

Write to be understood, read to understand

  • Without the context of body language, voice, and tone, it’s easy to misunderstand written communication. Prioritize clarity!
  • Keep conversations in the appropriate channels.
  • Some projects or topics have multiple channels.
  • Since all content from public channels is visible and shows up in Slack search, this helps frame conversations and discussions.
  • Threading comments helps retain the context of a discussion. If asked to thread, please do so.

Not all parts of TTS use or view Slack the same way. Be attentive to cultural differences, especially in significant shared spaces and large channels. Real-time written communication and reactions can easily lead to hard feelings. If our work is to continue flourishing, we need to all be in this together.

Interacting in meetings

Follow these practices for virtual meetings.

  • Minimize noise: Work from a quiet space without much background noise.
  • Muting: Mute your microphone when you aren’t speaking so that your background noise doesn’t distract others. In smaller meetings, un-muting also signals that you’d like to speak. In larger meetings, use the meeting platform’s hand-raise feature.
  • Seek privacy: If you need to discuss sensitive topics, give a presentation, or handle personnel issues, make sure you have privacy in your physical space.
  • On the go: Attending meetings from transit or outside of a dedicated workspace should be rare. Especially avoid doing this in meetings that involve screen-sharing, remote collaboration, or presentations.
  • Video on: Default to using video when possible. Nonverbal cues like facial expressions and gestures help keep the conversation moving and build empathy and trust. Of course, being on screen all day can be taxing so use face muting when you need to.
  • Make introductions: At the beginning of each meeting, make sure that everyone present has met, and that anyone calling in by phone has identified themselves. In introductions, include your name, pronouns, and role.
  • Back-channeling: It’s common for virtual meetings to have a “backchannel” in the meeting platform’s chat, Slack, or Gchat. The backchannel is a space for questions and commentary from attendees, but it can be distracting: if you prefer, you can ignore the backchannel during the meeting and read it afterward. Communicate your preferences about backchanneling to your teammates.

In discussion-based meetings, pay attention to whose voices dominate. If you notice an imbalance, be proactive to uncover other perspectives. Creating an inclusive discussion space isn’t just a courtesy to other participants: it can lead to richer conversation and better outcomes.

  • Careful facilitation (for example, “Let’s go around the room”) helps everyone get a chance to speak.
  • Silent writing time in a shared document (such as a Google Doc or Mural), provides a way for participants to contribute without speaking out loud.
  • Explicitly inviting input from specific individuals — either in the meeting (“Herbert, what do you think? I know you have expertise in this area”) or privately (by DMing them to say that you would value their opinion) — can encourage quieter team members to share their ideas.

Getting to know people

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