Are you finding yourself too busy with your startup? One can get swamped with all of the tasks and responsibilities which come when starting a new business. If you see you’re about to be drowned in work you may want to consider another startup of sorts. The startup of a remote worker standing by your side and helping you along.
The sad fact is, sooner or later, if you want to see growth, you will need some extra help and a remote worker is the best option for your business. Here are some easy tips you can follow to start your freelancer on the right path by delegating tasks into their daily schedule and keep your boat afloat.
Know What Tasks You Need to Hire For
One of the main problems beginners have with remote workers is not knowing what their new workers should do.
It’s imperative you know this. So, in order to combat this pitfall, you should sit down and make a list of all of the responsibilities you know you don’t have time to do anymore.
For example, you could be bogged down with the responsibility of keeping up with all of the social media accounts connected to your business. If time seems to always slip through your fingers in this area, you could write that down on the task list.
In doing this, you will begin to free up your time in order to allow you more focus on the overall growth of your company. The time you would have spent posting updates to social media can be better used to foresee the overall vision goals of your company.
Set Specific Hours and Rates
One of the downfalls of new startups is they forget to budget. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new business, but if you’re not level-headed about every little detail, it could make your company go off the rails.
Before you hire your remote workers you need to understand how much you are willing to pay them, how many hours they should spend on each individual project, and the total overall budget of these responsibilities.
When you have decided on a number, sit down with your new contractor and go through these rules with them.
Set Expectations Upfront
It’s important to remember your new remote worker is not a mind-reader. While the freelancer might look great on paper, you have to give them your ideas, vision, and expectations.
This is a two-headed coin because not only does it allow them to understand the goals of the company, but it also gives them ownership and control as well. Now, they have a mission to help you get to where you need to go.
If you are an organizational master and would like your worker to be one as well, let them know. Tell them where you would like to see your company in the next year, and map out a plan with them about how you’re both going to get there.
Setting expectations with your remote worker doesn’t have to be a hard conversation. It allows them to know you’re still in charge and you have a standard that you want them to meet within your company.
Manage Expectation Well
As the leader of your band, it’s up to you to set the pace with communication around the workplace.
Communication can be the downfall of your business, and the sad part about it is, it can be prevented. Make sure you take extensive measures to place your remote workers in a habit of continual communication with you, your clients, and anyone else who needs it.
Try these tools out to establish communication with your team:
- Skype
- Viber
- Asana
- Slack
- Trello
These are all great to get your team started on the right track of communication. It’s also important to integrate these habits from the very first day. Have them sign in to Skype, and then, and place them into a team conversation. Whatever your desired tool is, get them on it quickly.
Praise Publicly, Discipline Privately
I used to work for a company where they did this backward. Unfortunately, when you made a mistake, everyone knew about it. Needless to say, they didn’t keep contractors very long.
You have to understand that people will eventually make a mistake. It’s up to you to determine how you will react to the mistakes that are made. This can impact your worker, not only on a performance level but also psychologically.
When the deed happens, and it will, take the worker aside and share what they did wrong and allow them to explain themselves. Next, work out a solution together. At the end of your meeting, if you have decided the mistake wasn’t worthy of firing them over, make sure you give them some kind of positive reinforcement to help build their confidence.
Another important fact to remember – people love to get praised. Don’t allow yourself to get so busy that you forget to see when someone does something right.
This boosts team morale and is a team-building exercise that is constantly overlooked in the workplace. Your team needs to hear how well each other are doing, not how many mistakes they’re making.
In Conclusion
Your startup doesn’t need to suffer. Remote workers can help your business thrive under pressure and can be a positive addition to your company.
If you have determined your business could use a remote worker, make sure you follow these steps to ensure productivity and growth within your company. In a short while, you will begin to see the fruits of their labor while you continue to focus on the bigger picture of your vision.
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