4 common misconceptions about remote teams

Find out the advantages of hiring this type of employee and how to do it.

The advantages of hiring remote employees are hard to ignore, and more companies are gravitating toward forming remote teams in order to fill certain types of work roles. This article explores a few common myths and misconceptions about remote workers.

1. Remote workers are not as productive

One of the leading concerns is the idea that team members cannot possibly be as productive without supervision and on-site management. However, in the modern age there are many ways to manage remote workers and monitor productivity. The key is to hold employees accountable by establishing a process that is flexible, and using tools to follow the process.

2. Remote workers are not as skilled

Another misconception is that most skilled workers prefer to be in a formal office, while remote workers are those that simply could not qualify for the leading positions. This myth is especially prevalent when a worker is an independent contractor or freelancer, where they are perceived to be less capable in developing their skills. In fact, many contractors prefer the independence and autonomy of self-employment, and often have a high level of skill and motivation developed during their career.

Hiring remote workers allows access to some of the most highly skilled talent in any given industry. Companies are no longer bound by geographical restrictions and may expand the hiring pool to extend across state and regional lines, or even international borders. This broadens the scope of truly finding the best in the field. Recruiting talent without geographical boundaries is the only way to get the very best people.

3. It is difficult to find remote workers

A key question that arises for a company contemplating the use of remote teams is how to locate and recruit workers. Websites such as LinkedIn offer a possibility to begin growing a pool of potential recruits from the over 200 million users. There are also sites that list a wide range of project-based contractors and freelancers who may be open to a broader commitment.

A company can also access international freelancer networking sites for specific industries such as software development and engineering. Actively participating in these sites can result in contact with established contractors in a given region or country.

4. Remote work is limited to IT and data entry

There is a historical acceptance of using remote workers for certain types of technical work, customer service and data entry positions. Given that these roles do not depend on physical location or close supervision, businesses recognise that projects could be outsourced or contracted hourly on an individual basis.

However, remote work teams do not have to be limited to certain categories and the online collaboration and communication tools allow the creation of a ‘virtual office’ for a wide range of business functions. While IT development roles remain a popular remote work niche, teams can also be recruited for sales and marketing, product development, creative work and customer interface.

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