As a remote-first company, we’ve seen both sides of the remote work coin.
On one side, it’s flexibility and access to talent you’d never reach if you were only hiring in your city. On the other hand, it’s miscommunication and losing track of projects.
The only difference between the two? A plan.
Remote work isn’t new anymore. It’s how modern companies grow. Global surveys show most employees want to work remotely at least part of the time, and businesses that embrace it see higher retention and reduced costs.
But just saying “we’re remote” won’t get you those results. You need to have the right system in place to achieve success.
We know this because we’ve lived it. Our entire team works in the same time zone, yet we still had to figure out how to stay aligned without an office, how to communicate without seeing each other, how to keep motivation high when everyone’s apart, and how to build a culture that people actually want to be part of.
The lessons we learnt along the way shaped the way we operate today, and they’re the same lessons any founder, or team manager can apply.
By the end of this article, you’ll see that running a successful remote business isn’t as hard as some people make it out to be.
Tip 1: Build a Strong Remote Culture from Day One
Company cultures differ. Some are more traditional and structured, while others are freer and flexible. In remote work, culture becomes your digital foundation, your “digital office.” It sets the tone for how people work with each other and the kind of work you want to deliver.
In a physical office, culture often shows up in how people interact daily. In remote work, you need to state it clearly, live it openly, and include it in how you operate. This means defining how communication should flow, how feedback is given, how decisions are made, and how achievements are celebrated.
A great example is GitLab, one of the largest all-remote companies in the world. With over 2,000 employees across 60+ countries, GitLab has built its culture around transparency. They maintain a public “handbook” that documents everything from communication practices to company values. New hires are onboarded directly into this system, so they know how the company operates from day one. This handbook-first approach guarantees consistency across a globally distributed team.
Tip 2: Invest in the Right Remote Tools
Being able to make remote work a success starts with having the right tools in place. Before you even begin building your remote team, you need to think carefully about which tools will keep everyone connected and productive. Remote tools are the backbone of remote work. In fact, they’re what made this way of working possible in the first place.
Some tools, like Google Workspace, or Microsoft Teams, already bundle together a lot of what you need: file sharing, docs, chats, and email. For many teams, that’s enough. But if you need more, there are plenty of other specialised tools out there. For meetings and face-to-face updates, Zoom is still the go-to. Slack works well for quick conversations. For project management, apps like Asana, Trello, or Notion help keep tasks and deadlines visible to everyone.
Try not to overwhelm your team with too many apps. Pick a stack that solves your biggest challenges and stick with it. Done right, these tools will do what an office once did, bring your people together and keep work moving smoothly.
Tip 3: Hire for Skills + Self-Management
When you’re building a remote team, technical ability matters, but it’s not enough on its own. A skilled professional won’t do well remotely if they can’t manage their own time, stay disciplined, and communicate clearly. In an office, you can lean on quick check-ins to keep people on track. In remote work, you need people who can operate independently and still deliver.
At Arwana, we’ve seen this first-hand. Whenever we hire for our clients, we don’t just assess the technical skills. We look at how candidates function in a remote setting. Can they structure their day without someone hovering over them? Do they know how to resolve blockers when a manager isn’t immediately available? Can they adapt to the flexibility and responsibility that comes with remote work?
This is why we include questions around remote scenarios in our process. For example: “What would you do if you hit a roadblock while your manager is offline?” Responses reveal not just problem-solving ability, but also self-management, a core skill for remote success.
Hire for skills, yes, but hire for self-management too. That’s how you build a remote team that functions efficiently.
Tip 4: Prioritise Clear, Over-Communicated Communication
In remote settings, you need to prioritise clear communication, but even more than that, you need to prioritise over-communicated communication. Unlike in a physical office where updates can be picked up casually, remote teams rely heavily on text-based communication: Slack, Google Chat, emails, or project tools. Text, while efficient, often leaves room for misunderstanding.
That’s why it’s better to over-communicate than risk under-communicating. Over-communication doesn’t mean sending endless paragraphs; it means making sure the message carries enough context so no one is left guessing. If you’re giving an update, explain what’s happening, why it matters, and what the next step is. If you’re assigning a task, be clear about expectations, deadlines, and outcomes.
Choosing the right channel also matters. Some conversations are best kept async in chat threads, while others deserve a quick video call to clear things up. Having those boundaries avoids overload and makes sure the important details don’t get buried.
Before you wrap up a message, ask the person you’re communicating with: Is everything clear? That one simple habit can prevent confusion and keep your remote team working smoothly.
Tip 5: Focus on Outcomes, Not Hours
One of the biggest mistakes managers make when moving to remote work is trying to replicate the office online, tracking every hour, or every log-in. Change your mindset to focus more on results than hours spent being online.
