Improving Your Virtual Office Space
Transitioning to a fully remote business has advantages. For one, most of your employees will be more motivated to work since they are in their own space. In addition to more focus, your employees will also be more satisfied with their work-life balance. Having a virtual office may also come with its challenges. Some people may find it difficult to stay organized. We have put together some tips to help you improve your virtual office. In addition, you can also set up a virtual business address to help employees manage the challenges of working from home. Whether you are trying to find an affordable virtual receptionist to keep the lines of communication open or you are looking for ways to boost employee morale from a distance, check out these tips:
Communication Is Key
Since no one has the luxury of talking with someone face-to-face, is still very important no matter if your office is remote or in-person. You may not be up for back to back Zoom or Skype meetings, but find other ways to keep the lines of communication open. You can use email or chat systems. Chat systems may be your best bet to avoid your inbox being clogged with minor questions and other things that take up space. When you are drafting emails or instant messages, make sure that you over-communicate so there is no misunderstanding. Misinterpretation of messages happens all the time. You do not want this happening at work.
Use Audio And Video Calls
Along with keeping the lines of communication open, you also want to find creative ways to make it seem like you are sitting right next to your teammates. Using video chats and simply picking up the phone is a great way to get that face-to-face time with your employees. All this does is give a personal touch to your everyday interactions that you may have over email or chat. You will be able to see their body language and their reactions to things. By paying attention to this stuff, you can improve the connection between your teammates, ultimately boosting morale.
Plan Virtual Meetups
In a world where everything is virtual, why not do the same for work. In a normal world, a meet up would be a great idea to get to know other teammates and form a bond. We may not be able to meet up physically, but you can plan a virtual meet up. Make it creative. Do a virtual happy hour. The bottom line is you want your teammates to know that they are working with real people, not just email addresses behind a screen. Your teammates will feel good knowing you care about them as people and it would be good to get to know someone new.
Not only are virtual meetups great for boosting morale, but it is also great for increasing productivity. Whatever activities you decide you want to do with your team, make sure that you are promoting togetherness and unity. Your goal should be for your team to develop together. Your team should trust and have confidence in each other.
Implement Flexible Scheduling
This is one of the many advantages of working out of a virtual office. Since you are in your own space, as are your teammates, they can pick up and put down work at whatever time they choose. You may think that allowing your team members to do whatever they want when they want is counterproductive, but quite the opposite. When you set up schedules for meetings and deadlines for projects, you have more time to work with because everyone is working from home. At the same time, your teammates or employees will feel confident knowing that they can work on any given project at whatever time they choose as long as they meet the deadline you set.
Encourage Friendly Competition
Doing this is a great way to keep people engaged. You could implement an employee recognition program, a full-on employee competition, or a bonus. When you reward employees in front of others, it could encourage some friendly competition. Your teammates or employees may be more motivated to do well so they can be recognized too.
Competition does not have to be one employee against another. It can also be teams of people against each other. You can do this by having space to play fun games that allow them to blow off some steam while also cultivating a teamwork mentality. Make sure in all you do, reward your employees for the hard work they do. Let them know that it does not go unnoticed. They will feel grateful that you are paying attention to their good work.