Communication

Credit: https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/communication/

We're an all-remote company that allows people to work from almost anywhere in the world. We hire great people regardless of where they live, but with GitLab team members across more than 60 countries, it's important for us to practice clear communication in ways that help us stay connected and work more efficiently. To accomplish this, we use asynchronous communication as a starting point and stay as open and transparent as we can by communicating through public issues, merge requests, and Slack channels. We also place an emphasis on ensuring that conclusions of offline conversations are written down. When we go back and forth three times, we jump on a synchronous video call.

We communicate respectfully and professionally at all times.

Effective & Responsible Communication Guidelines

Assume Positive Intent. Always begin with a position of positivity and grace.

Kindness Matters. You are looking at a screen, but you are really talking to a person. If you wouldn't say it to a person's face, don't send it to them in a text message.

Express Your Thoughts. We live in different locations and often have very different perspectives. We want to know your thoughts, opinions, and feelings on things.

Own It. If you say it or type it, own it. If it hurts the company or an individual, even unintentionally, we encourage you to look at things from other points of view and apologize easily.

Be a Role Model of our

Values⁠

Feedback is Essential. It is difficult to know what is appropriate in every one of our team members 60+ countries. We encourage team members to give feedback and receive feedback in a considerate way.

Don't Underestimate a 1:1. Asynchronous communication (e.g., via text) is helpful and necessary. In some cases (e.g., to clarify misunderstandings) it can be much more effective to jump on a Zoom video call.

Always Adhere to our Anti-Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct. Everyone should be comfortable in their work environment.

Embracing text communication and learning to use it effectively requires a mental shift. This can feel unusual or even uncomfortable for those who come from a colocated environment, where in-person meetings and vocalized communiques are the norm. Learn more about mastering the use of the written word in an all-remote setting.

Everyone is a Moderator

If you see something that concerns you in Slack, Issues, Merge Requests, Video, Emails or any other forum, we encourage you to respectfully say something directly to the individual in a 1:1 format. If you are not comfortable reaching out to the individual directly, please reach out to your direct manager or People Business Partner to discuss.

External Communication

There are 8 key practices to consider during any meeting. They are the following:

Video Calls - If this is your first time meeting a customer/prospect/partner/etc., turn on your camera when you login to Zoom. This will help to make the customer/prospect feel more comfortable as they are certain your undivided attention is geared towards them.

Agenda - Always have an agenda prepped and ready to go. Share this with your audience. Make sure that everything on the agenda is accurate and ask if there’s anything missing that needs to be addressed during this call or for the future. When there is no agenda, it translates to you not caring.

70/30 Rule - Ask open ended questions that leave the audience talking 70% of the time, while you are talking 30% of the time. Please note that this varies based on the type of meeting that you are conducting. Be conscious of what questions needs to be asked and to capture those items.

Take Notes - Effective note-taking is a valuable skill that will help you retain and recall any important details. Be the person who remembers all the details of your audience's needs.

Adapt to Audience Tone - Before going into the business portion of your meeting, evaluate first the tone of the audience. Adapt your tone accordingly in order to appeal to various types of personalities.

Mid-call - Half-way through the meeting, check in with your audience. Ask them what their thoughts are on the progression of this meeting and if what you're presenting is on the right track. This helps both you and the audience by re-aligning expectations and making sure the meeting is going the right direction.

Pre-Close Summary - 10 Minutes (1-hour meetings) or 5 minutes (30 minute meetings) prior to ending the call, ask the audience to build out an agenda for the next step or meeting. This helps to secure next steps and to ensure there are no balls dropped.

Post Meeting Action - Immediately write down notes and next steps and input into proper directory (Google Drive, Salesforce, etc.).

Two Block Rule - For in person meetings with external parties you should wait until you're more than two blocks from the meeting before discussing the results of the meeting. Nobody wants to hear themselves being discussed in the bathroom.

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Sales & Customer Success⁠

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Effective & Responsible Communication Guidelines

Everyone is a Moderator

External Communication

Gallery

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