Did you know that 70% of government employees work remotely, while only occasionally being required to work office hours? There are many reasons that companies might decide to invest in virtual office solutions. Besides helping companies save money on overhead, they also allow employees to have greater flexibility. And studies have shown that, contrary to what some might believe, the average virtual office setup worker is actually more productive than someone in an office. Additionally, not being geographically limited means that companies can recruit the best employees from all over the country.
As more businesses look for ways to grow while keeping down their overhead costs, virtual office services will continue to be seen as a top solution. Managing employees that are in dozens of different locations isn’t always the easiest task, however. Here are three ways to manage a virtual work team, and ensure positive productivity.
1. Know Your Process Inside Out
When you work with telecommuting employees, it’s important to have a great, streamlined process in place for completing work. Otherwise, you’ll quickly find yourself devoting one, two, even three hours of every day managing small details. Having a smooth process can mean upgrading the internal website users log on to, or it can mean having a very clear path of action for any work they complete.
2. Measure Your Success
Even the best employees can be tempted to stretch a technically one hour lunch break into two hours when no one is watching them from home. For this reason, you need a plan in place to manage and assess productivity throughout each stage of a project. Make sure there is a check system in place so that speeding through and being sloppy doesn’t end up getting rewarded.
3. Make Sure You Have the Right People for the Team
There are certain challenges associated with the virtual office suites, and this isn’t something that should be ignored during the interview process. People who excel in a telecommuting environment are good at self-tasking and sticking to a schedule. People who prefer offices tend to need more structure, and rely on being a visible part of a team as daily motivation.
Do you have tips for managing a staff employed through a virtual office setup? Let us know in the comments. See this link for more.
