These days, many companies are choosing to trade off their corporate offices for a remote, work-from-home lifestyle. Start-ups particularly, have been using this method to their advantage because with it, they can hire talented team members from across the world. Expensive office space seems to be the main motivator for people who make the switch to remote teams, especially in hotspots like San Francisco and New York. Additionally, the presence of new technologies that facilitate seamless and constant communication have made the switch a lot easier to implement. 

Workep, like many other companies, started in one city and then hired members from around the world. This allowed us to hire some of the most talented and best developers out in the workforce at the moment. Since they live in different time zones, they can provide support around the clock. Of course, not everything was, or still is, perfect with our remote team. Nevertheless, here are the five pointers on how to embrace remote work in your business!

Clear communication is key with working with remote teams because sometimes written words are not enough to effectively communicate with your team. To ensure you have an unstoppable team keep your communication as open and transparent as possible because it’s important that everyone understands their role and responsibilities within the team.

Slack has been one of the most helpful tools we have used. Slack allows us to have conversations in different channels across the team. I can send a message to a single team member, a group working on a certain feature, or the whole team. This prevents people from getting unnecessary notifications about something they have nothing to do with.

Furthermore, we execute our weekly meeting to discuss specific topics through Google Hangouts or Google Meets. These google apps offer an easy way to connect with your internationally dispersed remote team.

2. Plan your work

Workep allows users to effectively organize their projects, tasks and files within a fully automated system that centralizes all the project information into G-Suite. It’s important for the team: 1) to understand what the goals are for the day, week and month  2) to Identify how responsibilities will be distributed within the team, and 3) to have complete transparency within the team about who has done what, and who needs help with what.

3. Results Matter, Hours Don’t 

The best way to make sure everyone is doing their part, in spite of being miles away from each other, is to set measurable goals for what every team member has to complete by a certain deadline. Setting measurable goals is a great way to remove all doubt we could have with our team members and instill a sense of trust between everyone. 

5. Find a good working space at home

Have a good desk, a good chair and a good computer in your home. Separate your personal space from your working space. Make sure you feel comfortable in your workplace. And make sure to have good internet connection as well as a quiet environment.

Learn more about Workep

All users will have access to a Team Training session with one of our account managers. The session will last about 30-45 minutes. You will be fully prepped on everything you need to know about how to use Workep + you will get tips on what types of project management methodologies work best within the platform. We will finish off with a 15 minute, Q&A to clear up any doubts your team may have.

To request a team training, please click on the “Book a Meeting” button to find the perfect date & time for your team to receive their training.