Building a web3 application and managing a remote team can be daunting. But you don’t need to be an expert programmer to do it. The benefits of hiring a remote team are numerous, including saving on office costs, attracting top-tier talent, and talented people working from anywhere in the world. All that’s left is for you to figure out how best to structure your team and manage them effectively so they can produce high-quality web3 applications for you with the highest possible efficiency.
Tips on How to Hire and Manage a Remote Web3 Engineering Team
1. Define the Skills and Experience You Need.
You’ll need to define the specific skills and experience you need for a particular team. For example, if you’re looking for someone who is an expert in front-end development, you’ll want to ensure the person has experience. Likewise, if you’re looking for someone who can be a solid full-stack engineer, try to ensure they have experience with both front-end and back-end development.
It is essential if you’re hiring your entire team at once. The easiest way to ensure everyone has the requisite skills is to hire people who have worked together and excelled in their respective roles. For example, startups that have been bootstrapped successfully are a great place to find experienced, talented teams that can help get your project off the ground quickly.
2. Use a Recruitment Platform.
Since you will likely be hiring your entire team at once, it can be a good idea to use a recruitment platform. Recruitment platforms help you find the right talent for any available position. These platforms can also help you connect with the right people, so they know about your job posting. Most of these platforms charge a fee, but they are generally nominal and well worth it. If anything, these platforms can give you an edge over the competition by introducing you to top-tier engineering talent who might not have come across your job posting otherwise.
These platforms are not just limited to finding web engineers. They can also help you find an engineer or a project manager who can handle your web application and be the point of contact between you and your team.
3. Conduct Video Interviews to Assess Technical Skills.
Even though you are hiring remotely, try to conduct video interviews to assess a candidate’s technical skills. These interviews can help you determine how they communicate with others and their ability to speak confidently and clearly. Some engineering teams also use a pair programming exercise instead of or in addition to live video chats. The purpose of either type of exercise is to make sure the person can accomplish specific tasks that need to be done for your project.
4. Check References and Previous Work Samples.
Be sure to check references and samples of previous work for the remote engineer so you can gauge their current skills. It would help if you had someone from your team conduct this check. If you hire a person who can’t write clean, well-structured Java code or has an ugly design for a web application, you’ll find this out quickly if you haven’t already. Likewise, suppose the person cannot speak clearly in front of others and has difficulty communicating with other people on the same team. In that case, their interviews and references will also be evident.
5. Hire for Cultural Fit.
You must hire somebody who will be able to work well with your team. Hiring someone who has a friendly personality and can communicate effectively with others will likely help your entire team in the long run. However, hiring an individual who works well in an office but cannot perform remotely may be difficult for such a person to adapt. Make sure you trust the person you hire, as this will help your entire team work efficiently.
6. Set Up a Clear Communication Procedure.
Setting up a clear communication procedure with your remote team is essential, especially if you’re hiring them all at once. Ensure that the person leading your team can get in touch with each engineer so they can be updated as needed. It should include daily standup meetings and other forms of communication like video chats, phone calls, and screen sharing. Everyone on your team must understand their role and the role of different members so they can work together effectively.
7. Use Project Management Tools to Keep Track of Tasks and Deadlines.
No matter how organized your remote team is, there will always be tasks that need to be checked off and deadlines that need to be met. There are an almost endless number of project management tools out there, so it should be easy to find a good one that fits your needs. Some of the most popular ones include Jira, Trello, Basecamp for collaborative tasks, and GitHub for source code management and issue tracking.
8. Have Regular Check-Ins and Performance Reviews.
Just because your team works remotely doesn’t mean you should forego regular check-ins and performance reviews. These meetings are essential because they help keep the team honest, productive, and motivated to succeed. These meetings encourage communication between managers and their engineers as well as among members of a remote team. Make sure you set aside time for these meetings at least once weekly. This way, you can ensure things are running smoothly, management is happy with the work, and not all your employees have gone into hiding.
9. Encourage Collaboration by Setting Up Regular Team Meetings and Video Calls.
As a manager, you want to encourage collaboration among your team members. It is common in an office environment, but you’ll have to work a little more complicated if your team is remote. Make sure there are regular meetings and video calls to see the person face-to-face. You can use these meetings to solve problems and work out ideas so that all engineers clearly understand the project they will be working on and what they need to do to meet the project’s goals.
10. Be Available and Responsive.
When you hire a remote employee, you become their only point of contact for most of their work. It means that you must be available and responsive to all communications from your engineers. In addition, you must be easily accessible via email or video chat so they can ask questions and receive answers quickly. It is the only way they can learn while they are working.
11. Promote a Culture of Continuous Learning.
All employees of your remote team must constantly be learning to be ready for the changes sure to come. In addition, they should know how to manage the inevitable changes and adjustments that come with working remotely. However, it can be challenging to do this if the only people they speak with are their managers or team members. To make sure all engineers in your remote team continue learning, make sure there is a Slack channel set up so they can share what they know among themselves.
12. Offer Competitive Salary and Benefits Packages.
It would help if you offered your remote team members competitive salaries and benefits packages. They should at least be on par with what other remote workers earn and be good enough to attract the best talent for your company. To help you do this, you should offer fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance to all employees. If you can’t provide 100% paid insurance, at least ensure a good health reimbursement plan is in place so they can pay for the coverage that the company does not cover.
13. Provide Opportunities for Career Growth.
Like any company, your remote team needs opportunities for career growth. However, each member of your team will have a different trajectory when it comes to career development. Some engineers may join you right out of school and be ready to work full-time, but others may work remotely throughout their careers. You’ll need to provide everyone with opportunities to learn new skills while they are working at your company so they can continue their growth and be prepared when the time comes for them to leave.
14. Celebrate Successes and Learn from Failures Together as A Team.
As a team, you must celebrate each other’s successes and learn from each other’s failures. Because your remote team members won’t be in the same place at the same time, they won’t have the chance to work together on their projects as a team. Everyone must participate in brainstorming and problem-solving sessions so you can all be ready for what comes next. This way, you can all learn from each other’s mistakes and ensure there are no more repeats of failed projects or parts of projects that one team member poorly handled.
As you can see, managing a remote team is not all that different from managing an onsite team, especially if you have the right tools and processes in place. Your remote team will become more productive and successful with just a little upfront planning. Your remote team will work incredibly well if you are willing to compromise in some areas and make changes as needed.
