Guest Post by Tina Martin on Effectively Building and Leading a Remote Team
Tips for Effectively Building and Leading a Remote Team
You can find more great resources like this on the Maria Leonard Olsen website.
Remote working has been a growing trend in recent years. Now, thanks to the pandemic, hiring remote workers is a necessity for many businesses across the globe. While shifting to remote work can benefit your company in several ways — cost savings, improved employee morale, increased productivity — it can be challenging to hire and manage a distributed team.
How can you ensure your employees will collaborate effectively and use their time productively when they’re working from home? To help you navigate these concerns, here are the steps you need to take to build a thriving remote culture for your business!
Establish a Strong Foundation
Before hiring anyone, make sure your business is set up correctly. For example, consider forming an LLC to establish your business as a separate legal entity and protect your personal assets. LLCs also enjoy special tax benefits and management flexibility, so this is a popular option for small business owners. Review the rules for forming an LLC in your state so you can start the filing process ASAP.
Hire the Right Workers
Developing a positive remote working culture starts with the hiring process. The people you hire need to have the skills and qualities that will enable them to thrive in a work-from-home environment. For example, they should be able to manage their time on their own, communicate effectively, work independently, and collaborate with team members from a distance.
Remember, you don’t have to hire full-time employees. Contractors are a great alternative if you’re on a tight budget. According to SCORE, around 57.3 million Americans work as freelancers — a number that is predicted to grow substantially in the coming years. Tapping into this massive pool of talent will help you find top-notch professionals in any field, whether you need a web developer, copywriter, marketer, or social media manager.
Avoid Micromanaging
If you’re new to managing a remote team, you may be worried about your workers slacking off on your dime. This concern can prompt you to check in frequently and set up monitoring systems that track your employee’s work hours or browsing history. However, micromanaging your employees like this is terrible for morale. Trello recommends trusting that your employees want to do their best work and giving them the freedom to produce results by following the process that works best for them!
Broadcast Your Company Values
Giving your remote team a shared mission to rally behind is a great way to keep everyone motivated and working hard. Your employees should feel fulfilled in their position, as though they’re working towards something bigger than themselves. Do some brainstorming and come up with a company vision that will resonate with your workers!
Overcommunicate
Communication issues are common among remote teams. Keeping everyone on the same page is essential for creating a productive work environment and ensuring that all of your workers have the information they need to thrive in their roles. To improve communication on your team, take advantage of collaboration tools like Slack, Figma, and Google Docs. On top of this, it never hurts to overcommunicate with your team! Keep everyone in the loop about updates to your business and be very clear about your expectations when it comes to project deadlines and deliverables.
If you’re used to managing an in-house team, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the idea of shifting everything online. It can be scary to give up control and trust your employees to do their work from home! While you may have to rework your management style to accommodate remote work, you will get the hang of it eventually!
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Additional Resources: https://www.finimpact.com/remote-work-guide/
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Tina Martin stays busy as a life coach and works hard to help herself and her clients achieve a healthy work-life balance. She started Ideaspired as a side project to reach as many people as possible, and encourage them to put their dreams first."