Rising Need to Build Sustainable Remote Team

It was all going the traditional way but suddenly there was an urgent need of change.

The covid-19 pandemic made us all realize the importance of remote work culture and the soaring need to shift from the traditional way of working to working from home.

This shift has been grueling for many and not many of us knew how to go about it.

This was because most of the companies had never even thought of adopting work from home culture and those who were practicing this concept were able to manage their way out of this pandemic. But still, the path was not at all smooth for any of us.

Most the people are still apprehensive about the concept and have many questions in mind like, “How to build a remote team? How to manage and sustain a remote team? Can we have high efficiency in remote operations? Is it possible to have cohesive work culture?” and many more.

 So, considering the state of perplexion among people, it becomes necessary to address all aspects that are important in relation to remote work culture.

BUILDING REMOTE TEAM

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Employees are the most important aspect of any company. And it becomes extremely crucial to find the right fit for the right role.

And here is the huge difference while recruiting remotely as compared to traditional recruitment.

TALENT SOURCING

Traditional recruitment practices are often limited to geographic location which refers to the candidates being located or willing to relocate to the company’s location.

Whereas, recruiting remotely provides you with a large pool of candidates spread over a wide range of geography.

The talent pool in remote recruitment is limitless and you can hire a fully distributed team having different backgrounds and a wide range of experiences.

So, when a company hires a multidimensional remote team, it gains a competitive advantage. But there are some key factors to be considered while remote hiring, like – 

• Language fluency
• Time zone constraints
• Finding the right job deployment platform
• Identifying remote job locations
• Establishing compensation bands based on multiple geographies

REMOTE SCREENING

There are many similarities between remote and traditional hiring. In both cases, we assess various aspects of a qualified pool of candidates, such as – qualifications, confidence levels, communication skills, etc.

But still, there is a huge difference when it comes to conducting remote interviews as compared to traditional screening.

Conducting remote interviews can be far more productive for both parties. 

• It cuts down the traveling cost and saves a lot of time as well. 
• It also lessens the amount of mental and physical fatigue that we have while recruiting in person.
• It reduces the length of the screening process, making recruitment faster and more effective.
• Provides ample time for candidates to complete screening assignments.

So, both of the screening methods are quite similar. But what differs is the added advantage to remote hiring is the benefit of accelerating the overall process making it more efficient.

ONBOARDING

Onboarding people in remote environment is again a bit different from in-office situation.

It might become challenging for recruiting manager to do the onboarding process virtually and engaging the new employee in the induction process.

It’s extremely important to cultivate a sense of cohesiveness among new team members and ensure that they stay connected. 

• There should be proper onboarding materials made available to the new joiners through a digital platform giving them a smooth experience.
• Interactive groups should be made to introduce newcomers and allow senior managers to share their experiences.
• Online training tools should be provided to educate new team members and expose them to the company’s internal helping aids.
• Proper training about the company’s vision, mission, projects, and processes should be given.

SO, its important to build a highly strategic approach for an effective remote recruitment process to manage the nearly limitless pool of candidates.

And there should be a deep understanding of specific tactics in order to conduct remote interviews so as to build a sustainable remote team.

TRAIN TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE TEAM

To build sustainable remote team, it is essential to invest in training of the team.

From onboarding to ongoing learning, it’s important to keep on improving essential skills that lead to the development of an individual.

Remote working requires more skills than the onsite job, as it includes learning and staying updated with the new age technologies and find ways to use them to our advantage.

In order to improve remote team’s efficiency and sustainability, there is a need for commitment to developing long-term learning and development programs.

Any remote learning and development strategy needs to be comprehensive in content, focused on behavior change, and aligned for all employees—those who work with remote team members as well as those who work remotely themselves.

Support is needed at the individual contributor, manager, and executive levels in order to successfully build commitment to a shared vision for remote work, set expectations, and address obstacles.

After all, a company can only truly capitalize on the benefits of remote work if all layers of an organization have the skills and confidence to implement and execute remote work effectively.”