We're not going back to office work.
It's not a definite decision, but it's obvious; more companies have adopted this approach.
Take us, for example, Brybe. We at Brybe have professionals who work remotely. They all live in different parts of the world, work in their time zones, and are eager to help our talents land the best jobs.
Because we've seen it in practice, we know it's doable. However, as a business founder, you need to plan the launching of your remote-first company carefully.
This is where we come in.
We'll share insights and valuable tips that can help you on your journey of launching your very own remote company.
Let's start.
1. Set up your digital infrastructure
For those of you who don't know what digital infrastructure is, it's a simple term to explain the technology you will use to manage your business. All of your processes, systems, and tasks are included in this technology.
You need to set this up immediately after launching your remote-first company to keep things organized.
One of the first things you need to set up your digital infrastructure is creating an assignment protocol.
An assignment protocol is a way you will handle your work requests, tasks, and assignments to your employees. It means using different platforms to achieve synchronous work.
These are some of the most popular platforms you can use:
- Trello or Asana for project management
- Slack for communication
- Hubspot for marketing
- Ahrefs for SEO
- Buffer for social media
All team members need access to these tools to perform their job.
2. Hire the best project managers and HR experts
Most business owners are focused on getting the right people on their team, but that's only the second-best thing you can do for your remote team.
The first best thing you have to do is hire one hell of a good project manager and one excellent HR expert.
Here's the thing.
When you're trying to develop a remote-first company, you may find yourself all over the place. It can be extremely overwhelming between trying to manage the team and keeping up with the budget. That's why you need top-rated project managers and HR experts to help you with all business activities.
Why project manager and HR professional, you ask?
A project manager will plan, organize, and execute every project. When you're running a remote-first business, it's very easy to fall into the trap of micromanaging, but a project manager will help you handle it all.
And, as you can't be at two places at once, you need to hire a good HR expert to find the best freelancers for your business.
You need someone to manage your employees, and you need someone else to find you the best ones, and you can't do that by yourself. You can start by looking at the professionals we have at our Marketplace.
3. Recognize and hire the right talents
Now that we got the project managers and the HR experts out of the way, let's talk about your employees. You need to invest some time into choosing the right freelancers.
Small business owners practice a habit of interviewing all freelancers. If you do that, you need to know which questions to ask, as we've already covered this topic in one of our previous blog posts - 9 interview questions to ask your future freelancers.
However, some skills are a must for anyone who's trying to build a remote-first company, such as:
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal;
- Relevant experience;
- Organizational skills;
- Ability to work independently;
- Experience working remotely;
Also, you need to make sure that the freelancers understand your brand's vision, mission, and overall team and company culture. It's important to discuss these details at the beginning of the hiring process to see which freelancers will stay and which ones won't.
Pro tip: make sure all of your freelancers know the hierarchy in the company. They need to know to whom they need to respond for the entire process to run smoothly.
4. Invest in developing a team culture
Building team culture in remote-first companies is one of the hardest things to manage. Some of your freelancers may work in different time zones; others may not want to connect with teammates; everyone's different.
But, you should, at least, try to maintain team engagement, increase team spirit, work quality, and overall excitement about the job.
Here's what you can do to improve the overall team culture in your company:
- Weekly meetings;
- Funny Slack channels;
- Weekly coffee breaks;
- Host online games;
When it comes to building a team, thinking outside of the box is crucial.
Managing a remote team can be one tough challenge to overcome, but it's not impossible. You can start by reviewing the freelancers at our Marketplace and see if you'll find the ideal ones for your company.