70% of employees no longer think it’s necessary to go back to the office to be able to conduct their work and 96% of professionals say they need flexible working arrangements. So, it’s no wonder distributed teams are on the rise for startups, but can they help your startup scale?
Were you aware that distributed and remote teams are not the same thing? It’s true, and let’s not dwell on how long it’s taken for that realization. A remote team is one where colleagues work away from each other but not everyone works separately. The company themselves will have an HQ, but the employees will be a mixture of office-based and work-from-home.
This differs when it comes to distributed teams as that team will not have a physical office space – like an HQ. Employees can work from anywhere around the world as long as they have a stable internet connection, meaning your startup could be breaking through time zones and widening the scope of recruitment worldwide.
Traditionally, startups used to scrap the idea of a distributed team completely, especially when starting out, and being able to brainstorm and complete tasks in all areas were easiest to do in person. Companies like Apple and Yahoo went as far as to ban all remote and distributed working, as they were of the belief that the speed and quality of work were sacrificed if an employee worked from home.
However, times have changed and so has the nature of working-from-home.
There are many positives when it comes to implementing a distributed team model. As a founder, you’re able to find the best talent, no matter their location. Not having a physical office space will cut down on operational costs, and who doesn’t love a bargain? For your team, they’ll be able to enjoy a better work-life balance, and studies have shown that remote workers are often more productive.
When it comes to the all-important scalability of your startup, the distributed team model can leverage a quick turnaround. Say your team is scattered across countries and time zones, your team’s workflow will see increased productivity at all hours of the day.
Plus, having a team that exists all over the globe means more creative input, different solutions you may not have thought of, and the inside knowledge on how your startup could launch in another country. Diversity can be instrumental to the success of a company, and the positives it brings to the work itself are not to be sniffed at. By widening your candidate search to all across the globe, you’ll be set apart from the rest.
Distributed teams allow for streamlined and improved communication as this will all take place online, rather than face-to-face. Putting communication technologies and techniques that fit the culture of your startup is so important to wellbeing and productivity. There are so many choices on the market for communication platforms and apps for distributed teams, and a lot of them are easy and intuitive to use, so finding the right fit for your team is easier than ever.
A distributed team model might not be for every startup, and it might not work for every startup. However, the pros of going fully distributed are too good to not at least consider it.