# Remote work culture and updating our heuristics for hiring By:: [[Steven Denman]] 2023-05-12 In all areas of our life, we often settle for heuristic solutions over optimal solutions. This is either because there is no optimal solution (like if you wanted to find the optimal path between every Taco Bell in the continental US starting in Columbus, OH) or because an optimal solution is a waste of time (like if you wanted to find the optimal path between every Taco Bell in the...). With the increasing trend of remote work, changing work culture, and the availability of work-assistance tools, a number of interesting phenomena are emerging. For instance, I was on a Zoom call yesterday when an AI meeting assistance tool joined. It proceeded to listen, record, and summarize the discussion with time stamps and committed actions. (Security concerns aside, I burned my worthless notebook as soon as I got back to my desk.) One area that particularly interests me is the need to update hiring and cultural principles to adapt to remote work. These traditional ideas (maybe traditional is not the right word?) like "Creative work is always done best in-person" or "The best indication of future performance is past performance" now need some additional nuance. Coasting into hybrid work is a bad idea, and any assurance a company felt because people were warming their seats is now exposed for the bad heuristic it always was. (and not because there are more standing desks!) Here is an idea: think of behavioral questions as mini-heuristics for the values you want in an employee. While it MAY be optimal to evaluate someone's values and competencies by reviewing a video recording of someone's entire life with thought-life narration, that would not likely help in hiring. (so...you need some heuristics.) I try to ask questions that produce good discussion when someone is a good fit, and is awkward and quiet if not. (fakers beware!) Some people are better on their feet than others, but no one is good at making up something that requires learning through trial and error. If you are looking for people who are accountable, independently motivated, and focused on learning/growth of themselves and the system they work within (in my opinion everyone should be doing this) in a REMOTE setting - then why not try some questions like these? - What have you changed since working from home to be more productive? What times of the day do you do your best and worst work? - What systems have you implemented to balance focused work and maintaining relationships? What tools and personal disciplines support these? - What sorts of task-tracking and team-planning tools work best for you? What do you like about them? What annoys you? #### Related Items [[Work]] [[Remote Work]] [[Hiring]] [[Questions]] [[Heuristics]] [[Optimization]] [[Discussions]]