Many small businesses start out as one-person operations, but at some point, you need a team in order to grow. When you’re ready to put your team together, hiring remotely is a smart option that can save you money, plus it gives you a pool of candidates that is virtually limitless. Even with these advantages, building a remote team can have drawbacks if you don’t take the time to do it right. These tips for each stage of the process will help you build and manage your remote team successfully.

 

Stage 1: The Search and Hiring Process

One of the most popular ways to find candidates is through online job boards that connect employers with individuals seeking remote work. Along with these search sites, Inc. recommends using your own blog as a source for finding potential candidates. After all, there’s no better place than your own community to find people who have an interest in your niche.

 

Once you’ve found potential candidates, you want to make sure they are not only qualified but that they also have what it takes to work productively on a remote team. Even when someone doesn’t have experience working remotely, the ideal candidate will be self-motivated, good at  working independently, and will have excellent communication skills.

 

Stage 2: Onboarding for a Smooth Transition

Onboarding is a transition period for you and any new team members, and communication is key to making this transition go smoothly. You want everyone to be on the same page from day one so remote employees will know exactly what your expectations are, and they will start to feel comfortable with the team and their role.

 

One way to keep everyone informed and up to date on all projects is to schedule regular team calls.

It’s also helpful to have these virtual meetings transcribed so you can share call notes with all team members. This ensures that everyone has access to the information they need, and it makes collaboration among the team more effective. You can have your calls transcribed without having to hire additional staff; all you need is an automated speech-to-text service that you access online. These services can transcribe your calls in a matter of minutes and are very affordable, with some costing as little as $1 for every 10 minutes of audio.

 

Stage 3: Implementing Tools That Ensure Success

Having an effective onboarding process helps everyone get off to the best start, but you also want to invest in the right tools to keep things running smoothly. These are some of the key areas where tech

tools can make the biggest impact:

 

• Communication: We mentioned how team calls and notes help get everyone on the same page.

Along with these tools, teams also communicate through email, messaging, video chats, you name it. Keeping up with so many different channels of communication can be challenging, especially when you have remote employees. Using a communication suite, such as Slack, gives you a central digital space where all types of communication channels come together.

 

• Team Building: Even though many people enjoy working remotely, one thing that is often missing from these teams is a sense of community. The website CMS Wire recommends creating a communication channel that’s just for socializing. Team members can use it to chat about everyday life and share fun

stuff. This is a simple way to build that sense of community, which is a foundation for job satisfaction

and successful collaboration.

 

• Organization: While a communication suite can keep team members from missing important messages, you also need tools for organizing documents and tasks. Forbes recommends apps like Evernote and Trello for creating and sharing to-do lists.

 

These are just a few examples of how digital technology makes remote work a viable option for any business. These tools are easy to access and affordable, which means even the smallest startups can take advantage of them. By using them wisely, you can build and manage a successful remote team that takes your small business to the next level.

 

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