Virtual offices have become the ‘in’ thing now. The prospect of working from home appeals to everyone and for this reason virtual teams are gradually increasing in number. Of course, there is the disadvantage of not being able to chit chat with colleagues or go on coffee breaks, but the freedom to work from the comfort of one’s own home is definitely appealing. If you are planning to start your own business, setting up a virtual office will probably be a good idea. The most important benefit of setting up a virtual office is that it helps you in cost cutting and using your finances efficiently in setting up your office.
Here are some easy steps to set up Virtual Office,
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Decide the location
The first step to setting up a virtual office is to decide where you want to set up your virtual office. Do you want to use a room in your house or do you already have a space to work out of? Choose a space that has a good work atmosphere to set up your home office.
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Purchase all necessary furniture and items for your office space
Make sure you have everything you will require in your office. From the furniture to the broadband connection and from the filing system to storage cabinets, make sure you have everything in place.
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Get the latest software installed in your system
Make sure you have all the latest software for operation and collaboration for your office work. Tools such as Skype, GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts, Google Talk etc. are important collaboration tools that can keep you connected with your employees or colleagues and help you work together better as a team. There are other tools such as Yammer, Podio, Hojoki, Sqwiggle, Campfire, HipChat and Flowdock which are great collaboration tools.
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Set up an intranet facility
Set up an intranet facility for your employees to access, interact and share documents. You can also use the Virtual Private Network to keep all your documents confidential. Furthermore, keep a log of all entries to check who is accessing your information.
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Employ Worksheets
Make sure that your employees submit worksheets regularly so that you can clock their working hours. You can go through these timesheets to understand their pattern of working and cut down on unproductive work to improve efficiency.
Also Read: Five Advantages of Microsoft Office
A lot of virtual offices also create suites to facilitate better working environment for its employees. There are several suites that are available for these purposes. You can choose from the suites provided by Microsoft Office, Lotus, Corel and Apple Works.
Apart from setting up a virtual office, managing it well is also important. It is important that the team members should not feel isolated or left out. For ensuring efficiency and increasing productivity of your office, it is important that you keep your employees motivated and involved. You can use quarterly team building events or morale boosting activities to motivate your employees.
