Hello! I have been managing remote employees for a few years. What I learn is, with online environment, results become a higher priority compared to camaraderie.
First thing you need to set in place is the detailed and clear SOPs, and the goal you want your remote workers to achieve. Simply said, you need to tell them straightforwardly what results you expect them to show you, by when, and how you want them to achieve those results. Do not let the workers to drift you off your results.
Next, you need to set up tracking. Anything or any tools will do. You can use paid platforms, but in my experience Google Sheets are quite effective. The point is you (or the manager you appoint) are able to track their progress and their time, should they are paid on hourly basis.
Then, you will need a trusted provider to send their fees or salary. PayPal is good, but the platform fee is high. You need to discuss with the workers who is going to cover the platform fee. If the amount is considerable, traditional bank transfer can still be a cheaper alternative to PayPal. You also need to ensure that the workers receive their pays.
Another important point that I learn is, with employees, particularly the remote ones, it is always best to let them go sooner than later. Put it straightforwardly, if you see mistakes that cost you something to fix, or anything you cannot tolerate, fire them right away, don't wait. Workers tend to behave when they see you don't dare to let them go. This amplifies with online environment where you can't really have eyes to eyes deep discussion to mentor and fix their attitude and results.
In the future, when your organization is ready, ensure that you have your white hat SEO team in place. It can be an in house team or a freelance team hired on task by task basis. You need this white hat SEO team to perform reputation management on your office/brand/business. When you replace workers, for any reasons, including for obvious incompetence, there will be some workers posting negative comments or negative reviews about your company/business/brands. This white hat SEO team will ensure that those negative reviews are buried on the last pages of google organic search, so when prospects or new potential employees go on google to learn more about your company or your business, there is very slim chance for them to read those negative reviews.
Anyway, good luck with your business and remember, I am always open for call for further discussions.
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