Category: Business

A virtual office means that you can work from anywhere in the world. The internet has made it easier than ever for businesses to be built from the ground-up, all from the comfort of your own home. Many workers can telecommute to work because of the ease and reliability of the internet today. However, working from home or anywhere outside of a traditional office setting has both its advantages and disadvantages. Many businesses are choosing to take advantage of virtual offices because of the savings on office space rentals, tech, food, office supplies, and insurance. We have compiled a few tips for building a virtual office to enhance your business.

Some critics of virtual offices believe that working from home makes workers more susceptible to distractions such as family or friends, and they think that workers won’t be as productive as they would be if they were to work in a regular office environment. If you are thinking about taking your business into the virtual world, or if you already do telecommute, then check out these tips to help you create a productive virtual office space that will guarantee efficiency, creativity, and an increase in cash.

1. Get a phone system

In business, you will inevitably need to be able to connect quickly and efficiently with your employees, co-workers, clients, and customers. Many virtual phone systems offer forwarding and routing services to anywhere in the world. These phone systems help customers and clients get in contact with the right person in the business that they need to talk to. The phone system can often greet the customer automatically and then offer them a variety of options so that they can get into contact with the right department. It doesn’t matter if your sales manager is in Florida and your customer service agent is in Iowa.

2. Meet new-hires in person

If you are the boss, you should make it a point to try to meet everyone you work with at least once. It might not be financially possible for some companies to fly out managers to meet new employees or vice versa. Be that as it may, luckily, technology exists and if you can’t meet “in-person” you can still meet “face-to-face” kinda. Through Skype, Viber, Google Hangouts, and a host of other video calling apps, it is now possible to connect with and see others without leaving your living room.

3. Hold meetings

If your co-workers or employees are located within the same area, then you can hold in-person business meetings as much as you think necessary. Whether these meetings occur on a monthly, bi-monthly, or yearly basis, there are plenty of places that can host your group. Since you do not have access to your office building, you can set-up a meeting time at hotels with conference rooms, coffee shops, and you can even find some companies who are willing to rent out their free spaces to other businesses for meetings as well.

4. Communicate often and effectively

Since you can’t just walk over to Susan’s cubicle to talk to her about a marketing campaign, you need to have the next best thing. Staying in constant contact on Google Chat is an easy way to get answers fast from your employees. If something can wait more than five minutes, then you can always send an email. Be sure that your employees are aware that they need to be plugged in and ready to answer questions, emails, and phone calls while they are at work.

5. Establish a time management policy

The best thing about telecommuting to work is that you can typically make your own hours. However, it’s important to know when your employees are working so that you can quickly get in contact with them. Virtual offices also need to establish how long each person will be working a day and what is expected to be completed of them. This way everyone can plan their days accordingly.

6. Foster relationships between co-workers

It is highly encouraged to set up team building events for your employees if they can all attend. If your team is located all around the world, then it may be a bit harder to meet up for happy hour after work. Instead, you can set up a non-work-related Facebook group or chat group. It also helps to remember birthdays and share personal news and special occasions. If you know that one of your co-workers or employees is getting married, be sure to send them an e-greeting card or shoot them a congratulatory text. A little bit of effort goes a long way in creating relationships.

7. Encourage productivity with competitions

To make sure that your team is being as productive as possible, offer incentives for hard work. This can be done through bonuses or contests between employees. Set goals for the team and award prizes to those who reach milestones before everyone else. You will soon see your profits rise and your employees get excited about work.

8. Set boundaries

Working from home can genuinely be distracting if you live with a spouse, roommates, or children. When you decide to start working for the day be sure to let your family and friends know that you can be reached after you’re done. Shut the door to your office, if possible, and shut out any distractions that aren’t work-related. If your office is the kitchen or another high traffic area in your home, consider heading to a coffee shop.

Whether you are an office manager, a project leader, or the CEO, all effective leaders require a number of skills to help positively and successfully interact with staff and other team members. Here are a few of the skills you need for effective leadership:

The Power of Communication

Communication easily ranks at the top with regard to the skills you need for effective leadership. As a leader, you have to be able to clearly and concisely explain things to your employees. Topics that require communication by a leader may range from a description of goals to details involved in a specific task. Effective leaders have to master all forms of communication, including but not limited to full staff discussions, one-on-one, and communication via telephone, social media, and email. A large part of communication revolves around listening, so leaders should establish a clear and easy flow of communication with their team and staff through regular conversations and an open door policy. Other necessary skills that fall under communication include: clarity, articulation, business storytelling, expression, presentation, reading body language, and reducing ambiguity.

Another one of the skills you need for effective leadership is the ability to inspire and motivate. Effective leaders must be able to inspire their workers to go the extra mile for the company. There are many ways to accomplish this. Among them are: building employee self esteem through recognition and rewards and giving more responsibility to those who show extra initiative, thereby increasing their investment in the company. Some of the skills you need for effective leadership that are related directly to motivation are asking for input, mentoring, team building, thanking staff, and understanding employee differences and concerns.

