A virtual office will save you time and money – here’s how…

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Unless you have been living under some kind of rock for the past ten years you’d know all about the impact that the Internet and flexible workspaces have had on the business world. It can safely be said that working remotely has been a bit of a game changer as far as the industry is concerned. Not only does it save you a lot of money in staff costs as an employer, but it also helps to make for a more flexible working environment. If you’re a business owner you might be struggling a little bit with managing your freelance, contract or remote work team, but you need to know that it doesn’t have to be tough. The use of remote working tools, virtual office solutions and great communication will all work in your favour to save you time and money and will work to make running your business easier.

When it comes to saving money you’ll find that if you work with remote staffers it’s a great option for you. Not only do you save money on office space and infrastructure, but you’ll also have a productive workforce even when there’s bad weather or some sort of public transport disruption. Infrequent – but potential disruptions! Let’s take a look at some of the key ways in which a virtual office and remote work team can save you money.

Project management savings

When you have remote workers you’ll save money by being able to use skilled workers from around the world – and this is something that can often cost you less than someone from your local area. Plus, when you have a diverse team of workers you can draw on the skills sets that they have and enjoy the benefits of a team of skilled remote workers who have a lot to offer. Key to ensuring that your team runs smoothly even when they’re remote is to ensure that you have open communication between everyone – a tool like the messaging service Slack or Jira Taskforce will help you and your team to stay focused.

Team savings

When you have a lot of remote workers you enjoy the benefits of having a flexible team that is only being paid for the hours that they work – not for interoffice communications (aka – chats) and trips to the watercooler! That said, socialising is a key part of developing a great work culture, so you need to make sure that there is plenty of good communication on the go with your team so that they can work well together and make good creative decisions. A good way to keep the team engaged is to hold regular meetings with the group and ensure that people are up to date with what’s going on. If your remote team are all based in the same city you would want to consider something like hiring the boardroom at your virtual office space and getting the whole team together for a catch-up. This can be a great way to develop your company culture.

Training savings

When you have a virtual office and your workers are remote you can enjoy the flexibility of being able to hire remote workers for a specific project and to hire people with a specific skill set. You don’t need to have a graphic designer on staff when you only need to have them working for you a couple of times a year. Use the remote working component of what you do to your advantage and leverage this. Make sure you speak to your virtual staff and your remote workers openly about the opportunities for upskilling and extra training if it’s needed – and be open with your communication as a means to getting the best out of them.

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About the Author

Alexandra Richards is a Malaysia based business consultant. She takes a keen interest in business structures and work culture. Recently she has taken a particular interest in virtual offices by Servcorp. In her free time, she enjoys eating in local restaurants and trying to replicate the dishes at home.