Best Practices for Productive Remote Workers

In this day and age, one of the biggest changes in business is fracturing of the traditional office environment. Many startups like Google are famous for creating a workspace that gets away from traditional layouts or organizational patterns. But many smaller companies have taken that a step further and removed the standard physical office as a mandatory in the first place. For example, at my new furniture brand Stem we have an office in Los Angeles but then have a team of consultants and freelancers in other cities and countries that all work together to propel the company forward in a more flexible manner. With freelance hiring sites like Upwork or just by hiring from other cities or countries directly, the modern business can be done by building and honing a remote team. It’s on the rise and can have benefits to employees as well. This can be a challenging proposition if not handled correctly, though, and there are some key practices that can help ensure you get the most out of this way of structuring your operations.

Regular Meetings

With a physical office it’s much more intuitive to hold regular meetings, but when team members work remotely it’s just as important to have consistent calls. These regular checkings allow you to keep them on the same page and included in the overall vision of your company. In addition, while it’s important to not micromanage and let the remote member have the autonomy needed, it’s just as important to g over the specific objectives regularly so you can make any adjustments that are needed.

Organizational tools like asana

One f the hardest elements of having part of the team in another location is coordinating workflow. In person it can be much easier to ask questions, confirm responsibilities, and get approvals for tasks. But in the digital world, the projects still need to be treated with the same level of attention and care. That’s where a tool like Asana can be a huge help. Their cloud-based platform allows for an amazing level of collaboration and real-time sharing of information. it also allows you to set timelines and create the priority structure needed to keep everyone on the same page.

Develop clear goals and mission

The more the workforce is spread out, with people working remotely or at home, the greater clear mission becomes. Many people do a lot of this work in the beginning and then let it slip out of prominence as the business grows. It’s essential to maintain and even sometimes revise the company’s goals and mission along the way, making sure the core principles and value propositions are upheld in all of the work being done. When someone isn’t part of the main office it’s a little tougher to absorb the company culture and evolving big picture, so including your remote team with this type of messaging can be vital for a brand.

One impulse with hiring these type of workers is to just hire them for only a specific project and then cut ties as soon as the project is complete. While this short term relationship is necessary and beneficial in some circumstances. It’s better to find a role for them ongoing, even in a limited capacity. A big part of the onboarding is the learning curve of your particular business so if you can find someone who adds value, try to maintain ongoing projects to get maximum return on that investment.

New ways of structuring a business are great at creating flexibility, empowering individuals, and opening yourself up to a broader pool of workers. But if you’re not careful, you can lose focus and effectiveness if the team becomes fractured. Take advantage of a remote team but keeping the above in mind will help make sure that it’s making your company more productive, not less.

Travis Nagle

co-founder