If you’re planning to form an effective, high-performing virtual team, then you need to find a certain combination of qualities in each candidate, because not all professionals have what it takes to successfully work from home.

Here are the top 10 traits you should look for when hiring remote workers:

Strong communication skills

The ability to communicate effectively should rank as one of the most highly sought-after traits in remote workers. Why? Because exchanging information in a virtual office is harder than regular face-to-face interactions. Consider that in remote teams:

• People can’t see others’ body language or facial expressions during phone calls.
• Determining tone in emails and instant messaging is mostly context and guesswork.

Remote assistants who are effective in conveying information clearly and concisely on written and spoken media are better equipped to deal with problems. Plus, they are less likely to cause delays due to poor communication.

Focus

This isn’t merely the act of concentrating on something; focus is more of a skill (which can be developed) that lets one start a task without delay, and maintain concentration and effort until the assignment is complete. Focus is a necessity in work because:

• There’s no boss physically overseeing operations and/or;
• An IT department monitoring browser history.

It’s easy to take these for granted in a regular office but having these actually help because they push everyone to keep working. But when working at home, people need to strengthen their focus and constantly draw from it.

Conscientiousness

Self-control is a good quality to have, but conscientiousness is far better. With self-control, anyone can stop themselves from carrying out an urge/desire/compulsion. But with conscientiousness, they want to do their tasks well and take obligations seriously.

The difference between the two?

• Self-control tells you to stop browsing Twitter while working.
• Conscientiousness says you have to do a great job for your client.

Self-control will help keep workers from procrastinating. Conscientiousness will compel them to do the same, but at the same time, they’d want to provide quality output.

Time management

It’s not enough for employees to put in some work; in a remote setup, you need people who use their time effectively, enabling them to stay on task and deliver quality results in a timely manner.

For individuals to accomplish this, they need to manage their time wisely and know how to prioritise their responsibilities. Keep an eye out for candidates who are meticulous in documenting their tasks (e.g. to-do lists, calendar apps) and following them religiously.

Time management is particularly necessary in virtual teams because the distance has a tendency to make people procrastinate.

Proactivity and self-sufficiency

When working remotely, employees are pretty much on their own. They may have teammates on the other end of instant messenger, but because others are located far away and busy with their own tasks, coworkers aren’t as accessible as regular cubicle mates.

That’s where the need to be proactive comes in: you need to find remote workers who are capable of working effectively without the constant need to ask or be told what to do. They must be capable of working independently and figuring things out by themselves.

Knowledge of technology

Unless you have an IT specialist supporting your virtual workers (which isn’t a typical setup if you run a startup), you’ll need remote employees who are tech-savvy and know basics like:

• How work-related devices work.
• How to troubleshoot them when they inevitably act up.
• How to use common software like MS Office and G Suite.
• How to keep data secure.

Remote work is actually best suited for employees with a thorough grasp of digital tools because they can still function even when they encounter tech issues.

Results-driven

It’s unfortunate but busywork is a common practice in the office, virtual or otherwise. People finish their to-dos in the first half of their day, then fill the rest with activities that have little value.

This is precisely why you need remote workers who are focused on outcomes. Being results-driven means gauging the odds, then going for the most efficient and productive route. Employees with this mindset are all about accomplishing goals.

After carrying out their objective, the results-driven look at the next task on the list and do it all over again.

Adaptable

People who cannot adapt to changing conditions won’t be a good fit to your virtual team. Because unlike a regular office where the environment is controlled, anything can happen when working remotely, like:

• Using different communication tools to contact colleagues and clients – some of which you might not be familiar with.
  
  
• Meeting deliverables amidst an internet outage or computer troubles.

In a remote setting, there’s not a lot you can do to assist remote workers when they encounter these wrinkles, so they should be flexible enough to deal with problems as they occur.

Reliability

You’d want to form your team with staff you can count on. But don’t settle for having one composed mainly of trustworthy members; all of them should be reliable. Sometimes, all it takes to fail is to have just one member become complacent.

For instance, if a member says a task will be done by 3pm but misses the deadline, the issue could escalate, and this may ultimately lose you the project. Remember: a chain is no stronger than its weakest link.

Remote work experience

While this trait isn’t crucial, it certainly helps that your new members were part of a virtual team before. The idea of working from home may sound exciting, but the independent and sometimes-isolating nature of the job isn’t for everyone.

Newbies to the concept, in particular, might feel overwhelmed and may eventually decide to quit, and this clearly isn’t good for your team, especially if you’re pressed for time.

The next time you’re hiring a remote employee, make sure you look for candidates who possess these traits. Just know that looking for these qualities isn’t easy; but if you do it right, the virtual team you form will get the job done again and again.