How to Effectively Manage Remote Teams: A Guide for Overseas Employers

Are you thinking about setting up a remote team in emerging markets? Outsourcing overseas can offer several advantages, such as reducing overhead costs and increasing service options. However, the key issue most foreign employers face is how to effectively manage remote teams located overseas.

This guide will provide you with best practices to ensure proper setup of your remote teams and achieve desired results from outsourcing your business needs without dedicating additional time and resources to the process

Setting up efficient logistics to manage remote teams

Providing equipment and tools to facilitate remote management

Most companies hiring within the fields of accounting, customer service or IT want to ensure that their employees are working with the best possible equipment. Generally, you also want your employees, even if they are remote, to work with the same software as the rest of your teams to ensure a cohesive and productive work environment.

Below you’ll find some of the main benefits of providing your remote employees with company-selected equipment and tools:

• Faster network speed ensures that customers have the same quality of service as they would from local customer service providers;
• Setting up remote data-protection measures (VPN, Cloud-based storage, encryption, security software) protects sensitive client information and your intellectual property;
• Company-provided work equipment (laptops, monitors, job-specific software) enhances overall productivity and reduces technical difficulties;
• Providing access to ergonomic workstations increases productivity, and employee well-being and satisfaction.

While it may be daunting to set up logistics in a different country, it is a key factor in how to effectively manage remote teams. Alternatively, RecruitGo can navigate this process in your stead through our locally based teams in key emerging markets. We can provide any logistical support you deem necessary, from equipment to software, to physical offices for your remote teams.

How remote working hubs can help you effectively manage remote teams

One of the most common causes of hesitance for international employers hiring remote employees is the worry that with minimal supervision, productivity will suffer and motivation will decline. Remote working hubs have therefore emerged as a popular solution to this problem. It is also an effective way to prevent the remote work silo effect of working from home.

A remote hub is a physical office space that you can design for your remote teams. Unlike a coworking space, which designers create to allow anyone from any company to work communally for a fee, companies reserve remote hubs for their own teams as extensions of their organizations.. You can make these as small or as big as you want and customize them based on your specific requirements.

Remote hubs are an effective way to manage your remote teams as they allow you to more easily supervise your employees. They also give you the opportunity to send your local employees abroad for training and seminars and provide remote employees with more networking and idea-sharing opportunities than when working alone.

Navigate local benefit and payroll management for your remote employees in Southeast Asia

Ensuring compliance with local labor laws and regulations for hiring employees

Effective management of your remote teams requires careful adherence to local labor regulations in the market in which you are hiring. This is a common oversight for foreign employers, as many assume that remote workers are subject to laws in the employer’s country, when it is in fact it is the laws in the country of employment that apply.

RecruitGo has local experts who can navigate these labor regulations for you, thus avoiding potential compliance issues that can lead to hefty fines and penalties. Through our Employer of Record App, we’ll keep you updated on all the key requirements for employment compliance, which can be managed remotely when convenient for you. The most common regulations are:

1. Signing employees up for mandatory statutory social security and health benefits
2. Following local regulations in terms of vacation and leave entitlements
3. Managing and paying out required allowances (overtime, nightshift differentials, 13th month pay)
4. Establishing legal employment contracts
5. Respecting local regulations for employee termination

Preserve your resources by outsourcing payroll management to local experts 

One of the main concerns for managing remote teams effectively is how to pay international employees. By default, most international employers think that this can simply be delegated to an existing payroll or HR team. However, this is not recommended as it will end up being a time and labor-intensive endeavor, as payroll standards vary from country to country.

Payroll management requires a solid understanding of wage law, corporate and personal income tax obligations, and statutory calculations. It is therefore more cost-effective to outsource the process to a managed payroll service provider with experience in the target hiring market. This will not only ensure compliance but also reduce labor hours spent on the task.

Alternatively, RecruitGo’s Employer of Record (EOR) service gives you a comprehensive approach to hiring in emerging markets. As your EOR partner, we will act as the legal employer of your remote teams overseas, removing the need for a local entity. Our in-house team will manage payroll and benefits administration, while you oversee everything via our easy-to-use employer App.

How to tackle common day-to-day challenges faced by employers managing remote employees overseas

Integrating timezone differences in your remote team management

Working across timezones can be tricky, however, if you navigate this challenge carefully, you can actually turn it into a unique advantage. Take the Philippines, for example, which is one of the most common markets for outsourcing customer service and contact centers. The timezone difference can be significant for companies primarily  based in the United States:

These opposite timezones can actually be harnessed to increase your range of services, with many companies looking to offer 24-hour customer service availability. Remote team management can still be navigated effectively through a strong communication setup and by outsourcing supervisor and management roles to the same market to facilitate operations.

Navigating cultural differences in different markets

Our final tip on how to effectively manage remote teams in emerging markets is to get to know the local culture. There are significant differences in work culture and communication styles between Western and Asian countries. By integrating this into your corporate culture, you will promote a feeling of belonging for your remote teams which can lead tp higher productivity.

The key to ensuring cultural awareness is understanding and flexibility. RecruitGo can help by providing you with key insights for hiring in emerging markets. We have local advisors in most Southeast Asian countries and our recruitment specialists can help you with planning for both logistical and social challenges.

Want to start hiring remote teams overseas? Contact us via the form below to get in touch with our team of experts!