Remote Design Team in a Hybrid Working Model

COVID-19 pushed many organizations to rethink their working and organizational models. This “stay at home” period has shown some companies that most processes may continue efficiently and remain effective despite the forced evacuation from the office.  

More and more companies are using hybrid working models. According to Harvard Business Review, a hybrid model is still possible in either an office-centric (work in office > remote work) or virtual-centric (remote work > work in the office) manner. 

If you’re considering having a remote team, we’re in the right place. This article will prove that remote work is easy and can give you a range of possibilities. Our team has shared top tips on how to organize effective remote work; most of the advice is based on our experience. So, keep reading to learn more about how design teams can effectively use a hybrid model.

However, survey participants also need the physical office to see their co-workers and attend weekly meetings from time to time.

Their top main reasons to come to the office are:

• Work in-person with their team

• Socialize with colleagues

• Brainstorm with the team

• Have access to daily technologies

• Feel like a part of the community

That’s why the best way to keep your team productive while giving them the freedom to control their day is to incorporate a hybrid work model. According to Buffer, 94 percent of people who started working remotely stated that they would like to do so at least some of the time for the rest of their career.

So, how can hybrid companies work remotely and stay effective at the same time? Keep reading to find it out.

How can design teams work remotely?

Design is all about collaboration, brainstorming, and sharing creative ideas with your team. There is a saying that “creativity can only happen in the same room.” However, this is not true. As Emily Campbell from Invision has said:

“Creativity comes from the ability to feel safe being curious, to try, fail, and learn. Creativity comes from culture. It takes more intention to build in a remote environment, but it’s not something that remote does or doesn’t make happen.”

And we agree here. First of all, to build a successful remote design team, you need to build trust and psychological safety with your dedicated team. Here are some tips on how to do this:

• Keep your team informed about the company’s main goals, strategies, tactics, as well as values. 

• Use remote design collaboration tools that simplify the remote working process. Examples of such tools are Figma, Stormboard, Visme, and Twist. 

• Organize regular meetings and brainstorming sessions, where design teams can discuss their ideas and offer solutions.

• Use tools that track your team's progress to ensure everyone is on the same page. Options are plentiful: Trello, Wrike, Asana, and timesheet software like FactoHR or a time tracker like TMetric.

• Use file-sharing tools to help designers store and share different files with their team members.

• Incorporating tools for visual collaboration that act as a digital whiteboard, where remote designers and stakeholders can collaborate to brainstorm new ideas, solve challenges, and offer design innovations. Examples of such tools are Miro, Mural, Linear.

The SaaS market developed an exceptional toolkit for all the design processes to be transparent and effective communication. Use the tools we’ve mentioned above to achieve the best results while working remotely.

A number of SaaS tools simplify the design processes, improve communication, and make the overall workflow more transparent. The examples of such tools are Slack or Typeform.

Aside from using such tools, remote design teams need to feel connected with their teammates. This can be achieved by:

• Organizing remote design workshops

• Making up virtual brainstorming sessions and collaboration online

• Using video conferencing instead of messengers to discuss important questions

• Checking in with the team regularly, creating detailed design briefs, and giving comprehensive feedback about their work

In simple words, the success of a remote design team hiring model is the combination of the human relationships in the company and clever use of the available tools. In such a way, teams will feel freedom in collaboration and foresting an inclusive culture.

Benefits of building a remote design team

Several business benefits come together with remote work. Let’s review the most popular ones.

Remote workers are more productive and creative

According to the study by Standford, over 16,000 workers over nine months have noticed that work-from-home increases productivity. It is mainly caused by working in a more convenient and quieter environment without distractions. Also, employees can start their work earlier because they don’t need to spend time commuting. 

Remote work allows you to find the best talent worldwide

As companies are not dependent on the physical office, it opens a wide range of opportunities to hire talent from any place in the world. The hybrid working model helps enter new markets and expand your business strategy. Moreover, when it comes to millennials, their biggest value in the workplace is flexibility. Young people often travel around the world and are not tight to one place, so they expect to get the same opportunities in their career.

Remote work saves money and reduces business costs

As remote work still requires some operational costs, it reduces the costs spent for the office. The study shows that companies with remote working models save $10,000 per employee in real estate costs and the office costs of furniture, bills, cleaners, and office supplies. Businesses can save a lot on rent and utilities, cleaning services, food, and even taxes when working remotely.

Remote work reduces wasted time on non-work related activities

The average office employee spends about five hours a week on things unrelated to the job, such as sending personal messages and emails, talking with design talents, etc. With remote workers, billable hours include only time spent working on projects.

Arounda`s experience in working as an integrated team

Arounda has been designing remotely since 2016 and has created more than 133 projects as a dedicated team. We`re successful in working remotely and providing more and more clients with innovative design solutions. We extend the design and development departments of digital product teams and help them carry out UX/UI and web design processes more efficiently. 

It`s easy to make Arounda’s design team a part of yours. Design teams can work remotely and show even better results than in-house. Design is all about solving real problems for users, and it can be achieved at any location while still maintaining the spirit of collaboration.

Do you need more consultation on remote jobs? Contact us right now — let’s discuss how we can integrate and make your remote working model more effective!