Do fully remote teams work?

Congratulations on starting a new business! The question of whether or not a remote team will work for depends on your needs. Designers and branding professionals are often freelancers – easily sourced as a remote workforce. If they perform independently, submitting work product to you to deliver to clients, it can be cost-effective and efficient to hire remotes.

Determine how much you need to directly supervise workers versus how much they can work on their own. If the balance is toward independence, remotes are a solid choice. If your needs are more hands-on, you’ll want workers in-house. You may have some staffers that need direct supervision while others work on their own; a combination of both might be right.

If working as a team is necessary on a consistent basis, in-house staff may be a better option. Pulling together remotes requires planning and organization. An impromptu brainstorming session can’t always happen when staffers are in different time zones and geographic locations.

But technology is empowering the remote workforce. Connectivity, collaboration and conferencing tech is changing the way we work and making it easier to manage projects and people from wherever they are. Look at how you want to interact with staff and verify tech is there to support your needs to guide your decision.

There are many benefits to hiring a remote team – and yes many companies rely solely on remote employees. Savings on office space and associated costs alone can really help the bottom line – especially for startups. Good luck!