Dealing with Digital Talent: Remote Workers

Considering going remote with your business? Already embracing offsite workers? Good for you! You're on trend. There are many tools that have made digital talent teams more and more popular as of late, and many more businesses are on their way to embracing this concept.

Collaborative software, videoconferencing and web-based tools have removed the barriers that required workers to be onsite, Entrepreneur Magazine points out. "As a result, more and more workers are choosing the distributed team option. Forrester Research predicts that by 2016 some 43 percent of the U.S. workforce, or 63 million people, will telecommute." 

Wondering how to make remote workers and a digital team work for you? Our sister company, Artisan Creative offers these tips for helping make your remote employees feel like part of the team.

Engaging in an integrated life-work philosophy and staying true to our core values has always been how we conduct business and have maintained our culture here at Artisan Creative. We believe this is one of the reasons for our success over our past 20 years in this business. As our California-based company has been virtual for over 7 years, we’ve learned to do things a little differently that allow us to continue to build a strong culture for our team members who all work remotely.

5 Tips for Creating and Nurturing Company Culture in a Virtual Work Environment

1. Befriend Technology
   

   Use Slack, Yammer, Basecamp, or any other team communication or collaboration tool to stay connected. Artisan Creative holds scheduled daily Zoom video huddles to brainstorm and share ideas, and uses Slack to review assignments and execute search plans. A good CRM system keeps track of communications, meetings, appointments, and client and talent information.
   
   

2. Communicate metrics and expectations
   

   Clearly communicate and review company goals daily or weekly. It's important to communicate vital short-term goals to your team.
   
   

3. Embrace Transparency

   Create a transparent environment so people understand their value and contribution regardless of whether or not they sit in your physical office.
   
   

4. Come Together Often

   Artisan Creative has many remote workers, but always makes sure to have in-person team meetings once a month. Team members also meet up for talent interviews and client site visits throughout the month.

5. Meet Socially

   Consider having team activities like potlucks, paint nights, bowling, and dinners out. Several team members going to a specific networking event? Take the team out for a drink afterwards!

These are just some of the tips you need for success when it comes to cultivating a digital team. Need more advice or help hiring employees? Check out one of our free resources, "Hiring Freelancers 101" or contact us today to learn more.