After a period of post-pandemic upheaval, most businesses have found their groove. Five-day-a-week office culture has been replaced by fluid workforces, comprised of remote, in-office, and hybrid teams.
That’s not going to change, and inflexible businesses will suffer if they only offer one option. But what’s required to get the best out of a distributed team? And how can thinking globally about how you source talent give you a competitive edge?
Let’s dive in.
Getting the most from a distributed workforce.
Most businesses have found solutions to some of the more practical challenges of distributed work. Technology, to an extent, has solved the issues of remote communication and collaboration.
The more complex challenge is creating a culture of togetherness and shared purpose. Regardless of location, everyone needs to feel supported, immersed in your business, and connected as a team.
It’s not easy to do, but here are three ways you can start.
1. Create a shared sense of purpose.
When people worked side-by-side in offices, it was far easier for them to see how their work was connected to a wider objective. Remote/hybrid settings have changed that. Now, to avoid a sense of disconnect, leaders need to communicate the bigger purpose that underpins the work their people are doing.
That might involve sharing where the business is going, the team targets you want to hit, or the company culture you want to create. To make sure everyone feels invested in their day-to-day work, they need to feel driven by something beyond the scope of their latest task or project.
2. Give people a chance to flourish.
To get the best out of people, it’s always been important to provide opportunities for growth and development. But the nature of remote work makes this harder to keep top of mind, especially when people are doing great work and seemingly happy.
Wherever your teams are based, they should feel like they’re able to refine their craft or develop new skills. Regular catch-up calls are an easy way to identify ways they might want to progress. Not only is this good for motivation, but it can also help your business bridge skills gaps, leading to more flexible, efficient ways of working.
3. Make it feel like a family.
A more connected team is a stronger team. Sharing your company values and purpose can certainly help bring people together, but regular interaction and collaboration between co-workers is also vital.
To help strengthen these bonds, you could hold daily catchups, encourage everyone to share great work, and establish a kudos system where team members can easily thank each for a job well done.
These things are easy to forget but crucial to avoid team members from feeling isolated and forgotten.
The benefits of thinking globally about talent.
If you can get the most out of a distributed workforce, the opportunities to expand your team further really open up.
For instance, instead of thinking locally, taking a global approach to sourcing talent can help you find candidates with the exact expertise you’re looking for.
With people working across time zones and locations, it then becomes easier to deliver work around the clock and expand into international markets. And a more diverse team can also bring a wider range of perspectives that influence your organization’s creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving.
Easily expand your team with managed services.
At Fluid Talent, our digital marketing team provide on-demand skills for global brands — working in locations around the world. And with our managed services approach, we handle everything from hiring and onboarding to HR, training, and upskilling. So you get the people you need, without having to worry about anything else.
To see how our managed service approach can help you expand your marketing efforts, drop us a message today.
