Need An Office? Go Virtual!
by Leeia Ladipoh on March 19th, 2008
You may well be surprised at how many of today’s businesses don’t use typical offices from days of old. Instead, many businesses don’t even have employees in a real office – instead, they check in to work from virtual offices.
Virtual offices have employees work at their own locations linked through the Internet. These locations could be their homes, vacation locations, or even when sitting in a park.
So why would any small business allow their employees to be out of sight?
Here are a few good reasons to use virtual offices:
* Overhead – The fewer desks you need to have in your office, the less space you need to rent out. This is a major savings in overhead for a static office building.
* Getting the Best – No matter what line of business your company is in, there is likely someone who does amazing work in your field, but who does not live in and may not want to move to your area.
Virtual offices allow you to let them work from their home, and still offer their superior services to your company.
* Happy = Productive – The happier your employees are, the more productive they will be. For many employees, especially those with families, there is nothing more important than being able to spend time with their loved ones.
By allowing employees to work from virtual offices, they can be at home when their family needs them, while also accomplishing the tasks you need completed.
There are also some cons to virtual offices:
* Being Fractured – It is very hard to create a cohesive team when you have your employees working from virtual offices. Instead, they are more independent and individualized.
If your company works on projects that requires team efforts, it will take a strong leader to make it happen with so many employees working from various locations.
* Attention Deficit – It takes an employee with a desire to work and the
willpower to focus in a home office. Without a boss over their shoulder, some people have a tough time getting their work done.
If your employees are not self-starters, they may burn out with this type of working arrangement.
* Communication Hurdles – Instead of being able to walk down the office hallway with an idea to pass on to another member of the team, there is a little more work involved when you have employees in virtual offices. You may have to draft an e-mail or make a phone call to say something that could have been done in just a few seconds of a casual conversation.
You also can’t have spontaneous meetings, as you need to let everyone know in advance and give them time to get to the office or set up a conference call.
Different companies have different needs from their employees. In today’s technologically advanced world, there is no need for all employees to be in the office all of the time.
As long as you can find employees who are capable of being productive and who can keep up on what is happening with the rest of the team, having virtual offices is a great way to have the best of both worlds.