how to manage remote teams successfully: practical tips

Learn how to manage remote teams with practical tips on communication, trust, async practices and effective virtual teamwork tools

Working globally has shifted from a trend to standard practice. Startups around the world now rely on distributed talent to do their best work. That means learning how to manage remote teams is an essential entrepreneurial skill. 

Leading people you rarely see face-to-face brings both opportunities and challenges. Done well, remote-led teams deliver productivity around the clock, access to global talent, and long-term resilience. Done poorly, such teams can struggle with communication gaps, mistrust, and disengagement.

Technology makes online teamwork possible, from digital collaboration platforms to Estonia’s e-⁠Residency programme. But tools alone aren’t enough. Founders and managers need clear strategies for managing remote employees and leading virtual teams successfully.

What are remote teams, and how to manage them?

Arguably, any team where at least one person is not usually on-site is a remote team to some extent. But the term is used loosely, and remote teams can take several forms. 

Understanding the differences helps shape management style and approach:

For example, hybrid teams mix on-site and remote staff, often with flexible office days, while truly remote teams usually adopt one of two modes:

• Synchronous teams: working similar hours across locations, communicating in real time.
  
• Asynchronous teams: which may be spread across time zones, sharing updates and documents independently.
  

Each setup presents unique leadership challenges and approaches to managing remote teams. A virtual team working across eight time zones needs more structure than one spread across two neighbouring cities. Clarity in expectations, roles, and communication channels is key in deciding how to manage remote teams in your organisation.

Benefits and challenges of managing remote teams

For team members, the main benefits are flexibility, autonomy, and access to global career opportunities. A designer in Kenya can work for a company in Berlin without relocating. Everyone can be truly location-independent, even nomadic, living and working where they feel most productive and fulfilled.

For managers and founders, remote teams provide access to diverse talent and reduce overhead costs. They also enable companies to grow beyond local labour markets and serve international clients. 

Also, entrepreneurs on different continents can co-found an Estonian company together through e-⁠Residency and manage it entirely online.

However, learning how to manage remote teams involves distinct risks:

• Miscommunication without clear documentation
  
• Delays from time-zone gaps if async (asynchronous) practices aren’t in place
  
• Difficulty building trust digitally if culture is ignored when managing remote workers
  
• Burnout risk when boundaries between work and home blur
  

This is why deciding how to manage remote teams does not mean simply transferring your traditional practices to a new environment.

How to manage remote teams and virtual teamwork, vs. traditional management

In offices, managers rely on direct supervision and informal conversations. When learning how to manage remote teams, you instead need clarity and trust. Outcomes and results, not hours online, benchmark performance. Culture is built intentionally, through shared rituals and digital recognition, rather than office perks.

Communication becomes central. Expectations, goals, and decisions must be documented and made accessible to everyone. Trust replaces visibility as the foundation of management. Leaders who empower their teams, instead of micromanaging them, are better at managing remote workers. 

Why remote teams benefit startups and companies

Remote and distributed teams bring many advantages, especially if you embed core virtual teamwork practices from the very beginning rather than retrofitting later. 

This enables progress asynchronously around the clock. As one region ends its day, another begins. Diverse perspectives drive creativity and problem-solving. 

For startups, hiring globally reduces office costs and allows flexible, project-based contracts. You don’t have to measure work in full-time chunks, and can contract for exactly what you need, from a global marketplace (including many versatile and talented Estonian e-⁠residents).

Learning how to manage remote teams also increases resilience. A company that operates from multiple locations is less likely to face disruption from local crises. They remain flexible, lean, and agile, whatever happens.

These advantages explain why virtual teamwork has become an essential part of modern business strategy.

Practical tips for managing remote employees

Effective leadership of remote teams requires a mix of structure and flexibility. Managing remote teams is as much about leadership as it is about systems. 

The most effective leaders provide clarity, trust, and care while creating opportunities for connection. Distributed teams thrive when managers balance accountability with flexibility and when culture is built deliberately across digital platforms.

Prioritise clear communication

Clear communication is the top priority. Agree on norms for messaging, updates, and meetings. A blend of dashboards, documents, and data visualisations map progress and deliverables, while chats and video calls help maintain connection. 

