Four Ways Growth-Focused Leaders Can Build a Virtual Team That Scales a Business

Can a million-dollar business run with people in an office? Of course, everyone would say yes to this question. But what if I told you a million-dollar business also runs with people working from their homes?

Technology plus a virtual team can make all things possible.

When I was working at my full-time job, I discovered that virtual project management and virtual teams are the future of business. You could manage multi-million dollar projects remotely with virtual teams. I realized that if we apply the same principle to any project, everything is doable.

Previously, only the big companies could build virtual teams. They had the resources and knowledge to make virtual teams part of their growth strategies. Now, even small business owners and solopreneurs are taking advantage of highly effective virtual teams. The barrier to build a lean but efficient team has been removed.

We are no longer limited to hiring employees or outsourcing work to local individuals. Business owners, like yourself, can hire anyone, anywhere in the world. Leveraging virtual teams and the ability to use virtual work is the future of business, and it is happening now.

Virtual Teams are a Win-Win

Having a virtual team is a win-win for your company and creates the leverage you need to focus on long-term growth. Going virtual allows your team to work from home in a more convenient way. You, on the other hand, have the flexibility to work while still having a life.

You and your team can do what you need to do — less the commute and traffic. With virtual teams, entrepreneurs and business leaders can build and scale their businesses with far less overhead. It’s a bottom-line saving that also grows revenue.

It is in these advantages where businesses are struggling. Business owners are afraid of missing out. Remember the time when there was a stigma against people who work from home? When COVID-19 hit, most of us were forced to work from home.

Sure, some adjustments had to be made. Nevertheless, the experience did not make you less of a person. No one has judged you for doing your work outside the office. Moreover, if you think remote work will be a fad, look at how big companies embrace work from home. Managing a virtual team can be more efficient than an in-house team. Here are four ways you start building an effective virtual team. Here’s how to adapt virtual work in a way that sustainably builds your company.

1. Hire an A-Team That’s Motivated to Grow
   There is an old saying, “Hire the best, and you only give birth once.” It couldn’t be more true when hiring the best virtual team members for your business. Entrepreneurs usually hire virtual staff with fewer skills, or they settle for less.

   Leaders often wonder how they can manage a virtual team when they are in different time zones. Well, it’s all about results. Hiring A-players is about results; it’s not about where they are, i.e., office desks. Those results are attained with flexibility.

   Make sure you’re not just paying people to show up to work. They should have key performance indicators to recognize their performance and results. Invest in independence — the goal is to build a team that can operate without your direct involvement.

2. Have a Clear Vision for Your Company
   Have a clear vision for your company and allow your virtual team to know and understand it. Make your virtual team a part of the vision. Make sure to have clear expectations for their roles in the company and their future within it.

   When you can cement buy-in, even with a virtual team, you foster loyalty and a culture of team members committed to your company’s growth.

3. Have Clear and Accurate Instructions and Processes
   Start building processes if you do not have them yet. I call them Freedom Recipes. When you create these recipes, you are providing yourself freedom. Are you busy? Chances are, you are doing what needs to get done anyway. Here is a simple way of solving your process problem:
   – As you start your work, open your Loom, or Zoom, or any go-to recording tool you have that allows screen sharing.
   – Start recording videos of the work or tasks you do all the time—one video after another. The videos don’t have to be long; they should be enough for someone to understand what you are doing.
   – Label each video file of the work that you recorded and store them on your Processes or System Folder in Google Drive, Dropbox, or any go-to cloud storage that you use.
4. Create Optimized Communication
   There are a lot of communication tools available online. All you have to do is to choose the technology suite that helps your company scale. Have a project management tool that would allow you to create tasks and set due dates. Having communication tools in place creates accountability and a heightened awareness of timelines. Remember: A project with no timeline is a dream.

By fostering virtual teams, you can be more productive and save time (and money) while helping your team be more effective. At-home work and virtual teams are here and a key to scaling a business’s growth.

Written by Jeff J Hunter.