Scratch Your Own Itch

In an age when remote teams are slowly dissolving the ubiquitous, yet soul-sucking beige cubicle mazes, HUBSTAFF is a model on the forefront of the industry for scaling and managing remote organizations. Hubstaff touts itself as being “everything your team needs to work smarter”—a bold statement that can only be made by a company that has mastered the art of remote teamwork.

By using their own remote workforce, spread out across 11 timezones, as a sandbox, Hubstaff was able to create and hone the ultimate tool for scaling and managing remote teams.

How did they do it?

By scratching their own itch.

Only by working with a remote workforce can you truly understand the needs of other remote teams. While finding a universal solution to every remote team’s pain points may seem impossible, Hubstaff has done its best to create a tool that is easily integrated into any workflow and works seamlessly with the most commonly-used apps available to remote teams to solve the problem of distance and conflicting time zones.

Integrating Asynchronous Communications

As any member of a remote team can tell you, the ability to effectively pass on information to other team members is crucial. That’s why Hubstaff created a tool for asynchronous communication much like SLACK. Where SLACK fell short of Hubstaff’s needs, Dave Nevgot, CEO of Hubstaff, created a communications tool that would serve their specific needs when it came to project communications.

"Efficient, effective communication is the cornerstone of any functioning group, and it is especially crucial for remote teams."

Enter Hubstaff TASKS.

From tagging team members and sharing project statuses to asking questions through automated stand-ups, Hubstaff’s Task functionality keeps projects rolling on-time and on budget. As Dave explains, TASKS enable our team to stay in the loop on every project in which they’re involved. Our managers can assign tasks, request updates, and view project histories to get up-to-speed after an absence without interrupting another teammate’s workflow.

For communications outside of projects, Hubstaff still uses SLACK for 1-on-1 for team communications via chat or video. For larger meetings or sensitive conversations, Dave’s tool of choice is ZOOM.

“We look for tools that make remote work easier and can support a growing team. We’ve grown to over 50 people in a matter of years, so the apps we use must be able to scale with us"

It’s All About Project Management

No remote team, regardless of skill and experience, can successfully operate without some level of project management. Hubstaff is no exception. However, instead of settling for a one-size-fits-all solution, Dave and Co. explored the options and created a custom and customizable project management tool that more than 8,000 companies have chosen to manage their own remote teams.

"We structure our teams into channels, based on what projects are producing results. Each channel has an owner that is responsible for its success. This strategy helps us ensure that, not only is our team taking ownership for its results, but also that our teams are working in the most efficient manner possible."

As a management tool, Hubstaff allows companies to keep tabs on remote workers’ activities, productivity, and schedule, as well as physical whereabouts, if the need arises. All of these tools enable management to assess who is productive on the team—and who is not.

After all, one of the main purposes of using a remote workforce is to put resources into the most profitable aspects of your company. There’s little value in using remote teams if they are operating inefficiently.

Scale Slowly

When it comes to expanding the team, Hubstaff takes a cautious approach.

"At any time, I’ve got two, three, maybe four or five positions open at Hubstaff. But rather than fill multiple openings at once, we hire one person at a time — even if it means we aren’t scaling as fast as we possibly could.”

Dave’s reasoning for this strategy is that he wants to be able to evaluate the ROI for each employee. When you hire more than one team member at a time, the numbers can become muddled and it can be impossible to determine ROI. This strategy also offers Dave the ability to spend the time to properly train each new employee using their own internal project management software.

Where does Dave find employees?

He’s got three go-to sources for finding the best remote talent in the world:

• AngelList
• WeWorkRemotely
• LinkedIn

“So many startups are now realizing how much talent is out there beyond their home city or country. Going remote gives you that option to work with the best, regardless of location.”

While remote workers have their advantages, there are those candidates who are looking for remote work simply so that they can screw around. So the key is to look for individuals who are self-motivated, organized, and disciplined. Dave does this by requiring candidates to fill out an application and show that they have initiative and personality throughout the interview process.

The Take-Away

Hubstaff practices what they preach by offering the ultimate multi-tool for companies utilizing remote talent that has been tested in the trenches by Hubstaff itself. From integrated asynchronous communications to robust project management and reporting, Hubstaff ensures its talented global workforce is operating as smoothly and efficiently as humanly possible.