The COVID-19 pandemic, together with other life situations that allow people to balance between work and personal life, has fueled the growth of remote employment. In turn, this has greatly altered the way people work. Numerous companies have adopted this model, and studies have shown that the productivity of workers increases in such an arrangement. However, building a successful remote team requires careful planning and a strategic implementation of plans. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you build a productive and efficient remote team.
Outline
Key Takeaways for How to Build Your Own Remote Team
Define Team Structure
Determine if your remote team will be fully remote or hybrid, and consider time zones and work locations to shape the best team structure for your business.
Careful Hiring
Prioritize candidates with self-discipline, strong communication skills, and relevant expertise to ensure high productivity in a remote setting.
Clear Guidelines
Set clear expectations for work hours, goals, and communication channels to ensure accountability and smooth collaboration.
Track Time Effectively
Use time-tracking tools to monitor productivity, ensure fair pay, and identify areas for improvement in workflow and training.
Reliable Communication
Establish strong communication channels like Slack and email to keep team members connected and enhance collaboration.
Provide Equipment and Tools
Equip your team with the necessary hardware and software to help them work efficiently and meet business objectives.
Regular Engagement
Maintain team morale and motivation by regularly checking in with individual members and holding team meetings, both formal and informal.
Invest in Development
Offer continuous training and development opportunities to keep your team updated with industry trends and improve their skills.
Foster Team Spirit
Create opportunities for team bonding through social events, both in-person and virtual, to strengthen team camaraderie.
1. Define Your Structure of Remote Team
Before you hire anyone, it’s important to decide on the structure of your virtual team. Specifically, ask yourself:
- Will the entire team work remotely, or do any of its members need to?
- Will team members be located in the same city or spread out across different time zones?
- Will this be a full-time remote position, or is some time required in the office?
The answer to these questions will go a long way in shaping what structure fits your business best. Also, it will be wise to make contingencies for things like future pandemics, which would require all employees to work from home. If the team covers several regions or countries, be sure to account for time zones if you want an employee workforce to work in real-time.
2. Hire with Care
Successful virtual teams are all built on a foundation of trust. Home-based employees need to be self-disciplined and motivated in their work and should also possess actual skills for the job. As you will not be around them, it is important to hire individuals that you can rely on to execute a task on their own.
Take extra care during the recruitment process. Break the usual trend by ensuring that you hire only those candidates with excellent communication skills, quick response time, and expertise in their field, which is very crucial to keeping productivity high in a remote work environment.
3. Clearly Outline Guidelines and Expectations
To ensure accountability and optimize productivity, provide your remote team with clear guidelines and expectations from the outset. This includes:
- Specifying work hours and when team members need to be online
- Setting individual and team goals
- Outlining communication channels and frequency of use
- Give instructions on time tracking, task handling, and document management.
For instance, let’s say, the team manager calls every day before work begins, where the team members get a chance to update each other about what is going on and even announce their plans. It is such meetings that keep the team in line with performance and instil a sense of teamwork and bonding.
4. Time tracking
You cannot always monitor the team’s performance on-site. While you may never know how effective time-tracking tools actually keep your remote team accountable, it will. Time tracking lets you:
- Ensure the time requirements of team members are met.
- Payments on an hourly basis
- Identify inefficiencies within workflows
- Identify the area where more training or support is needed.
The popular time-tracking tools used are TSheets, Zoho Projects, Hubstaff, VeriClock, and Clockify. It gives insights into managing productivity and smooth operations.
5. Use Reliable Means of Communication
Communication is, after all, the backbone of every virtual team. Establish communication channels which your team members can communicate reliably. An internal messaging system like Slack will be great for direct messaging and quick updates. Email can be the channel for formal communication or with clients.
Indeed, regular communication is key to the cohesiveness of any team, even in this virtual setting. Encourage your team members to stay connected and collaborate regularly via formal and informal mechanisms.
6. Equipment and Tool Support
Some employers supply a BYOD policy where the working people use their equipment. Not everybody can spend on good enough or updated devices. Consider investing in your team with a set of real equipment; it may include:
- Laptops or Desktops
- Business communication tools
- Specialised software: eg, content management system, photo editing software, stock photography accounts. You are equipping your team with the right tools necessary for them to work faster and meet objectives.
7. Continue Having Regular Engagements With Your Team
Communication is the most fruitful way to keep the morale and productivity of a team working remotely high and regularly. Working from home can be a disconnected experience for some, which dampens motivation. Make sure to check in with individual team members regularly and schedule weekly or monthly team meetings.
When it is impossible to have in-person meetings, consider having virtual gatherings via platforms like Zoom. Company-wide meetings are also an outstanding method of keeping everyone on board with the goals and initiatives of the business.
8. Invest in Continuous Development
Employee development is important in a high-achieving virtual team. This kind of ongoing training provides staff with up-to-date industry trends and will enhance their skill set. Consider running workshops, and refresher courses, and providing educational stipends for courses relevant to their role. Investing in the development of your team will ensure that your business moves onward and upward with the changing marketplace.
9. Develop Healthy Team Spirit
Team spirit is equally as important for distributed teams as for those sitting in an office. Set up face-to-face social events such as team outings or lunches when it’s possible. If getting together in person can’t occur, then the hosting of virtual events helps to nurture team camaraderie. Examples; delivering pizza and drinks at the homes of your team members followed by a quiz or karaoke virtually. Celebrating your team’s hard work by using employee recognition programs reinforces a workplace culture of success.
Conclusion
Remote teams can be up to 40% more productive than in-office teams, but only when managed effectively. Typically, to set up a remote team, you need to define the structure of the organization, hire the right people, provide the necessary tools, and foster a strong sense of team spirit. When planned and managed appropriately, your remote team can be exceptionally productive and successful.
Take the Next Step with FastLaneRecruit
Hiring remote employees is a great way to advance your business, but it should be done with proper planning and assistance. FastLaneRecruit is here to make it easier for you and your business, from sourcing and hiring to building effective remote teams. We can work with you to build a leading remote organisation that gets things done and gets them done well. Get in touch with us at FastLaneRecruit now and get in the right process of building your ideal remote team.
