How to structure and get the most out of your remote teams

This article is part of our Opinions section.

While naysayers predicted a short-lived trend, remote and hybrid work models have solidified their place in the business landscape. A study by PWC found that 83% of global executives plan to offer a hybrid work model post-pandemic. However, the rapid shift to remote work during the pandemic, often seen as a temporary solution, has left many organisations with suboptimal remote structures. 

In reality, companies have many options for structuring remote teams. Finding the most effective model requires a comprehensive exploration of these possibilities and a willingness to shed traditional notions of how a team operates.

Take advantage of global talent

One of the greatest benefits of a hybrid or fully remote working model is that it enables you to recruit from an incredibly large pool of talent. A business is no longer constrained by the available expertise in its local area or even country.

Thanks to the plethora of communication platforms, engagement and monitoring tools now available, any company – no matter its size – can easily manage team members across the world. This is especially important given the high demand and low availability of many technical skills in Western nations. There are many countries in the subcontinent, Africa and South America that have a deep, cost-effective reserve of untapped talent. 

Crucially, I am not talking about hiring a whole team in one country to act as a satellite office. Instead, it’s about hiring the best individuals from anywhere in the world right across your organisation. 

There are plenty of companies that can help to identify and, in some cases, support the management of these team members on your behalf. Nevertheless, one of the most important lessons for building a global, remote workforce is to prioritise instilling your local company culture. Team members should be onboarded, engaged with, managed and treated exactly the same – no matter where they are. 

Truly flexible hiring 

In times gone by, part-time workers were relatively rare, usually older employees and more often than not weren’t considered a real member of the team. Now, so many more people, of every age and experience, are varying their working hours and the nature of their employment contracts. There has also been a surge in freelance and self-employed – especially within the tech sector.

This creates an excellent opportunity for businesses to consider a blended model for their workforce. A team can be structured between part-timers, consultants and project-based freelancers – working in office, remotely or a mix of both. 

Consider do you actually need any full-time directly employed team members. Sounds crazy, but there’s no hard and fast rule that you actually do. A blended team can be ultra-flexible, cost and time-efficient to build and manage, and enable you to benefit from a much broader base of expertise. If you treat everyone equally and instil your company values and culture there is no reason why this type of team cannot have the loyalty, motivation and ethos of its traditional alternative. 

Another benefit of having an open mind is that it can really help to diversify your team and give you access to a lot of high-value talent for which a full-time gig is simply impractical – such as women with young families. It’s no secret that a major cause of the gender gap in tech is its failure to adequately accommodate this group. 

World-class teams with a global reach

A lot of business owners I speak to that run hybrid working models tend to think about their organisation in terms of a core, local and mostly full-time team – plus branches of remote workers. Generally speaking, senior leadership is situated in the core and more junior members or specialist workers put the ‘hybrid’ in the business.

While this has the obvious advantages of enabling executives to closely collaborate and be accountable to one another – as well as giving a business its ‘home’ – there are good reasons why this structure should also be subject to reexamination and disruption. After all, if your developers can work together across continents, why can’t your senior managers? 

Dispersing the top of your team has the benefit of creating multiple management focal points, across time zones from which your business can operate. As mentioned above, it also enables you to pull from a bigger pool of talent for less cost.

Top tips for structuring remote teams

Building a high-performing remote-friendly team doesn’t require a complete overhaul. Instead, focus on steady evolution. Craft a roadmap with achievable milestones to gradually shift your team towards a structure that optimises current and future needs. 

Here’s how to get started: 

• Take inventory: Assess your team’s skills, management style and technology. Look for potential cost savings, skill gaps and areas prone to delays or disruptions (bottlenecks). Align this with your business goals and client feedback.
• Tech check: Ensure your technology stack empowers remote and hybrid work. Prioritise tools that streamline onboarding, boost engagement, promote accountability and track productivity.
• Employee input matters: Collaborate with your team to determine the ideal work models for each member. Explore all possibilities, including flexible options like consultancy, part-time arrangements or fully remote work
• Begin experimenting with new working practices. For example, a pilot project where administrative and other back office functions are executed by virtual workers can be a safe way to get started 
• Start small, experiment big: Pilot new practices in a controlled setting. For example, consider a temporary project handled by virtual administrative assistants.
• Expand your talent pool: Connect with agencies specialising in remote work recruitment. Discover untapped talent across different countries and broaden your hiring horizons.
• Track, analyse and adapt: Continuously monitor the impact of your evolving structure. Don’t hesitate to adjust if progress falls short of your expectations. Regular evaluation helps identify weaknesses like gaps in onboarding or the need for enhanced management techniques.

The future of work is flexible. By embracing truly remote and hybrid models, businesses can unlock a world of possibilities. This could include a global talent pool, and the building of diverse teams while attracting top performers who may not fit the traditional mould. The new local is global because location, in most cases, does not matter anymore, it’s all about building a strong, collaborative culture that empowers individuals to thrive wherever they are.