However, over the last five years over 1 million remote workers have joined the workforce<\/a> in the US. It\u2019s one of the many ways in which the internet changed the work landscape. There are even plenty of companies – very successful companies – that are 100% distributed (meaning they don\u2019t have an office at all). Companies like InVision and Zapier are showing that the \u201coffice\u201d model isn\u2019t needed in the modern age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a ton of advantages to having a distributed team. For example, the savings on office space, and access to more talent because you\u2019re not restricted to a certain area. Also, remote employees, on average, have higher output than those in the office<\/a>. With all that in mind, you might be considering adding some remote co-workers. But, how would you even go about that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no one specific way to go about building a remote team<\/a>. That said, I have a few tips that should work for most anyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you were starting a restaurant you\u2019d probably want a Head Chef who had cooked professionally. It makes sense. There are nuances to running a kitchen and creating a menu. Basically, there are certain things you can\u2019t know unless you\u2019ve done them before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The same is true about being in a remote position. There are plenty of people who can do it, but for the first one it\u2019s probably best to go with someone who has some experience. Not only do they know how to manage themselves, but they\u2019ll be able to provide insights that you may not have if you haven\u2019t worked remotely yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, they may have insights into common issues with staying connected. It\u2019s also very possible that they\u2019re involved in a remote-worker community and could help with future hiring. Hiring is difficult enough<\/a>, so any extra help is always very useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The flexibility of remote work<\/a> is what attracts a lot of people. Though it\u2019s a great perk, it can become a little lonely working remote. Interacting online with other teammates is helpful and does fulfill some of the need for socializing. That said, no amount of Slack messages can take the place of actual in-person interaction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a few different ways you could facilitate meeting up. If your team is mainly in one location, it\u2019s very common to fly remote workers to you. If you go that route, be sure there are volunteers on the team available to hang out with the remote members after-hours. It can be tough being a visitor in a city where you don\u2019t know anyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another common way to meet up is to attend conferences together. It\u2019s easiest if your company offers a learning and development budget so teams can decide which conferences will be the most beneficial to them. Note that no one should pay for themselves to travel to meet teammates – that\u2019s a company expense! Also, having the whole team\u2019s schedules link up to be able to attend at the same time can be a little difficult, but well worth it if you can figure it out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having good communication, as with most relationships, is key to having success with remote team members. If you\u2019ve never worked remotely, you\u2019d be surprised how much gets communicated informally. In an office, maybe you\u2019re chatting over lunch, or you go over to someone\u2019s desk to chat and come up with a new idea for a project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You may not think a bunch about those interactions, but if someone\u2019s not clued into them they can be out of the loop pretty quickly. Even if you do communicate changes, or updates, the other side of that is in those situations the remote worker doesn\u2019t get much of a chance to have their voice heard. In fact, a study of 1,100 remote workers found that 52% of those polled felt they were treated unfairly<\/a>. Part of the unfair treatment was being left out of decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will be some planning involved and some behavior changes needed to make the communication work. You\u2019ll also need to invest in tools that make communicating with a remote team member easier. The easier a tool makes communication, the more likely your in-office teammates are to use them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I once had a boss joke – I think – about installing a camera into my house to keep an eye on me to make sure I was working. This wasn\u2019t due to a lack of productivity on my end, it was just that it was their first time working with a remote employee. It\u2019s a common worry that if someone can\u2019t see you that you might slack off and not stay on task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If a manager is new to having remote workers, it makes total sense that that would be a worry. Since it\u2019s not feasible, or legal, to install a camera Big Brother-style, the best thing you can do is have clearly defined goals to make sure that your remote workers are meeting expectations. Also, they\u2019re an objective measure and take any sort of perception issues<\/a> out of the equation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having remote workers is almost becoming a trend. It can show how forward-thinking your organization is. Though that can be attractive to potential joiners, being \u201ctrendy\u201d is probably not the best reason to decide to add a remote team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you embark on the journey of building a remote team consider three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Really it all comes down to making sure there is a purpose for the team. Having that purpose will make handling any issues that arise easier, it will also help you get buy in from others when you can prove there is a real need. It can be a big adjustment, so it\u2019s important. <\/p>\n\n\n\nStart with Someone Who\u2019s Worked Remotely<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Create Opportunities to Meet in Person<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nGet Tools to Foster Communication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Know Your Goals – Specific Goals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Be Deliberate <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Build](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.invoiceberry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/remote-team-communication.png?resize=690%2C369&ssl=1\")
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