The Importance of Effective Leadership

Leaders who attempt to take on too many tasks themselves will face challenges in getting things done. Some leaders fear that delegating tasks is a sign of weakness, when it is actually a sign of a strong leader. Therefore, another one of the skills you need for effective leadership is in identifying the skills of each of your staff members and assigning duties to each of the staff members based on their skill set. By delegating, you are able to focus on other important tasks.

Positivity can go a long way in running a business. Being able to laugh at yourself when something goes wrong helps to create a healthy and happy work environment, even during stressful and busy periods of time. Simple acts like asking staff members about holiday plans can help to boost morale in the workplace. Some of the skills you need for effective leadership that are related to infusing positivity in the workplace are developing rapport, humor, helping others, friendliness, respect, empathy, and diplomacy.

Character Traits of Leadership

Trustworthiness is yet another one of the skills you need for effective leadership. Employees should be able to feel comfortable going to their leader with questions or concerns. It is important for a leader to demonstrate integrity as employees will only trust leaders that they can respect. Being open and honest will encourage the same kind of honesty in your staff. The ability to apologize, along with having credibility, accountability, business ethics, consistent behavior towards employees, emotional intelligence, empathy, reliability, and thoughtfulness all support the building of trust with your staff.

A few more of the skills you need for effective leadership include:

• Creativity: the ability to think outside of the box, analyze, embrace different perspectives, observe, be open minded, and innovate.
• Give feedback: offer positive reinforcement, mentoring, coaching, and a clear layout of expectations.
• Responsibility: A leader is responsible for failures and successes and should be willing to accept responsibility when something goes wrong and also evaluate best solutions, learn from mistakes, and reflect.
• Commitment: this includes follow through, determination, passion, and work ethic.

Last but certainly not least, flexibility is one of the skills you need for effective leadership that is most important as mishaps and last minute changes happen often. Adaptability is critical in being an effective leader.

Are your employees excited to come into work? Or do they shuffle in begrudgingly five minutes late every day? Are your employees’ friends with each other and you often find them sharing a laugh at the water cooler? Or do they keep themselves? If you find that your employees display poor moods while working, low employee morale could be damaging to your business. Productivity slows down, people seek alternative employment at high rates, and cooperation between employees worsens when your employees aren’t happy to come into work. This has the potential to put your business’ success at risk. When you are in a leadership position, it is your responsibility to strengthen morale among your employees. Read on to learn some simple yet creative ways to boost employee morale at work.

Plan a Company Outing

Company outings are a great way for employees to get to know each other. You may have been to an outing or two for your company. It could have gone well or ended up a flop. Instead of having the head of HR plan the outing, ask your team what they would like to do. If people are hesitant to come up with ideas, make it an anonymous nomination. Once you have a few ideas your team can vote for what they would like to. It shows your employees you are interested in them and your rewarding activity will be more appreciated.

Show Your Employees That Their Jobs Matter

A 9-6 can get monotonous when employees are working on the same thing every day. Monotony gives time for pondering with what’s going on in places where the grass may (possibly) be greener. Show your employees that their work does have value in the real world. For example, restaurants will often read aloud 5-star Yelp reviews and congratulate their team when they’ve done a good job. Positive reinforcement can come in the most simple of ways.

Have Fun In The Office

Take a day each month where your employees can just have fun together for an hour, or even the whole day! Set up a Wii tennis match, play board games, or split your employees into teams and have them solve a mystery. The winning person or team can win awesome rewards like tickets to a sporting event or concert.

Get Rid of The Bullies

Sometimes we work with jerks. As the saying goes, “one bad apple could spoil the whole bunch.” If you find that a member of your team is often intimidating, rude, negative, or belittling it might be time to let that person go. They’re probably making everyone around them as miserable as they are. This is especially important in upper management, where one foul boss can have a seriously negative impact on their employees. A good way to weed these people out is to encourage constant feedback between employees and HR.

Take Time To Inspire Your Employees

Depression and anxiety rates are at an all-time high so giving your team the tools they need to combat anxiousness and depression at work is crucial. Schedule a monthly meditation and offer to reimburse gym memberships since exercise is shown to decrease anxiety and depression. Set up a time to watch inspirational videos, or have an inspirational speaker come in to speak to your team, then have an open discussion afterward so the ideas really stick.

Give Your Employees Real Lunch Breaks

Many white-collar employees opt to eat at their desks. However, taking a walk outside or trying a new restaurant would actually boost their moods and creative thinking. Taking a short break from work is a great way to recharge your batteries and encouraging your employees to take advantage of that is great for boosting employee morale.

Celebrate Your Employees

If your team surpassed their quarterly goals, reward them! Throw a pizza party in honor of their hard work or present your hardworking employees with a much-deserved bonus. Don’t forget work anniversaries either! Show your employees you appreciate the job that they’re doing by sending a little note or giving a bonus when they’ve reached a great milestone.

When your employees are in the presence of capable leadership, are recognized for their hard work, and feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves, they exhibit higher morale, which in turn results in a higher level of performance. Keep encouraging and rewarding great work, and you will soon be reaping the rewards of a successful business that is powered by hard-working, happy employees.