Managing Remote Teams Effectively: A Guide for Business Owne

According to recent reputable surveys, remote work has experienced a 44% growth in the last 5 years alone, which comes as no surprise. Yes, you can blame (or applaud) the COVID-19 pandemic for this significant growth. However, the trend for managing teams remotely was adopted by many renowned and up-and-coming small businesses and startups before this pandemic, whether for Virtual CFO assistance or IT Support and Security. 

The reason is quite simple: handling teams remotely or outsourcing certain aspects of your business comes with many advantages designed to help a business grow and succeed at the right pace and in the right direction.

Wondering what these advantages are? Which aspects of your business can be outsourced or managed remotely? And, most importantly, how to manage remote teams effectively to achieve the desired results for your business? These are all vital questions that a business owner needs to know to be the best leader, and they have been answered next for better understanding and management. So, do keep reading to know more!

Key Business Benefits of Having a Remote Team

Let’s start with why every business owner should consider outsourcing certain business activities:

• Managing remote teams is cost-effective as salary negotiations do not factor in expenses like commute, office attire, or lunch costs, thereby lowering overhead costs
• Remote work provides flexible hours, leading to increased productivity and loyalty among team members
• Having a remote team offers access to capable and talented employees worldwide
• Remote team meetings are more effective and less time-consuming

4 Areas of Your Business to Outsource

Now, let’s check out which aspects of your business can be outsourced to enjoy the above-mentioned benefits and more:

Customer Service

For online businesses or those seeking online support, having remote customer service can be helpful and effective. Business owners can outsource their customer service strategy to an external chat service provider or call center at affordable prices.

Accounting

A Virtual Chief Financial Officer or a part time CFO is an outsourced service provider responsible for assisting businesses in making informed decisions based on their expertise in financial strategy, financial planning, and financial reporting. It is a cost-effective and time-saving method for leveraging the specialized skills of financial experts to properly mitigate risks and adhere to compliance standards.

Marketing

Through backlink packages, businesses can experience higher search engine rankings, increased online visibility, and a boost in organic traffic from potential customers to their website/platform for more sales and brand awareness. This resource- and time-effective solution allows business owners to bypass the intricacies of link building strategies while enjoying the advantages of diverse and high-quality backlinks.

Human Resource

Outsourcing Human Resource services proves profitable for all business owners as it is related to hiring, onboarding, and other HR functions and processes. This service provides expert assistance in managing your new recruitments by offering training, ensuring optimal results for your business. Along with effective HR management, your business can also benefit from expertise in payroll and compliance.

Essential and Effective Tips on Managing Your Remote Teams

Without further ado, here are some ways you can manage your remote teams effectively for optimal growth and operations of your business:

Invest in the Appropriate Tools

As a business owner, it is crucial to ensure that you are providing your remote teams with the appropriate hardware and software tools for your team's optimal performance and effective management of their daily tasks. The tools you will provide must align with the specific needs of each remote team and their tasks. If you are unable to provide these tools, ensure that you educate or guide your teams properly so that they use the most effective, state-of-the-art, and appropriate tools to achieve the desired results for your business.

Maintain Proper Communication Channels

The determining factor in the remote world for the desired outcome of every product, campaign, or project your employees and business are working on is effective communication. As you are not in direct contact with your team, taking active and effective steps to communicate with your remote team is essential for proper management. You can take the help of available communication tools for clear and effective communication or interactions. Similarly, you must ensure your remote employees are able to communicate or voice their concerns quickly, properly, and safely with your business. This not only allows for quick and effective resolution or outcome but also fosters boosted morale and loyalty within the remote teams.

Provide Frequent Feedbacks

Outsourcing various aspects of your business involves hiring external experts to work towards fulfilling your business goals. As they are not your direct employees, fostering a sense of reliability is necessary to manage them properly for desired outcomes. Being proactive in providing feedback to your remote team members ensures greater engagement of the team members through inclusion, appreciation, and guidance.

Eliminate Distractions

When employees are working from home, the line between professional and personal time often blurs. Thus, for proper remote team management, business owners must employ effective tactics or strategies to minimize or eliminate their distractions. Most businesses utilize time-boxing techniques, allocating tasks within set timeframes with designated breaks.

Promote Accountability

Constantly micromanaging or checking up on your remote team every day can often result in low morale among remote employees. To effectively manage your remote team, business owners should implement an accountability process that ensures each team member performs their tasks diligently. Encouraging remote employees to be accountable for their actions in a non-threatening way boosts morale and productivity.

Therefore, ensure you set standards and evaluate your remote team's performance using proper methods, such as introducing flowcharts or task progression lists.

Host Team-Building Activities

Hosting team-building activities, especially for remote teams, is an easy and effective way to foster a reliable working relationship and build trust among the team members. Remote team members do not have direct contact with others on the team. With such regular activities, your employees can know each other and build a bond.

As a business owner, try to encourage open dialogue or small talk and conduct fun activities. Regular meetings are essential for getting feedback and proper management, but team-building activities allow for establishing trust which encourages proper communication and boosted performance of your team, ensuring the business's overall growth and success in the process.

Conclusion

Whether you are outsourcing accounting, link building for ecommerce, or the product storage and distribution process, having remote teams will undoubtedly benefit your business in many ways. Such a decision will ensure you have the time, money, and energy to oversee your daily business activities and other important aspects of your business, fostering desired results quickly. So, make use of the above-mentioned tips to ensure proper and effective management of your remote teams for your business’s ultimate success and growth.