There are numerous benefits to running a virtual office such as less overheads, more savings and freedom of movement. The ability to liaise with a team working remotely around the world is amazing and certainly beats a long commute every morning to a traditional office setting.
Communication methods are a dime a dozen nowadays with Skype, Whatsapp, ScreenConnect and Zoho all being used in offices across the globe. You can easily stay in touch with your team no matter where in the world they are or what timezone they are currently occupying. From the Sydney CBD to a http://www.servcorp.co.th/en/virtual-offices/, you can easily follow and track the progress of projects through various software and online apps, making the old office boardroom null and void.
With all these advancements and the amazing flexibility they provide us, it’s difficult to imagine many drawbacks, but there are some. Setbacks occur from time to time which can hinder productivity but there are ways to avoid this from happening. Here are 5 ways to improve productivity in your virtual office.
1. Regular Meetings
In order to run like a well-oiled machine, it’s crucial that everyone is on the same page. You should hold meetings regularly in order to achieve this. When people are logging on from different time zones, it’s important to have both audio and video in these meetings. Seeing each other holds you more accountable and it creates more of a ‘real life’ environment.
2. Respect
In order to get the most out of your team, you need to treat them with the respect they deserve. You also need to ensure that all of your staff treat each other with respect too to keep everything running smoothly. There may well be a transitive phase when you first move to a virtual setup. Just be patient and help your staff through the change. Some will adapt more quickly but everyone must respect the process and allow time for everyone to catch up.
3. Instant Messaging Is Your Friend
Emails are a great way to get in touch but you can quickly lose track of things with different threads being started, everyone not being CC’d and so on. To avoid this use an IM software. Instant messaging will allow your staff to communicate efficiently and effectively, especially when it comes to short messages that need to be conveyed. IM is less formal than email and keeps things at a semi-casual level between staff.
4. Support
Some members of your team might be more visual than others and might need a certain software to work to their full potential. Do your best to meet their requirements when you can in order to get the most out of them. Working in a virtual office can be challenging, if people need support in any way, be sure you are there to provide it.
5. Delegate Appropriately
As in a traditional office, it’s important to know the strengths and weaknesses of everyone on your team. Delegate tasks effectively so that the work is assigned to the person or people it suits best. This will make your day-to-day much smoother.
Increase Productivity
By following our tips, you can easily increase productivity in your virtual office. Enjoy more than just the benefits of a virtual office but also the improved productivity and efficiency that can go along with it. Manage your staff in the right way, treat them with respect and give them the tools they need to get the job done. You will see better results in the virtual office than you ever would have thought possible in the traditional.