How to Manage a Rockstar Remote Team From Anywhere in the World

Remote employment is on the rise, with more people turning to the global market. There are good reasons for that, most notable of which are international job opportunities, flexible working hours, cost-efficient outsourcing and digital nomadism.

Both employers and employees benefit greatly from this practice. With communication tools getting better by the minute, the practice of miscommunication is now obsolete.

Making online jobs engaging

Online jobs are engaging for many, but there are some people who struggle to cope with the new technologies. This mostly applies to experienced employees used to the old, well-established business office model, and may not know how to use Google Tools or work with Slack or Asana.

The trick to encourage employees to enjoy remote work is to offer a little something for everyone. There’s no universal recipe to follow here, as people are different and so are the industries. However, what’s absolutely crucial for managing a highly-functioning remote team is to make communication easy at any given time.

That means every employee should have the means to contact the supervisor whenever needed. Most teams use instant messengers for everyday communication, while more sophisticated apps are used for team meetings.

The next thing that should be observed is communicating clear benefits. Remote employees should be allocated the same benefits their traditional counterparts enjoy, as well as the possibility to advance their careers.

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Benefits of remote employment

Remote employment is a god-send for people striving to find satisfactory positions in their area. Additionally, it comes with no extra time wasted - think in terms of telecommuting, lunch breaks and similar.

As there are no limits when it comes to employees’ location, remote firms stand to benefit from diversity - the treat so often lacking in traditional business environments. If you add that to the fact that a remote business can acquire the finest of professionals without having to trouble itself with relocation costs, you’ll begin to grasp a bigger picture of the benefits of managing a remote team.

However, acquiring the best employees doesn’t equal keeping them. Remember that remote positions are abundant, and the same rules of keeping employees happy both apply to traditional and online businesses. Or, as famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once put it:

People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.

The bottom line is - keep your business the best (virtual) place to work for. How do you do that?

There are numerous ways to interact with people. Some businesses organize occasional meetups, while others schedule weekly meetings and motivational talks.

Whatever the practice of your choice, remember that employees need to have an outlet for their questions and complaints. That basically means - feedback rules supreme.

Feedback and flexibility: the pair that matters the most

Most importantly, feedback shouldn’t only be lodged and forgotten; you should also make an attempt to implement best practices observing it.

The majority of successful businesses employing remote teams have the custom of doing quarterly reviews, allowing both the managers to assess the team members and vice versa. The feedback on the managers should be anonymous, to encourage employees to speak their mind openly.

As people begin to realize the benefits of working from home (or anywhere else in the world) and the flexibility it provides, it’s no surprise that many are taking advantage of remote positions.

Therefore, it’s important to offer various shifts to accommodate employees from different time zones. Keeping in touch with everyone regularly is a must, so let’s take a look at the best practices for running a remote team.

Running a rockstar remote team: best practices

An online business should be keeping best practices in mind. You should only employ people who love working remotely. Although this way of employment is popular, there are still many people who prefer face-to-face contact.

Keep everyone up-to-date

Keep the communication alive and provide employees with regular company updates. As a rule, these are performed either monthly or quarterly, or bi-annually or annually. The best practice depends on company size and employee preferences. It’s safe to brief them on the matter.

If you run a large business, it’s advisable to delegate a manager for each team. Managers can keep in touch with their team members regularly, while company updates and general meetings may be scheduled less frequently.

That’s a no brainer, though. Traditional businesses operate in the same way and there’s no reason why best traditional practices shouldn’t be applied to remote businesses, right?

Adopt an agile approach

Think agile. Inspiring a high-performing culture comprises more factors than just regular communication and feedback. Listening to your employees is a good start. After all, it’s the diversity of online teams that makes the work so much more enjoyable and creative.

Imagine the new perspectives people from different continents can learn from their colleagues. Priceless!

Allow your teams to grow with the company

Allocate praise where it’s due and inspire people to polish their skills and move forward with their careers. Many online businesses offer courses employees are interested in taking to advance. These don’t necessarily have to be high-profile expensive ones. They just need to be in line with the employees’ interests.

Don’t overschedule

Allocating the right amount of tasks is always better than scheduling unreasonably high workloads, as the latter is a certain way to disengage employees. Remember that employees who are proud of their accomplishments are those who drive company success in the long run.

Employees who trust their leaders (and managers) grow with the company, promote their values and always give their best to improve the business - because they feel they belong there. And that would be the key takeaway - build a remote team that feels at home with your company, and success is certain to follow.