Shifting to a results-driven mindset changes everything. Instead of asking “ How many hours did you work today?” the question becomes “What did you achieve today?” This builds trust and accountability across your team. People feel ownership of their work because they’re measured on outcomes, not busyness.
For example, instead of tracking how long a marketer spent “researching,” measure how many qualified leads their campaign brought in. For a developer, don’t focus on the hours they coded, focus on whether the feature was delivered, tested, and deployed on time. Impact over activity.
Teams that embrace this mindset see higher engagement and less burnout. Why? Because employees have the flexibility to manage their time, while leaders stay confident knowing results are being delivered.
In remote work, hours don’t build businesses, outcomes do.
Tip 6: Create Transparent Workflows & Processes
In remote teams, structure is everything. One of the simplest ways to build this structure is by creating a clear work plan that runs from January to December. At the start of every month, share that plan with your team so everyone knows what’s going on, what’s expected, and what the priorities are. This sets the tone and keeps workflows steady.
A monthly work plan guides day-to-day tasks and also builds accountability. When people can see exactly what’s on the agenda, deadlines, and deliverables, there’s less room for confusion. Pair this with regular processes for checking progress, and you create a rhythm that keeps the team moving in sync.
Make sure the workflows are transparent. Don’t just upload the document to a drive and forget about it. Schedule a meeting to walk through it with your team, answer questions, and confirm that everyone’s aligned. Keep the plan accessible to all team members so there’s never doubt about what comes next.
Workflows are the backbone of remote work. When documented, shared, and reviewed consistently, they make scaling easier and keep your team accountable month after month.
Tip 7: Prioritise Team Bonding & Connection
Remote work can be efficient, but without intentional effort, it can also feel lonely. Human connection matters just as much as productivity, and in a remote setting, you need to actively create space for it. When people know and trust each other, collaboration comes naturally.
Connection starts with the basics. Knowing what your coworkers look like or what they enjoy outside of work helps break down the “just another name on Zoom” feeling. Something as simple as encouraging team members to turn cameras on during introductions or adding personal touches to profiles can make a big difference.
Bonding doesn’t need to be complicated either. Try light activities like a monthly Friday game session where someone wins a fun prize, or quick virtual coffee breaks where people chat about anything but work.
If your budget allows, take it further by organising annual retreats or in-person meetups. Even a few days together can create long-lasting connections that carry over into day-to-day remote work.
Tip 8: Document Everything
In a traditional office, most documents are printed and stored in physical folders so that anyone can walk up, grab what they need, and get on with their work. But in remote settings, that’s simply not possible. To avoid losing information or creating bottlenecks, you need a digital system that does the same job, only better.
The way to solve this is simple: document everything digitally and store it in a shared drive. Tools like Google Drive or Notion make this easy. Every plan, workflow, report, or decision should be written down and added to the same central hub. This creates a single source of truth that the entire organisation can rely on.
A shared drive also enables real-time collaboration. Instead of passing files back and forth, team members can comment, edit, and update documents together. Managers can review past decisions, teammates can pick up where others left off, and new hires can onboard faster without waiting for someone to hand them information.
Tip 9: Celebrate Wins and Recognise Effort
People don’t work harder just because you tell them to. They work harder when they know their effort means something. In remote teams, recognition works best when it’s visible and timely. Make sure the right people hear, “I see what you did, and it mattered.”
Simple gestures go a long way: a shout-out in a team chat, highlighting wins at the start of your weekly meeting, or sending a personal note to someone who went above and beyond. Remote work has fewer casual interactions, so creating moments where effort is noticed is crucial.
Celebrate outcomes, but also acknowledge effort. The teammate who untangles a messy project, the person who takes the lead on onboarding, or the quiet contributor who keeps things running smoothly, all of these deserve recognition.
When wins are celebrated and effort is recognised, engagement grows.
Tip 10: Iterate and Improve Your Remote Strategy
Last, and most importantly, keep improving your remote strategy. Remote work is still relatively new, and what works for one team won’t always work for another. Understanding how your team functions, what motivates them, and what slows them down is crucial to building a system that actually works.
Regular check-ins and quarterly reviews are perfect opportunities to gather feedback. Ask questions about workflows, communication, tools, and collaboration. Find out what’s working and what could be better, then make adjustments.
Encourage your team to experiment with new ways of working. That could mean trying a different project management setup, testing async updates instead of meetings, or changing how tasks are assigned. Document what works and share learnings across the team so improvements are visible and repeatable.
Conclusion
The future of work belongs to companies that get remote right. Success comes from having the right people, systems, and culture, and knowing how to make them work together.
If you’re ready to hire remote talent in Marketing, Tech, Design, or Admin, part-time or full-time, Arwana can help. Our rates start from just £699 a month, making it easy to build a skilled, cost-effective team without breaking the bank. We help founders and SMEs find the right people, set up workflows, and get their remote teams running smoothly.
Give Arwana a call today and start building your dream remote team.
