Heading
Heading
Heading
Heading
Heading
A mere five years ago, remote work was considered a perk many didn’t have access to.
Now, it’s basically a necessity, with nearly three-quarters of working people expecting remote work to become standard before the decade ends.
The crisis and lockdowns changed the global landscape dramatically and made owners start looking at remote as their only option.
Now, as the world is going back to normal, people still want to work from home, with 70% of companies planning to adopt a hybrid model.
A fully remote company doesn’t have a physical office, all of the interactions happen in a virtual realm. Interested in starting a fully-remote team or have already started one and want to make sure it’s set up the right way? Then you need some remote work tips…
What Does a Fully Remote Company Looks Like in 2022?
The traditional office role is slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past. And we're not just talking about the US here. Countries all around the globe are starting to follow the remote work online trend.
As the numbers show, more than half of companies now allow their team members to travel at least a couple of days a week. Furthermore, recent research shows that around 16% of companies worldwide now are fully remote.
The trend is only going to continue in the years to come.
A fully remote company is one that doesn’t require its team members to work from a physical location. While some have physical offices, they don’t force anyone to come in regularly.
Everyone - from the CEO to the customer service reps - works from their homes or wherever they please.
There are quite a few benefits to running a remote company.
- You can save on things like office space and equipment.
- You can hire the best talent from all around the globe
- All team members live in locations they want
- In general, remote workers are more satisfied
- Satisfied people equals better outcomes for companies
You can learn a lot about remote work online by observing some of the most prestigious companies out there.
Here are a few companies that will help you get inspired:
- Buffer - A fully-distributed team that offers seamless social media management.
- Hubstaff - One of the most famous software companies that are also fully remote.
- Zapier - Zapier's fully-remote team can helo you connect your apps and streamline performance.
How to Create Your Remote Team
Remote work is similar to everyday work in many ways. However, it’s also completely different in many other ways. Failing to define working hours, lack of spontaneity, and not conducting regular meetings are just a few things that could destroy your remote company.
Here are a few elements every remote team leader and business owner needs to think about:
1. Overlapping Work Hours
When working remotely, you probably have a number of teammates in different time zones. And when you let them all pick their work hours, chaos can ensue. That’s why you should try to have as many hours overlap as possible - we recommend a minimum of 4 hours.
2. Where the Work Will Live
You also need to define where the work will live. Let each team define where it works best for them - for instance, Figma for engineers, Github for developers or Notion - and try to collaborate as much as possible within these platforms.
3. Social Interactions
When working remotely, you need to put some effort into organizing social interactions for your team. Your people need some real face time after all. At least once a month, make sure you plan something. It can be anything ranging from an informal catch-up, a game of werewolves or just hanging out in your own Kosy virtual space.
4. Spontaneous Interactions
One of the biggest losses of working remotely is all the times you run into different team members while on your break. That might be good for your focus, however, a lot of energy and creativity comes out of these chats. Put some time aside every week for a random meeting or two where you can go over some plans and keep each other in the loop.
5. Regular Meetings
You also need to have scheduled meetings to keep every team member aligned. Here are a few tips to make sure your meetings are highly effective:
- Set a clear agenda that your team members can follow
- Keep the meetings short and sweet
- Remind people about the meetings so they can prepare
And keep in mind that you don’t need to have multiple meetings a week. You’ll be fine with scheduling a few meetings every month.
6. Build the Right Processes
Not everything needs to be synchronous. Therefore, you should have a few pieces of work that are done asynchronously. Make sure that your teammates know what work doesn’t require a call by building a process (e.g., the content is in X platform, expected turnaround time is Y, etc.)
7. Discuss Everything With the Team
Talk about your processes with the team often. Every team needs a different process, which means that you’ll need to work on each process separately. It’s a continuous process, so you’ll need to talk multiple times with your team members, to make sure everyone’s comfortable with what’s been put in place.
7. Meet In-Person Once In a While
Working remotely doesn’t require you to see your teammates. However, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it. Here at Kosy, we get together every quarter. We alternate between different European cities. That helps us gel faster as a team and eliminate forced and awkward socializing calls
How to Select the Right Virtual Office
If you're going to run a successful team, you need to make sure you have the right tools for remote work in place. One of the most important things you need is a good virtual office.
Kosy is a workspace that you can access from anywhere in the world. It lets you interact with teammates just like you're in a physical office.
It's basically like having an office without actually having an office.
There are plenty of benefits to using a virtual office, such as:
- You can interact with others in a way that feels natural
- Meetings and brainstorming sessions are easy
- No matter in what time zone you are in, you can log in and collaborate
Build Your Remote Team Today
Working remotely is becoming more and more popular and for a good reason. It offers plenty of benefits, such as increased performance and flexibility.
If you're thinking about starting a remote team, make sure you do your research and plan everything out carefully. The last thing you want to do is jump into things without having a plan. Oh yeah, and take some of our remote work tips into consideration.
We know what we’re talking about.
Kosy can help you get started with your remote team. With our platform, you can easily connect with teammates and work together like you're in a physical office.
If you have any questions or need help getting started, feel free to contact us. We're always happy to help!
