Guest Article

Deciding to Assemble and Manage a Remote Team

21 July 2020

Guest Author

Technology and world-changing events are shaping the world of business. As a result, employers and workers alike are warming up to the concept of a fully or mostly remote environment and managing a remote team.

The tools are in place, the talent is available, and there are benefits to be had for everyone involved. Here’s how to ensure you find top talent and manage them in a manner that brings out their best.

Figure out what you really need

Before you go too far into the process of hiring for your remote positions, it’s crucial to determine what capacity best suits your business needs in the short and long run.

You might want to hire permanent staff, but certain roles and circumstances might be better fulfilled by on-demand experts for extended periods of time or be project-based.

Consider hiring on-demand talent

There are excellent reasons you might look to part-time or on-demand talent to fill some or all of your remote positions. For one thing, it’s an opportunity to engage in unique expertise for specific projects. It’s also a chance to test drive someone while seeing if they perform to your expectations, if the project continues as expected, or if your company continues to grow. You can always pursue a more permanent arrangement later when you’re ready or extend the relationship with the person if they’re accomplishing objectives and the project is going well.

If you’re considering contractors or outsourced solutions, look to top job boards for freelancers and agencies such as Upwork or recruitment firms specializing in the positions you’re trying to fill. For instance, Skaled offers sales hiring services and sales operations staff augmentation, but companies like The Mullings Group specialize in the MedTech industry.

You can hire these on-demand experts for any scope of time, whether you’re looking to build a long-term relationship or just hire someone for a one-off gig.

Unlimited options for specialized roles

When it comes to hiring remote workers, these days opportunities are virtually limitless. It opens up more opportunities for specialized and technical roles that may not be abundant in your city.

For instance, one area many small businesses consider outsourcing is a professional DevOps team. People who work in DevOps help facilitate keeping software developments running smoothly as new methodologies arise. In other words, when there is a change in software, they ensure the end result is a seamless transition.

In Sales, it’s the Sales Operations teams that keep processes and technology running smoothly so sellers can focus on what’s important.

Technology and operations are a crucial component to scaling a business but many small businesses can’t afford a dedicated DevOps or Sales Operations team.

Outsourcing on-demand, remote talent that can come in and hit the ground running (full-time or part-time) is most often the best and logical solution.

Remote teams will continue to rise

The days of requiring your staff to work in-house are waning. In fact, Forbes points out the future for remote work is bright, with abundant advantages to both employers and workers. Reduced overhead, better work-life balance, flexibility, and abundant talent keep the dynamic healthy and strong on both sides of the equation.

If you are unused to managing a remote team, there can be a bit of a learning curve. Start strong when you hire, screening prospects carefully and establishing protocols and expectations from the beginning.

Keep interactions and communications on the same level as your in-house staff, and develop a culture that’s built on trust. However, avoid overstepping the freedom and flexibility associated with remote work.

As originally non-remote teams started transitioning to remote back in March, a lot of managers had to learn to trust their employees to get their work done even if they didn’t glue themselves to their desk or dining room table from 8 am – 5 pm.

Use the right tools to improve communication

When managing a remote team, communication is paramount to ensuring everyone is on the same page all the time. Whether it’s daily meetings, daily check-ins, or even the constant repetition of information, there can never be too much communication with remote staff.

Look to incorporate a variety of tools to boost your communication strategies, like Slack for keeping in touch and messaging, Skype or Zoom for video conferencing, or project management tools like Mavenlink or Trello to help keep everyone on task.

You can also be certain everyone is up to speed by having meeting notes transcribed and then immediately shared so people can refer to discussions and reach out for clarification or to follow up. Rather than tasking someone with this, a less expensive and faster option is to use an automated service for speech-to-text transcription, allowing you to share with team members right away. This is a very underutilized communication tool.

There’s much to gain from deciding to manage a remote team

There is much your business can gain from remote workers. Think about the capacity in which you want to hire, what projects or initiatives are most important to you, and how you will manage and communicate with your workers.

Remember, keeping a strong connection with remote workers paves the way for success for everyone.

With solid strategies in place before you start your search, you can count on excellent additions to your team that can propel your company forward by not limiting you and excluding amazing talent that’s located elsewhere.

Guest Author

Tina Martin was always driven by success. That is until she realized that the idea of success was always in the future. She quit her corporate career in business administration to focus on her happiness today; she quickly transitioned into life as a fitness trainer. She found that physical health and life goals went hand in hand and started Ideaspired to help others realize the same. Today, Tina uses her experiences to boost the efforts and happiness of others as a life coach.

Website: Ideaspired.com