TwitterFacebookLinkedin

[Ep#293] Building and Scaling Remote Teams with Jeff Hunter

Building and Scaling Remote Teams
with Jeff Hunter

In light of the pandemic, most businesses needed to switch to remote teams. As a business owner, how have you fared in this switch to remote work? What are the tools, systems and processes you need to work effectively? How can you be a good leader to your team?

There are various factors at play, and you have to continue learning as your team and business grow. What else do you have to keep in mind when managing your remote team?

In this week’s episode, virtual team expert and branding consultant Jeff Hunter joins us to discuss remote work and getting a core team behind you. Jeff starts by sharing some tips on branding and marketing. We then talk about onboarding, supporting and working with remote teams. Jeff also shares valuable insights on why you need to invest in your team and how you can do so.

If you want to learn the right strategies in building and scaling remote teams, then tune in to this episode!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

  1. Learn the usual mistakes companies make when working with remote teams and how to avoid them.
  2. Discover the right frameworks and systems for onboarding and leading your remote teams.
  3. Find out why it’s important to value and support your team members.

LISTEN NOW: (and check out the Resources and Episode Highlights below): 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:06 — 81.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | RSS | More

WATCH NOW (and check out the Resources and Episode Highlights below): 

Resources

Episode Highlights

[04:20] Top Tips on Branding and Marketing

  • A lot of people want others to take them seriously, but they do not take themselves seriously.
  • Do things a little bit differently or take it to the next level.
  • Your brand should resonate with who you are.

[07:27] Usual Mistakes Businesses Make When Switching to Remote Teams

  • The first problem is treating remote workers like employees.
  • Many companies do not know how to get results and measure performance from people in remote teams.
  • Performance in the office is measured differently than performance done at home.
  • Companies need strong performance metrics.

[10:25] The Right Framework for Onboarding

  • Jeff likes to keep things simple. He shares four important things to keep in mind.
  • First, have a communication plan.
  • Second, find ways to collaborate; using project management tools helps.
  • Third, you need to set expectations. Team members must know their roles.
  • Fourth, as a CEO, create a culture. To know how Jeff applies these in his business, tune in to the full episode.

[16:06] On Valuing and Supporting Your Team

  • Jeff shares that he can persuade his employees to stay in his company for a long time by doing things differently.
  • Instead of hiring good new people, you should instead treat the ones you have well.

[18:50] What Leaders Are Doing Wrong

  • Leaders sometimes forget to examine themselves when there are problems.
  • Jeff believes that it’s important to communicate and collaborate with your team.
  • As a leader, learning soft skills is key.
  • You need to know how to communicate well with people and make them believe that you care.

[23:47] Working with Remote Teams

  • In Jeff’s company, they fast-track education and training by setting up shadow training.
  • Through collaboration tools, Jeff can have accountability in his remote teams.
  • When Jeff goes into a business, the two things that he asks are what results mean for them and how they can create accountability around these results.
  • There used to be a stigma around remote work, but it has decreased recently.
  • Remote teams work more efficiently. Workers save time on commuting and chatting with officemates.

[29:26] On Measuring Productivity and Micromanaging

  • The main concern with remote teams is that people will not be doing their work properly or will not be as productive.
  • Jeff finds the opposite to be true. People at home have difficulty leaving work.
  • Leaders need to balance knowing what the employees are doing and having a grasp on the business.
  • What's imperative is that you empower your people.
  • Listen to the full episode to know Jeff’s experience of being micromanaged and how this event informs how he manages his team.

[37:54] Accountability Guidelines

  • Jeff does not watch what his team is doing on a day-to-day basis.
  • Instead, he puts some tools in place.
  • The people on his team have a time clock on their computer. Every 10-15 minutes, it asks them what they are doing.
  • This process creates a culture of accountability.

