How to Operate a Fast-Growing Remote Team

Our team includes employees from 10 different countries. Each week, we welcome 10 new members to our ranks. We use Linkedin or standard job sites to find them. Then we conduct video interviews using the Spark Hire service. This allows us to conduct a lot of interviews quickly and efficiently.

Interviewing job candidates enables us to assess not only their professional abilities but also the ability of the candidate to work with our team. To do this, we ask these questions:

Is this person capable of doing the job?

These are question tests of skills and competencies. A sales manager must be social, stress-resistant, sociable, and able to take rejection.

What makes this person a good fit for the team?

It is important for team members to be on the same wavelength. They should share similar values and have a common goal.
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Is this the right person to do this job for the long term?

This question concerns the candidate’s internal self-determination: Is this something they want or are they still searching for it? A sales manager position is an example of someone who has no relevant experience but has excellent communication skills.

Experience has taught us that they will soon realize communication is not sufficient, be disappointed in their performance, then leave.

It is essential that candidates conform to our company’s values, rhythm, and culture. Employees will be able to work effectively, sustainably, and for a long period of time if they do so.

Leaders are first

We were searching for sales managers at the beginning, which was a mistake. Their performance indicators started to fall over time. We looked into the possibility of finding a leader in the commercial department.

This is a key factor in increasing sales efficiency. Experiential leaders discovered that many of our processes were not properly organized. Managers buried themselves in clients they didn’t know and disconnected from new clients.

To launch a direction, we hire not just ordinary employees but the best manager we can afford. Although companies may have different levels, it is important to hire someone with excellent skills and who is capable of building processes and assembling a team based on their previous experience.
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Find the top specialists in your area

It may seem expensive. It is always worth it to invest in skilled specialists. Strong leaders can intimidate many founders. One example is that many people believe that a skilled specialist won’t be interested in working in a small business.

The founders may be afraid they won’t be able to manage the company. Ex-executives often find it exciting to work at startups because it allows them to test their abilities and self-actualize in a new role.

Two rules are necessary to find the best. The first rule is that your professional tasks and those of the candidate must coincide. However, more often than not this is an accident or a lucky coincidence. This second rule increases the chances of meeting.

For long-term success, quality onboarding is key

Onboarding is the responsibility of our managers and team leaders. Meeting regularly with your leader is the key to successful onboarding, especially for remote teams. This is crucial for employee engagement.

You should also work with other employees and the HR manager to plan the first week or several weeks of employment for a new employee.

You should clearly define your tasks, include references and list the desired result. Make sure to let the new member of your team know who to contact regarding what issues.

Don’t forget the emotional aspect. We created a handbook that covered the history, goals, and details of the company at the beginning of active growth. We told all this with humor so that new employees would be able to understand that we are on the exact same wavelength and that we share the same spirit.
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Instead of focusing on work time, focus on the end result.

You can always check out what your coworkers are doing in the office. You can see what your colleagues are doing, even when they have tea or smoke breaks.

You don’t know whether your employee is at work or taking their child to the doctor in this new remote reality. Maybe they went to the ocean to relax. It doesn’t matter where an employee is located or how long they spend at the computer. Only their performance indicators matter.

The system 3KR (Key results) is what we use. It’s the Educate Online version of Google’s OKRs. This project management method combines knowledge from multiple systems (Waterflow and Agile, OKR, Scrum, and Scrum) to create a unique approach for remote teams.

This scheme assigns each employee three key results per quarter and one per week. This is the best way to measure performance.

Meetings are held every Monday and Friday. These meetings help to understand the problems of the team, who is doing what, and maintain the team spirit.

Remote work in multicultural teams presents many challenges. These include communication difficulties, time zones, and miscommunications. However, automation, the use of Zoom, Discord, and Notion, help us to deal with these challenges.

Your team will feel more at ease if you digitize processes. To improve your HR structure and to hire more efficiently, keep an eye on the trends in the HR market. Strong specialists should be paid for. Your company’s greatest resource is your people. They will help you grow.