Remote work are two words you’ve heard constantly over the last year or so, and rightfully so. Remote work has grown by (at least) 44% in the last year and continues to become a viable option for companies looking to hire the best candidates, employees trying to find a unique way to make money, and business owners who are trying to find a place to make their mark.
With modern technology, we can all work remotely and still be as connected as ever, with modern tools like Zoom, instant messaging apps like Whatsapp or Slack, and collaborative platforms like Asana, Monday.com, and more.
What’s It Like Running a Remote Team?
For an employer (or freelancer), the benefits of the increase in remote working is obvious: there are more job opportunities, you can work from wherever you are, and you don’t need to deal with any long commute or plan your transit each and every day. This is not to mention the health benefits remote working has provided over the last year.
But for a company leader, business owner, or entrepreneur: is the increase in remote working a good thing?
If you have to keep tabs on every employee’s activity and track their progress, it certainly can be a lot different for you. You’ll need to adapt (quickly) and make sure you’re doing everything you can to provide your team with everything they need in order to succeed.
You’ll have to set up new processes for reporting, secure communication channels for everyone, and probably introduce yourself (and everyone) to a new system for organizing files, tracking to-do lists, collaborating, and so much more.
You may ask employees to send reports more often, you’ll need to plan regular calls, and I hope you’ll pay attention to company morale and mental health, even from a distance.
Can You Manage A Remote Team Efficiently and Effectively?
Yes, you sure can. And if you do it properly, you shouldn’t miss a beat. In fact, some companies are stronger than ever today than they were one year ago.
Donny Gamble, Serial Entrepreneur and Founder of Retirement Investments, managed a remote team long before 2020 and has talked vehemently about its positives when discussing it with peers and friends.
“Once I became familiar with how to do it effectively, it opened up all sorts of opportunities for me and my company. I was able to find the right staff members, work alongside them effectively, and they did great work for me from a distance. My staff and I loved working remotely and, when 2020 hit, we didn’t skip a beat.”
Lindsey Allard, Co-Founder and CEO of PlaybookUX, was new to remote working when 2020 forced it upon her company but, after some challenging days, began to really appreciate what it had to offer.
“I quickly learned the differences of managing a remote team versus an in-office team and was able to adapt on the fly. As a company, we worked hard to keep our progress moving forward and we all enjoyed the fresh experiences provided by working remote. After implementing new processes and finding new ways to work, it’s been an extremely success change.”
Not the New Norm, But Close
Business owners and managers of all kinds have had to deal with working alongside a remote team and, love it or hate it, I expect it’s going to stick around for a while.
While I don’t expect every traditional office space to disappear, I think remote work will continue to be as popular as it has been the last year or so. Get acquainted with it, find out how it works for you, and learn how you can make it work.
