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In this guide, we'll walk you through six key steps that will help you ensure remote delegation success.
Let’s start from the beginning:
Many remote employers make the mistake of assigning tasks to their assistants on Day One. Now, we’re all for hitting the ground running, but this practice usually leads to a lot of confusion. Think: hours wasted communicating back and forth across timezones, your inbox flooded with access requests, and lots of questions from existing employees about the new hire.
You don’t want that kind of headache.
Instead of immediately assigning tasks, ease your remote employee into their new role with a thoughtful onboarding process.
An effective onboarding process involves:
Onboarding is also a great opportunity to give your assistant a virtual tour of your company. If you’re hiring an executive assistant, for example, you can introduce them to key team members and collaborators during the onboarding period.
Depending on the size of your company and the complexity of the role, the onboarding process can take a few hours to a couple of days to complete.
Bottomline: onboarding sets you — and the rest of your team — for remote delegation success. Don’t skip it.
Save our full guide on remote employee onboarding for later.
Have you fallen into the Delegation Doom Cycle before? It’s when:
This vicious cycle prevents a lot of entrepreneurs from unlocking the true benefits of remote hiring. The good news is that you can easily avoid it by building trust with your remote employees.
We get it — entrusting your business to another person is a huge step. That’s why it’s vital to have a thorough screening and vetting process. When you’re assured that you’ve got a legitimate and reliable assistant, it’s easier to do these next steps:
Related: How to find trustworthy remote assistants
"When you hire people internationally, you need to learn how to overcommunicate," shares Milkroad founder Shaan Puri.
Shaan explains that remote collaboration, while effective, is vastly different from working with people in the same office location. You’ll need to bridge the gap between different time zones, work cultures, and shared contexts.
Don’t assume your assistant knows everything. Instead, be super specific about things like:
Ask your assistants to play your instructions back to you. Aside from ensuring that they understand your instructions, this method also helps you two build a habit of communicating clearly and specifically.
Related: How to improve communication with your remote team
Like communication, remote team engagement also looks different from in-person engagement. You can’t just pop over to the breakroom for a casual chat, or invite team members for Friday Game Nights. Most — if not all — of your interactions with your team will be virtual, so make them count. Be intentional about keeping them connected despite the distance.
Engaged team members are happier, more productive, and less likely to churn. Set your business up for long-term growth by keeping your remote team engaged.
Read more: 9 Ways To Retain Remote Talent, According To Actual Employees
Maximize your remote team’s productivity by keeping their jobs simple. Sweaty Startup founder Nick Huber says it best:
“What happens when I try to get people to do 25 things well is that they ended up sucking at all 25 things.”
Nick shares a lesson he learned early in his self-storage business, where each employee was responsible for a bunch of tasks. Multitasking looked great on paper, but in reality, his employees struggled to check everything off their lists. They ended up doing mediocre jobs. Productivity plummeted — and Nick’s business almost followed suit.
Nick and his team were able to turn things around by simplifying the tasks of each employee. Instead of assigning a dozen disparate tasks, their employees are now focused on one or two key areas. When they needed someone to take ownership of a new task, they hired a new remote employee.
The takeaway: keep things simple from the get-go.
Related: How to track remote employee productivity
Lastly, make sure you draw clear boundaries between life and work. It’s easier said than done, especially if you work from home. Especially if you love what you do.
But trust us, remote work is more productive — and more enjoyable — when it’s not burning you out.
Hiring your first remote employee is a pivotal moment for your business. It can be overwhelming for first-timers, but if you get this right, you'll reap the benefits of global hiring for years to come.
Which of these tips will you implement first?
We'll find you amazing remote employees in the Philippines.
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