{"id":30008,"date":"2012-10-11T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2012-10-11T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mixergy.com\/?p=30008"},"modified":"2016-06-26T10:04:03","modified_gmt":"2016-06-26T17:04:03","slug":"course-cheat-sheet-remote-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mixergy.com\/course-cheat-sheet-remote-team\/","title":{"rendered":"How to successfully run a remote team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ryan Carson says that a single mistake<\/em> cost him $40,000.<\/p>\n

Ryan, founder of educational site Treehouse<\/a>, says the worst part wasn’t even the money. The most painful part was that “I wasted six months and allowed our competitors to get six months ahead of us.”<\/p>\n

So what was his mistake?<\/p>\n

He didn’t realize he actually needed<\/em> to manage a remote team member he’d hired.<\/p>\n

When you hire a local employee, it’s easy to see if she’s goofing off or not getting things done. But when you hire a remote worker, you don’t have any of those visual clues.<\/p>\n

Even so, Ryan knew things weren\u2019t getting done. \u201cI had rationalized it away and said, \u2018Well, maybe I don’t understand exactly what’s happening or maybe they’re doing preparatory work,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

These days, Ryan’s pretty much got this remote team managing thing down. And hiring folks that live anywhere has also helped Ryan scale up his team to 55 employees all over the US and UK.<\/p>\n

In his Mixergy course<\/a>, he shows you how to do it. Here are three highlights from the course.<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t Be a Scrooge<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A freelancer drops off the face of the planet in the middle of your project. Now what?<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t get paid, sure.<\/p>\n

But more importantly, you\u2019re out the time and money invested in this person. You\u2019re also behind schedule now.<\/p>\n

So how do you persuade remote team members to stick around for the long haul?<\/p>\n

Be Generous<\/h3>\n

Offer shocking benefits that inspire loyalty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that people who are stingy just don’t understand how people work,\u201d says Ryan. \u201cNo one is going to give you their heart and soul if they feel that you are an Ebenezer Scrooge…\u201d<\/p>\n

So what kind of shocking benefits does Ryan offer? Health benefits, retirement contributions, a 4-day workweek, paid sabbaticals, and a lunch stipend, just for starters.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll this, in addition to taxes, comes up to about 30% of one’s salary,\u201d he says. \u201cBut if you plan for that and you put that in your cash flow, then it’s all doable.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Show Them the Yellow Brick Road<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Working remotely has its advantages: never being in rush-hour traffic, no pointless meetings, the freedom to work in your sweatpants…<\/p>\n

But it has its disadvantages, too.<\/p>\n

For one thing, there\u2019s less face-time, which makes it harder to keep your team engaged. There aren\u2019t as many opportunities for remote team members to discuss goals, progress, and problems.<\/p>\n

Also, when a team doesn\u2019t meet in an office, it\u2019s difficult to see the role each person plays in the company. That makes it harder to rise up and take on more responsibility.<\/p>\n

So how do you engage a remote team member and help them grow?<\/p>\n

Set Them on a Career Path<\/h3>\n

Show<\/em> team members their career path at your company.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople want transparency,\u201d says Ryan. \u201cThey need to understand where their career could go.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Treehouse, every job has a salary range. Each quarter there\u2019s a set salary increase a team member could get. \u201cThe idea is that there is a feeling of progression, that you know you could get to this salary up here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

This system gives every team member goals and rewards to work toward.<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t Try to Be Steve Jobs<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Despite the most rigorous hiring process, sometimes you\u2019ll still hire the wrong person. Then you have the unpleasant task of firing them.<\/p>\n

Ryan used to procrastinate firing underperformers because conflict was so painful. \u201cBack in my late 20s, I just wasn’t as assertive and direct,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

But waiting only resulted in missed deadlines and lost revenue.<\/p>\n

So how do you get over your fear of firing?<\/p>\n

Your Job Is Not to Be Easy on People<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s always hard to fire someone. But procrastinating doesn\u2019t make it easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at someone like Steve Jobs,\u201d says Ryan, \u201cand sometimes I think I wish I could be a little more like him. A little rougher, a little bit meaner, and just say things that upset people. But I’m not that person. That’s not my personality, so I just have to fight the fear of upsetting people.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does he fight that fear?<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I realize [waiting] does no good to anybody,\u201d says Ryan. \u201cPeople generally know if they’re underperforming. If they don’t know, then you should tell them, because in the end, if you’re the business owner, or the large shareholder, it’s your job. You have to say the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written by April Dykman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ryan Carson says that a single mistake cost him $40,000.<\/p>\n

Ryan, founder of educational site Treehouse, says the worst part wasn’t even the money. The most painful part was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2370,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[293,295,245],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cheat-sheet","category-course-cheat-sheet","category-courses"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to successfully run a remote team - Business Podcast for Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ryan Carson says that a single mistake cost him $40,000. Ryan, founder of educational site Treehouse, says the worst part wasn't even the money. 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