How we work

remote, distributed, together

Our main communication tool is Slack. Use Slack status to communicate your availability. The easiest way is on-/offline. We provide a few other status messages, e.g. when you’re in a meeting, in a work tunnel, on break, sick or on vacation. Make sure to set them accordingly.

Working locations

Working at different locations within your country of residence is possible at any time. Please make sure that you have all the necessary conditions for your work at these locations e.g. strong internet connection.

Working from EU countries can be discussed individually at any time. Please contact your lead and the people & culture team to find a suitable solution.

When we work

We rely on self-organized groups of individuals that know when and how to get their best work done. A team also decides how much overlap they need to collaborate.

We aim for 40 hours a week (for a full-time employee). This helps us focus on what's important. Each team and individual know best when to work. We have no fixed schedule.

We emphasize a healthy routine for everyone. That includes having a life outside of work and getting a good amount of sleep. That's the best productivity hack you can get.

There may be exceptions, but they stay exceptions. We act proactive. If we exceed these hours regularly, we figure out the issue and solve it. That can mean recruiting more people, fixing a flawed process, or something else.

Iterations & flow

Most teams plan and work in iterations of 2 weeks or in a constant flow. They release as often as possible. “Done” means our customers use it.

Sync

Every team has some form of a daily or weekly update meeting. All of thomann.io gathers once a month for the Assembly. This is our all-hands update format.

Demos

Our product teams show their progress and achievements each iteration to product management. They invite the whole team when useful.

Review

#review is used by all teams that will present something new to everybody (colleagues, stakeholders, customers). Reviews take place every week. You are invited by default and each session is open to join for everybody. Each product team has a 30 to 60 minute slot to show the last weeks’ progress and share thoughts with stakeholders and colleagues from other teams. It is the responsibility of all product teams to prepare the review, invite stakeholders and update all non-attending team members on what’s been shared.

Reflection

Each team is obligated to reflect regularly. Retrospectives and project recaps are our means of choice. If your team does not have a coach of its own, please contact the agile community for support.

One department of many

Whenever it is necessary to succeed in your project, do not hesitate to connect with other Thomann departments. Expert knowledge can be found were the experts are. Connecting to others also helps you to build your network within the company.