Remote Hiring vs. Remote Management: Where Businesses Struggle Most

You’ve got your coffee, your laptop, and a vision of a thriving remote team. No office distractions, no long commutes—just a group of skilled professionals working from anywhere in the world.

Well, it does sound like you are all set to drive your yearly goals. Right?

Well, not yet.

Though remote work indeed solves numerous work-related problems, it also creates a new set of challenges, especially when it comes to recruiting and managing a remote team.

Some businesses find it hard to find the most suitable team members, while others find it tricky to keep the remote-working employees productive and engaged.

So, which one is the more tricky challenge? Recruitment or management? Let us take a deeper look at these challenges.

The Challenge of Hiring Remote Talent

Finding good talent is hard enough, but hiring remotely is even trickier. Without face-to-face interviews or in-person training, businesses must be extra careful when choosing candidates.

Now, it is not just about finding the person with the needed skill sets–-it is more about finding the candidate who can work remotely in a disciplined manner and remain engaged in a remote setup.

Why Remote Hiring Is So Tricky?

Making the perfect choice – Interviews and resumes do not always show whether the candidate is self-motivated and dependable in a remote work setup. Recruiting the wrong candidate can disrupt the entire work process and lead to delays, poor work quality, and missed deadlines.
Dealing with legal & payroll issues – Hiring across countries means different laws, taxes, and contracts, which can get confusing real fast. One error can cause major compliance problems and unanticipated legal issues.
Spending too much time on hiring – Reviewing hundreds of applications, scheduling interviews across different time zones, and onboarding new hires can slow down business growth.
High turnover rates – Many remote workers switch jobs frequently. If businesses don’t hire the right people, they may find themselves constantly replacing employees instead of building a long-term team.

The Fix? A structured hiring process or using a talent platform like DigiWorks remote talent can simplify everything—from finding skilled professionals to handling compliance and payroll.

The Challenge of Managing a Remote Team

Hiring is only step one. Once you have a team, keeping them productive and engaged is another challenge.

Many companies assume that remote employees just “figure it out”, but without structure, teams can become disconnected, disengaged, or unproductive.

Difficulties in Remote Management

Communication Worries – When team members are working remotely, managers have to solely rely on emails and messages to get their message across. However, there is the possibility that messages might get ignored, misinterpreted, or lost in online communication. There is also a problem related to time zones which can affect the decision making process.
Monitoring work without micromanaging team members– Monitoring each and everything can make employees feel pressured, which can affect their overall work happiness. Moreover, if the monitoring is too relaxed, team members can get careless, leading to missed deadlines. Finding the right work tracking formula is greatly important.
Building team culture – In an office, team bonding happens naturally. Remotely, it requires effort. Without proper engagement, employees can feel isolated and disconnected.
Keeping employees accountable – Without clear goals and expectations, some employees may lose focus or motivation. Remote work requires structured performance tracking.
Preventing burnout – Many remote workers struggle to unplug from work, leading to long hours, stress, and eventual burnout. Managers must encourage work-life balance to avoid this.

The Fix? Successful remote teams need structured communication, clear goals, and a company culture that makes employees feel connected.

How Hiring and Management Are Connected

Most businesses see hiring and management as separate challenges, but they are deeply connected.

A poor hiring process makes the process of management difficult. If the employee is not motivated toward the work or cannot fit into the values and culture of the company, then keeping them oriented toward the work will prove to be an incessant challenge.

However, on the other hand, if the company adopts a strong strategy for remote management, then even an average employee can deliver the best results. When businesses give you clear objectives, timely feedback, and a supportive environment, employees naturally get the motivation to stay productive and drive the optimal results.

So, instead of perceiving management and recruitment as two individual processes, organizations can concentrate on recruiting the right candidate and then giving them an optimal environment for success.

Which Is the Bigger Challenge?

It depends on where your business struggles most.

If you're constantly hiring but employees don’t stay long, then hiring is your biggest issue. A better recruitment process or a trusted talent platform can help.

If you have a team who is qualified enough to do the job, but they are disconnected or cannot find the motivation to do the job, then management is the biggest worry. More effective strategies for leadership, efficient and fully-featured communication platforms, Internet of things-driven work environment, and data-driven engagement techniques might be the way to go.

How to Succeed in Remote Work

✅ For Hiring: Online remote talent hiring platforms help you find, vet, and onboard skilled professionals without the hassle.

✅ For Managing: Effective remote team management means clear expectations, open communication, and a culture where employees feel valued.

Ultimately, recruitment and management are interrelated and must go hand-in-hand. Hiring the right candidates makes the job of management a lot easier. And, if the management is easier, more likely it becomes easy to ensure that the employees remain motivated and perform at a high level.