Remote Work Is Not For Everyone. And That's Okay.

Let's talk about a remote work reality: not everyone can thrive in this environment. And that’s totally fine.

Hi, I’m Mitka and I’ve been happily remote since 2014. Not only that, but I’ve also built and currently manage a fully remote team with members from three continents. But it wasn’t easy…

Here’s why I think the biggest challenges to remote work today stem from one of two things - the first one is bad remote management (which I tackled in my last video). Today, we’ll talk about the second one - not everyone can be a good remote employee.

This article is also available as a video on our YouTube channel:

So, what’s the big deal?

In remote teams, some employees struggle with time management, communication, or following processes. Others simply want to take advantage of the freedom. The truth is, if they can’t adapt, they shouldn’t be working remotely. No hard feelings.

This doesn’t negate the fact that there are a lot of disciplined, driven employees who will do what it takes to adapt. It just means you need to proactively search for those who will do it - and probably let go of those who will not…

How to find the right people?

This is an extremely complex issue, but to simplify things, when hiring for remote roles, look for candidates with:

• Strong time and task management skills
• Attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills
• Don’t just rely on previous remote experience; it doesn’t guarantee success. And so many people lie on their resumes anyway.

Instead, evaluate skills during the hiring process. To assess these skills: * Assign a paid task: Give a task divided into stages with realistic deadlines. Require updates after each stage. Monitor how they communicate. * Encourage ideas: Ask candidates for suggestions to improve the task outcome. They should contribute, not just follow instructions.

This is the same process that I use to hire freelancers, so go check out that video as well!

And after you’ve chosen someone - how do you set them up for success?

There are two critical steps:

1. Providing detailed onboarding with written materials (and calls whenever truly needed). Make sure they know the processes and have access to necessary resources.

2. Monitoring engagement: Keep an eye on their productivity. If performance drops, investigate why. They may need more guidance or resources. Or this might be a warning sign.

The last item on our agenda today is equally important - how to keep valuable team members once they are vetted?

The best way is to focus on the environment: a supportive work environment helps employees feel safe. With the right people, safety is key to the learning process - just as it is key to self-actualization on a personal level. Pay is also important as it contributes to the feeling of being appreciated (duh!). Finally, learning how to spot burnout symptoms can save you a lot of trouble.

What can you do to ensure your people can thrive in a remote setting?

Here are 5 tips to get you up and running:

1. Initial assessment: Identify current members who may struggle in a remote setting. Take notes on how they perform, how they treat communication, and how proactive they are once there’s no manager near them.

2. Revise hiring practices: Implement the paid task method during hiring. Relentlessly judge communication, timeliness, and performance.

3. Enhance onboarding: Create a structured onboarding process to support new hires. At my agency, we created a Notion space that contains all onboarding documentation and SOPs.

4. Monitor engagement: Regularly check in with team members to ensure they feel supported. Look for symptoms of disengagement and burnout.

5. Improve work environment: Build a positive culture that values proactiveness, curiosity, and creativity. It all begins with the safety of learning and failing.

To put it in a nutshell, remote work requires strong management skills from leaders and productivity from employees. Not everyone can thrive in remote work — and that’s okay!

Want more tips on building a winning remote team? Follow me for more remote work know-how videos.

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