Choose the right remote work tools

Choosing the right remote work tools supports this clarity. Project management platforms provide visibility on tasks and deadlines, while shared workspaces ensure that information is centralised and easy to access. 

For remote founders, Estonia’s e-Residency adds an extra layer of clarity and security. You can sign contracts, share encrypted files, and manage finances with secure digital tools – keeping operations centralised and transparent.

Set expectations while allowing autonomy

Setting expectations is equally critical. Clear goals, key performance indicators, and agreed timelines help keep the team aligned. 

At the same time, leaders must create space for autonomy, allowing employees to manage their own schedules within the boundaries of agreed outcomes. This develops intrinsic motivation and supports ownership of (and pride in) work, delivered individually as part of a team.  

Build culture and connection online

Building culture and connectedness in a virtual team requires intentional effort. Digital spaces for informal conversation, virtual celebrations of achievements, and occasional online games all help strengthen bonds when managing remote workers. Video calls support connection; however, be sure to extract summaries and decision outcomes for easy reference afterwards.

Plan for in-person gatherings

It’s essential to budget for some in-person gatherings or retreats, which offer an additional layer of connection and relationship-building. Effective online team leadership must include a focus on employee well-being. 

Support employee well-being

Remote work can blur the boundaries of personal life, so managers should model healthy practices and encourage teams to respect working hours across time zones. Regular check-ins that focus on individual well-being, rather than just tasks, are vital for managing remote employees.

Remember that every team where some people work away from the office at least some of the time is essentially a distributed team. So understanding how to manage remote teams is vital for every startup.

Use frameworks to assess remote readiness

I developed a Remote Readiness assessment to help managers benchmark their approach to this and identify areas for improvement. Minor tweaks to management practices can transform how your team operates when they’re apart.

Here is a summary of the Remote Readiness framework, to use as a checklist for working internally with your distributed team:

Managing remote workers: bringing teams together

Human connection is at the heart of leadership, even in distributed and blended teams. 

Leaders who make time for informal chats and celebrations help create a sense of belonging. Virtual team-building activities, such as online coffee chats, informal celebrations, or lightweight games, help people bond. 

Recognising achievements, whether large or small, helps employees feel valued. Good remote team leaders strive to get to know the whole person and encourage others to do the same. 

Celebrating birthdays, local cultural and religious events all add depth to how we relate at work. There are apps which sit in Slack or Teams to pair people up for random virtual coffees, or to connect less randomly based on shared personal information (“hey, Becky, Raj, and Toni are all into CrossFit /crochet, so you should chat!”)

Make time for face-to-face connections, too. 

In-person meetings or annual retreats provide lasting value, deepening trust and relationships, while sparking intense co-creation energy. Informal meetups between these big off-sites are also great. A coworking day for those in the same city, or an in-person coffee when someone is travelling: all support strengthening human connections.

How e-⁠Residency supports remote leaders and teams

Building a business across borders goes beyond traditional management and requires the proper infrastructure to underpin your digital workspace. Estonia’s e-⁠Residency programme provides that foundation.

This means you can lead teams worldwide with the confidence of a trusted EU base. It’s an optimal foundation for how to manage remote teams. With e-Residency, remote founders don’t just lead teams online; they also gain a secure EU company structure, trusted digital tools, and a global community of entrepreneurs that every individual can relate to. 

With the right leadership and tools, remote teamwork becomes a powerful driver of growth and resilience – and when combined with e-⁠Residency, it means you can work with the best people in the world. That’s a goal worth working towards for any founder.

Learn more or start your e-⁠Residency application to run your remote team with a secure EU base.

FAQ

What is the best way to manage remote teams across time zones?

Prioritise asynchronous-first norms, shared documentation, and clear SLAs (service-level agreements) for response times. Use one project board for visibility, then schedule short overlap blocks for decisions.

How and how often should managers meet their remote teams?

This depends on the workflow and activities, but consider a blend of 1:1s, offsites, and tactical online team chats. Replace status meetings with written updates, and document decisions where everyone can find them.

Which tools support virtual teamwork?

One project platform, a shared document/wiki, secure e-signing and file-sharing, and chat for social connection support virtual teamwork. Link tool choices to documented workflows.

How does e-⁠Residency help founders manage remote teams?

It provides a trusted EU base with digital ID, secure signing, and remote company admin, which supports compliant, asynchronous operations across borders.