What do you think about the Weekly Call? [Feedback topic]

Reps
#1

Hello Reps,

Our Weekly Call is currently not as active as it used to be some time ago and we would like to understand what’s working and what’s not.

That’s why we would love to get feedback from you all:

  • Do you usually attend, watch or read call notes? Why?
  • What do you love to change about it?
  • Why do you think people are so quiet during the call?

We also have a pad with all the feedback we have been gathering during the calls.

Thanks!

4 Likes
#2

Do you usually attend, watch or read call notes?
I use to attend, but since i restart a regular job i can’t attend, it’s to soon for me. I’m not avaiable before 8PM

Why do you think people are so quiet during the call?
If i have nothing to say, i’m quiet. And if my mic still sucks i’m quiet too :smile:

#3

Same as quentin, i can’t attend to these calls because it’s too soon. i’m available from 7PM .

#4

I’m on the call whenever I have time for it.

I think it would be great if more people could join the call so that we have more opinion and questions to the different topics.

  1. some people might be too shy to talk when it’s recorded/more than X persons are on the call
  2. some people might not be confident that their opinion is valuable though it would benefit the call
2 Likes
#5

I try to attend but when i have a dayshift at my work it is to early for me ( 2/3 hours later would be better)

i always try to watch it on air mozilla when i have time

#6

Usually I attend. Most of times I also read the notes after to see if people added more details.

I like being in touch with other Reps live, I am curious about updates and different opportunities presented! I consider it the official meeting of “Team Reps” and makes me feel part of it.

I would love to see more people attending both volunteers and employees ( to be informed, to present). I would love to have action items that we could work on from one meeting to another - it will engage us more.

I will go with what @mkohler said mostly:

  1. Some people just listen because they are at work, in loud family environment ect
  2. Some might not have the equipment or listen on air ( known issues with vidyo on some enviroments).
#7

Do you usually attend, watch or read call notes? Why?

  • I have a couple times. It’s also on the early side for me, and I always forget about it as it’s not in my calendar. I do check the notes sometimes, but they are not always detailed and there isn’t a clear place to keep discussing a topic outside of the meeting.

What do you love to change about it?

  • I dislike the idea of having a “main” communication medium that is so hard for most Reps to participate in
  • Important stuff from the meeting should get singled out as its own discussion/update on the list, like if someone from another team presents to Reps for feedback
  • It would be nice to get the timestamps for the different sections of the meetings, so that if we care about a particular topic we can watch just that section
  • I’d rather see the meeting focused on getting things done, like tasks assigned in trello, that way you only need to try to make it if something is assigned to you, or if you want to take something. If the meeting were more participatory in this sense, rather than informative, I’d make more of an effort to attend.

Why do you think people are so quiet during the call?

  • I think partly because the meeting’s main purpose is for information, so people aren’t attending because they have something to say, they’re attending because they don’t want to miss anything
  • I think it’s also hard in Vidyo to let someone know you have something to say without interrupting. Even when someone asks for feedback you can’t tell if someone else is about to talk. Reps are polite!
  • I wonder if people are worried about their English skills, though I’d remind Reps that there are more non-native English speakers than native :wink:
1 Like
#8

Do you usually attend, watch or read call notes? Why?
My regular schedule for Thursdays doesn’t allow me to participate regularly, but i read the notes.

What do you love to change about it?
Have the weekly calls happen in different times friendlier for other timezones, maybe change the meeting time by season (3 or 4 times a year)

Why do you think people are so quiet during the call?
To don’t interrupt those who are talking, manners or maybe being shy, you are on airmo you know?

#9

Interesting. Why do you feel the meeting is framed this way?

Weekly call is not intended to be a single channel and all important announcements are also published in other channels. Topics that need more discussion are always created here (discourse) and announced on reps-general.

