How to build a winning remote team

“Remote work” and “remote team” existed already before the pandemic. The success of billion-dollar companies such as Upwork (founded in 1999) is proof. Still, the pandemic is accelerating this inevitable trend faster.

A May survey last year with 1000 professionals in the US shows that 39% of employees would consider quitting their jobs if remote work ends, first report was from Bloomberg.

Also, within the past 12 months, we see more companies on www.Findrecruiter.com posting jobs with flexibility to allow remote applicants. It’s apparent that the idea of remote work is becoming a reality and a preference for talents and companies.

Last week, Find Recruiter‘s COO Howard Sung was joined by three remote team masterminds – Lee Turner from CLP Digital, Lawrence Ho from Pickupp, and Devere from Deel to discuss their insights and tips on enabling, engaging, and managing remote teams.

The discussion started with the panelists discussing the motivation on why we should consider remote teams, laying out the points of consideration and the benefits of having a remote set up.

Lawrence, the Chief Product Officer of Pickupp, a logistics tech company with a presence in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, said it was beneficial to the business to hire remotely because it’s easier to understand the local culture of the market. It actually allowed the business to understand the opportunities of certain markets easier.

One of the challenges the speakers agreed on was the engagement of remote teams. It is particularly difficult to motivate and bond with colleagues who we cannot meet in person. Lee, the Tech Lead of CLP Digital Services, gave great advice on building the right culture. “It’s all about humility in leadership” he mentioned, and how open or transparent we encourage our team to be. By leveraging technologies such as Slack or Gather, it makes communications more effective and fruitful within the team.

Although there are many benefits to building remote teams, there can be some concerning factors, too. Because we don’t get to see the potential candidate physically, we can’t pick up signals such as body language. Devere Bryan, the Director of Partnerships from Deel, shared best practices on how to avoid mis-hires and also what to watch out for after a hire is made.

Remote teams are not just a fad but a trending reality and companies of all sizes are taking advantage of this arrangement to tackle the challenges of talent shortage. Watch the highlights from our fruitful discussions and built your all-star remote teams effectively!

Findrecruiter enables companies in identifying talents and building permanent teams across Europe and Asia including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and others.