What are some ways to better manage your virtual office team?
- Create a standardized onboarding process
- Implement productivity systems
- Communicate
Working with virtual team members and managing remote employees from virtual offices in Manila and other cities can sometimes make you want to tear your hair out. Virtual teams can be tough to manage because you still need to create a corporate culture even if most of your staff is working remotely.
You might be surprised to know, however, that this is not a problem that is unique to you. A survey conducted by Workforce 2020 has claimed that 83 percent of executives from different companies plan to increase the use of consultants or virtual employees over the next three years.
But, the ability to hire people from any part of the globe might also just be the greatest strength your company has because it makes it easier for you to find talented workers. As long as you take into consideration these three ways to better manage your virtual office team, you too can get even your most remote workers motivated, coherently active, and productive.
Create a Standardized Onboarding Process
There is little chance for your virtual employees to get the same kind of “learn by watching over the shoulder” method that usually happens in an office. Once you hire a remote worker, make sure that you have a training program in place that educates them about your company as well as the way you do things.
Do everything you can to help them learn how to perform their role and get adjusted to your company (videos can work well or this). You can even have your new virtual employees interview your customers to better learn how your company helps them.
Implement Productivity Systems
Your company can fall apart if you haven’t implemented the right productivity systems yet. To some degree, a business run from a traditional office can compensate for not having the proper systems and processes simply by the fact that people can look over each other’s’ shoulders and talk in person.
In a virtual office, however, each person might as well be in their own world so it is best to have a standardized, documented way of working that is constantly being refined. For instance, make sure that there is a way to measure the productivity of your team. Establish the key indicators of success for each job and ensure its transparency. This way, you can quickly know whether each team member is being productive or not.
Communicate
One of the key reasons why many virtual office teams fail is that they neglect the fact that the members of the team are not in constant contact with one another. They tend to forget about the other team members and live in their own world. They do not collaborate or communicate as much as they need to.
You need to create the opportunities for you and your team members to just “chat” whether it is related to work or not. This means that in a virtual environment, you actually need to “over-communicate” and provide more opportunities such as regular meetings for your team to talk to each other.
Key Takeaway
The workplace has evolved over the past few years. Young professionals are more attracted to remote or flexible work than ever before and find it no longer necessary to come into an office every day to conduct business. As the decision-maker in your company, you can leverage this technology to hire and manage a team of virtual employees.
Managing a team comprised entirely of employees working from virtual offices in Manila or other cities can be a challenge. But with the strategies outlined above, you can maximize the advantages and reap the benefits of this new model.