#10
  • I occasionally attend the call since the time does not usually suits me, but I watch and read all the call notes.
  • I would suggest if we could have one call per month (last week of each month) on a given agenda while the topics or discussions could be sent out beforehand, i.e the first week of a month. or
  • If they are quiet: there could be many reasons for that.
#11

Do you usually attend, watch or read call notes? Why?
Unfortunately time is an issue for me too, but I read call notes and sometimes watch the meeting in airmozilla.
What do you love to change about it?
Changing timezone and/or day of the meeting in order to participate more/different reps.
Why do you think people are so quiet during the call?
I think answers above have covered this question.

#12

Do you think we don’t have enough content to have one per week? Keep in mind that one per month would imply that the duration would be way longer (1h at least).

#13

Thank you everyone for the comments here, super interesting!

Great feedback so far and great ideas on how to improve. Keep them coming, we will start trying new things at the call, so this will be a process that we can shape together :slight_smile:

I see that the time seems to be a problem for some. That is the trickiest part to solve, since we cover all times zones in the world. But we can think about a solution for this.

If you can get more of the Reps to let us know how to make the calls more valuable that would be fantastic :smile:

Thanks!

  • Rosana
#14

Do you usually attend, watch or read call notes? Why?

  • Usually read call notes. Hard to attend due to timezone difference and stable internet connectivity.

What do you love to change about it? Why do you think people are so quiet during the call?

  • Perhaps, if we can cycle the timings of the call to cater to different timezones. Perhaps, it is also due to timezone issues that is why people are so quiet during the call.
#15

As an alumni who is often busy with Day Job and Family, I’d look to this call as something similar to a status call or State of Mozilla followed by a couple topics for discussion.

The latter - discussion - should or could be framed to elicit debate, hopefully on some meaningful Mozilla topic or some topic that should be brought to other leaders within the organization.

My own couple thoughts:

  • Would like a consistent, periodic call. It’s something that can be set on a calendar and have some expectations of happening.
  • But we’re very likely at the point where a single call won’t catch everyone. Perhaps two calls optimizing for different timezones/geographies, with each call providing verbal summaries to the other.
  • Followup items should be taken to Discourse for asynchronous discussions
1 Like
#16

Also reading your comments another questions comes to my mind:

What’s more important for you, attending the meeting or learn about the updates that are presented there?

We are trying to improve meeting notes so even if the time is not good for you, you can always be informed about what happened. Currently the time is early morning in America west coast and late in the night in Japan, but is that moment where most of the world should be (or could be) awake :wink:

Also, follow up asynchronous is always encouraged, specially if we talk about feedback or discussions.

#17

It might not be intended that way, but you have to look analytically about how much people are reached out to in other methods about the same topics. If the onus is on people who didn’t attend the meeting, to read the meeting notes, and then start conversations themselves, then that is using the meeting as the main channel.

Important announcements, but not everything, are started as discussions or announcements in other channels. With the low attendance at meetings compared to the number of Reps, I would suggest that all topics covered in a meeting need more discussion.

Basically in your question to me you’ve framed the meeting in several ways that back-up my impression of how the meetings are framed. In another reply to someone else you ask the question “do you care about attending the meetings, or about getting updates?” So that also frames the meetings as informational, not participatory.

#18

Hello,

I don’t attend because I’m working at the time of the call, I usually read
the notes.

People may be quiet because they are shy, they think they have nothing
important to say, they think they don’t manage their English well enough,
they think no one will agree with their thoughts.

Best regards,
Gabriela
QA Mozilla Hispano Team Responsible


http://twitter.com/mozilla_hispano
#19

I try to join but lately I have day job stuff that overlaps. I like the time though… before this early meeting was scheduled it was at a time I am free and once it ends I will be free then again.

#20

I don’t. In fact, I didn’t attend any of the calls. The main reason, for me also, the timing. I usually read the notes if that is readable inside my email client. Tobe clear, I will read the notes if it is coming as a discourse comment rather than an etherpad link. May be it’s because, I don’t want to open another application, just to read that note.

I am sorry to say, but I don’t know much about these calls. I usually see, few familiar faces, every time during this call. I used to see those screenshots in our Telegram group.

Many reasons would be there. Inefficiency in English would be just one of them.
I think instead of asking Why do you think people are so quiet, lets reach out those silent participants and ask them why they are being silent. So we may get the correct answer, rather than guessed answers.