Table of Contents
More and more companies have found out that employees who work remotely bring more greatness to their companies. 2021 has seen the demand for remote work go up. At the same time, having a marketing team for your business has also demonstrated to be a necessity for both small and large companies. In that case, remote work has turned out to be a work strategy that is here to stay.
A recent survey by Forbes says that 70% of the workforce will be working remotely by 2025. Another study by Gartner CFO revealed that 74% of companies plan to let employees work remotely after the pandemic permanently.
With these statistics in place, it is undoubtedly accurate that working remotely is beneficial and also optimal. As talent shortage has declined, HR managers have embraced the flexibility of searching for talent from different countries.
This article will explain in detail how to build and manage a remote marketing team.
Building a Remote Marketing Team
In the present time, it is entirely unnecessary to build up a marketing team within the same city or even country. Unless you want to, we highly recommend considering the benefits of hiring remotely.
Roles such as marketing are well suited for remote work since all you need to deliver exceptional work is a laptop and a good internet connection. Writers, web designers and developers were already enjoying the remote lifestyle long before 2020.
This fact is evident as Forbes found that more marketers have benefited from working from home for the past one and a half years.
Even though remote work had more than enough popularity pre-covid, the pandemic has allowed more companies to see the unlimited benefits of working from home. The realization that you can reach talented people globally and build solid and long-lasting relationships has allowed remote work to keep growing rapidly.
Building a successful remote team means understanding the roles of the people you are hiring. A bad hire will cost you money, energy, and above all, it will derail your company’s growth. Who wants to be stuck trying to find the right talent when they should be focusing on their company’s growth?
The #1 mistake new and even experienced entrepreneurs make when hiring a marketing manager is the expectation that a marketing manager will do everything in that department. It is essential to know and understand various roles within the marketing department.
Prepare for hiring - Take remote onboarding seriously
Onboarding is when you provide your new employees with the necessary training and information to support them in getting accustomed to their new position.
Regardless of whether you are starting from scratch or hiring a new remote role, it would be best to have an intense onboarding process in place. Here is why a good onboarding process is essential for your company:
- It is the first impression for the new employee
- It is an opportunity to set expectations with the new employee
- New hires get more engaged with the company
- It will help you retain your employees
- When all the above are met, an excellent remote onboarding process will, in turn, lead to higher profits for your company
To ensure that you have a smooth onboarding process for future members of your remote marketing team, you can follow these helpful tips:
a) Set expectations with the new hire. You must ensure that all communication is clear and that the new hire understands the job objectives.
b) Have a well-defined SOP. This will help your new employee understand the processes your company has in place to ensure a good delivery of services.
c) Make an onboarding checklist and schedule. If you have more time, consider creating an internal online course each new employee will go through. This will help you keep track of their work progress and answer any questions that arise.
d) Provide a platform for their work delivery. This eases the confusion after work completion and allows new hires to deliver work without worrying about losing it.
It would be best to prepare checklists, SOPs, and internal courses or procedures that the new employee can work on. You could do this within the first day of their schedule. Also, you could test their understanding by allowing them to share their notes with you regularly. This will allow you as an employer to discuss any grey areas that arise.
Another way to support your new employee is by scheduling regular video calls. This not only allows you to know your employer better, but it helps them get comfortable with any applications, programs, or systems that you use to communicate with them.
The experienced team at BalkanHire can guide you through the whole process and help you with the recruitment process – from start to finish.
The benefits of building a remote marketing team
1. Hiring a remote marketing team is affordable. Compared to the cost of training your team, taking the time to find the right talent is more affordable and a great return on investment. Training an already existing team is costly, and some individuals will find it uncomfortable to learn something they aren’t happy doing.
2. Hiring remotely gives you access to diverse talent. Diversity and inclusion are hot topics, and hiring a diverse team is one way to embrace diversity fully. Furthermore, both inherent and acquired diversity have been linked to business success.
This means that a team with different backgrounds has proven to yield better results. For example, a Harvard Business review of 506 companies found that firms with a diverse team had more sales revenue, customers, and big profits.
3. Working remotely promotes productivity and a better workflow. Employees who work remotely are more resourceful, independent and flexible. Compared to the distractions in an office space, working remotely allows an employee to give work the attention it deserves.
4. There is improved engagement while working remotely. After roles are defined, remote workers take full responsibility for their roles. This limits confusion and increases proper engagement between team members as there are no misplaced roles. Workers put more effort and enthusiasm into their work when they know what their roles are.
5. Managing a remote team will be efficient and straightforward. BalkanHire understands that a bad hire can make this benefit a nightmare. That is why we go above and beyond to hire the best candidate from the Balkans for you. Also, using these tools will help you manage a remote team efficiently.
6. It increases employee retention. Who doesn’t want to have the best employees for the longest time? Remote work has proven to have more retention of employees than any other model of working. The cost of losing a valued employee is enormous. 95% of companies admit that working remotely significantly impacts employee retention.
To put these figures into play, Global Workplace Analytics found that the cost of losing a valued employee ranges from $10,000 – $30,000.
Working remotely gives employees the flexibility to work without worrying about traffic to and from work. There is no benefit in letting employees drive in traffic for an hour or two every day when they can achieve better results from working at home.
Having peace of mind allows employees to stay with a company for longer, which should be your ultimate goal – to ensure that your new employees stick around with your company for longer.
7. Working remotely is better for the environment. Research has proven that if the number of people with remote compatible jobs worked from home even half the time, the environment would be significantly spared;
- $20 million in gas.
- Fifty-four million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and…
- $64 billion worth of oil.
As most companies are going green in 2021, these figures should be enough motivation to embrace remote work. Be a part of making the earth a better place.
Managing a remote marketing team
Like any other team, a remote marketing team with a vision requires an inspirational leader who is strong, goal-oriented, and supportive. Here are some tips and tricks you can use to manage a remote marketing team effectively:
- Don’t be a micromanager. It would be best to trust the people you hire. Cease from using spying software that snoops on what your employees are doing. This is illegal and can cost you your valued employees and your company as well. Instead, it would be best to set SMART goals and communicate your expectations with utmost clarity.
- Create clear guidelines. From start to finish, ensure that everyone knows and understands the procedures that you have in place. This includes policies, schedules, tools for working, and time zone differences that might hinder communication.
- Remember to reward and celebrate success. Hardworking employees like to see their hard work paying off. Whether it is a small gift, a certificate, or a name on the company website, it would be best to appreciate your employees when they deliver excellent results. This helps them to keep aiming for the sky. Remember, when your employees don’t meet their goals, it is your responsibility as a leader to guide and reassure your employees that everything will be okay.
- Invest in your team’s professional development. This means that whenever there is an opportunity to learn and grow, it is best to include your team. This will help them stay up to date with the changing trends in technology, marketing, and other aspects of your industry.
- Take time to get to know your remote marketing team. Working remotely doesn’t mean you ignore your employees. Developing check-in calls and video calls for a one-on-one meeting will facilitate strong bonds between you and your marketing team. Furthermore, your team will learn to trust you when you take the time to know a little bit more about them.
Final thoughts
Building and managing a remote marketing team is achievable. As a leader, you should nurture determination, perseverance, and patience to succeed in the managing process. The benefits of building a remote team are notable and should motivate you to embrace remote work.
At the same time, it would be best to remember that for a successful process, you need to keep in mind that how you treat your employees is a critical factor for their decision to stay with your company or leave. If you need help with building up a remote marketing team, do not hesitate to contact us.