[41:19] Insights on Being a Leader

  • Jeff created something called the freedom plan. Here, you separate your life into four boxes.
  • The first one is for the repetitive tasks you do every day. You can down source these tasks to someone else.
  • The second is for challenging things that require someone who has more skills. You up source these to someone more knowledgeable.
  • The third one is the neglected column. What are the things that you’re not doing?
  • And the fourth is the value column. What is the most valuable use of your time?

[53:48] Jeff’s Basis for Hiring People

  • According to Jeff, he doesn’t hire people based on their skills.
  • Instead, Jeff looks at three attributes that you can’t teach.
  • First, he looks at someone’s adaptability.
  • Next, he looks at the work ethic of the person.
  • The third thing is something he calls the ‘give a damn factor’.

About Jeff

Jeff Hunter is an American entrepreneur, Internet marketer, motivational speaker, branding consultant, author and virtual team expert. Jeff is the founder of VA Staffer, a virtual assistant and marketing agency of 109 people. The company helps entrepreneurs and startups build and scale remote teams so that they can dominate their category.

Jeff is also the founder and chief growth officer of Branded Media, a branding agency that creates driven brands for companies. Through the CORE branding method, he builds personal branding for accomplished CEOs & founders. Jeff helps them leverage their business achievements and accomplishments to become true influencers in their industries. He currently hosts a podcast called the Savage Marketer.

If you want to learn more about Jeff, you can visit his website. You can also reach out to him on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

10 Powerful Quotes from This Episode

[04:51] ‘So how can you expect amazing results if you're doing the same thing as everyone else?’

[15:16] ‘I'm one of those people that believe that you got to use capitalism for good. You got to use your business to create amazing things and amazing wealth, and if we're all working together towards a goal and we have truly good intentions, everybody wins.

[16:20] ‘The cool part about doing things that are different is that it's also great marketing. It’s not only great marketing externally, but it's great marketing internally for your own teams.  Everything's marketing, everything is about persuasion, right? I want to persuade people to work here forever.

[19:00] ‘It's kind of like Alcoholics Anonymous right? Like the first part of the first part of solving the problem is identifying that you have a problem, right? And usually that problem is you.’

[22:02] ‘And what's really interesting is that the number one thing that you need to learn in any business, as a leader, isn't a skill at all. It's actually soft skills… you just have to be able to communicate with people effectively and make them believe that you give a damn.’

[26:26] ‘But accountability is very important for everyone, especially remote.’

[30:15] ‘It's very important to have an off switch, it's very important to be able to leave the office and separate yourself from the work. Because if you cannot, you're going to have your team burn out.’

[32:26] ‘You have to be there for them to help them when things are going bad. But you need to give them autonomy; you have to give them empowerment. Otherwise, like you opened up the show, you're going to be stuck in a position where you have found yourself not only doing your own job but also trying to do theirs.’

[51:14] ‘I can't even tell you how many times people use that excuse “I don't have the time”. And you know the truth is people, you have the time; it's just you're not prioritising right.’

[56:57] ‘Ask them [the person you’re hiring] a hypothetical question. And then ask them about a failure that they've had in their life and how they've overcome and how they've learned from it. And it will tell you a lot about a person's work ethic, adaptability and their give-a-damn factor.’

Enjoy This Podcast?

As business owners, we need effective teams to help us take our vision, mission and message on a much grander scale.

Now more than ever, it’s important to invest in people who’ll support our businesses. And with the help of technology, we’re able to build and scale talented remote teams. If you enjoyed today's episode of Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast, then hit subscribe now!

Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, do not hesitate to write a review and share it with your friends.

For more updates and episodes, visit the Ambitious Entrepreneur Show website. You can also subscribe through Apple Podcasts,  Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Email, RSS and more!

You can also follow us through Facebook.

Want to build a scalable business you are passionate about? Join The Influence Alliance – the Business Building Community for Change Makers.

Want to launch your own Thought Leader Podcast? Access my ‘Are You Ready to Launch Your Podcast’ Quiz here, and have a chat with me.

Have any questions? You can contact me through these platforms:

To staying ambitious,

Annemarie

2021-05-05T19:26:31+10:00

Leave A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.