When is my sales team ready for remote work?

"When is my sales team ready for remote work?"

We often get asked what one should consider when initiating remote work with the team and when it is okay to leave the team alone.

My answer is always, if you're unsure about leaving your time to work alone, just leave and see what happens. I suggest bravery in doing this, because:

  1. You hired your team for a reason. Trust them and that everything will be okay when leaving them for a time.
  2. If things don't go well, see it as a learning experience.

I don't really like the word 'trust', as it doesn't adequately describe what happens when you work successfully in a remote way. Trust is created by aligning company goals, where this ultimately allows you not to micromanage your team. When the whole team is on the same page regarding company objectives, predicting outcomes becomes easier, such as when a certain task will be completed. This accurate prediction of outcomes with your team is then what some people would call trust. You want to have this securely in place and establish this practice with your team.