When you’re a business owner, there are a lot of day-to-day decisions that need your attention, which means you don’t always have time to devote to team building. However, many business owners are finding that hiring remote employees is an effective option. Not only does it allow your business to save money, but managing a remote team can also help you find the right person for a specific job who fits within your budget. So how do you get started and manage remote business?

Gathering a remote team can take a bit of time, so be patient and start with a comprehensive list of your needs. This will help you narrow down the field easily when you’re ready to start looking for employees. A carefully considered plan is essential; when your employees don’t come into the office, your business plan may have to be tweaked a little. Having regular meetings is important, so you’ll need to think about how you’ll coordinate these and what tools you’ll use to communicate with your team.

Gathering your team and then learning how to manage everyone effectively takes some careful thought; read on for some tips on how to get started.

Look for the right people

Putting together a good remote team can be a challenge since you won’t have the benefit of seeing their work habits in person. The best way to get started is by checking out job sites so you can read resumes, look at former projects and references, and find links to social media profiles that will help you get to know your potential employees. Look for individuals who have experience working remotely because they will likely already have an at-home workspace that will allow them to work effectively without distractions.

Keep communication consistent

When your team works outside of the office, it’s imperative to make sure that communication is consistent and streamlined. A great way to do this is to have regular meetings and have the notes transcribed; this way, you can share the notes with freelancers and team members alike so that everyone is on the same page. Rather than hiring someone to take care of the transcription, look for an automated service that will do it in just minutes.

Make appointments easier

If running your business involves booking appointments, you can make the process much easier by finding an appointment management system that will help you keep all your team members organized. The right app will help you create a schedule, make changes to it easily, and keep everyone on board with team projects and customer needs. This is especially useful if you have customers or storefronts in different areas.

Have some face time

When your employees don’t see you -- or each other -- in the office every day, it’s easy for them to feel isolated or undervalued. Make it a point to have some face time with everyone via group chats on an app, or have individual meetings with employees on a regular basis to check-in and see if they have any concerns or ideas that might benefit the business. This is a great way to boost morale and help your remote employees feel that they are actually part of a team, and it can also prevent frustrations and miscommunications as well. When building a capable team, you need to convince individuals that they are part of something. If you’re going to be initiating video chats with your employees, make sure your wireless provider offers expanded coverage and reliable service so you can avoid dead zones.

Gathering and managing a remote team can be tricky, but it’s not impossible. By planning well, you can put together a wonderful group of employees for your business and help them work together smoothly. Not only that, you can save quite a bit of money by hiring remote workers, which will allow you to funnel what you save to other crucial areas of your business.