Managing a Remote Business Without an Office

For most people, an office is a certainty in business. It’s a place you commute to, do your work, interact with colleagues and then leave. However, the office-less business is growing in popularity thanks to a rise of software-as-a-service tools and an increased emphasis on cloud-based collaborative work. Unfortunately, the problem comes when trying to manage this type of business. With your employees spread out all over the country (or even the world) it takes a special approach to be able to manage an office-less business.

If you’re curious about making your next startup without an office or if you’re thinking about transitioning your current business into a remote working environment, then here are a couple of things to keep in mind when trying to manage your business.

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Communication becomes even more important

Unlike speaking in person, speaking over the internet can be a lot different. This is generally because speaking in person allows you to convey emotions better, but speaking over the internet with text or even voice can be a completely different experience. As a result, it’s important to put a heavier emphasis on communication. Otherwise, it’s better to build your workflow and business around having less communication.

A good example of this would be how work is edited by multiple people. Let’s say someone is writing a document that describes your project. Instead of being able to simply walk over to the member of staff and question them about their work, you’ll need to leave notes on the document, speak to them over instant messaging clients or even phone them. As a result, this can be slower and often cause more delays in your company’s workflow, which is why opening more channels of communication and putting a heavier emphasis on keeping in touch is important.

Managing performance with software

Monitoring performance is usually something done by a human resources department, but with the help of software-based tools, it can become something you can easily do through a mobile device like a smartphone. You can learn more at Wizper, a software-based and AI-driven software package designed for managers, and see if it’s something that is worth including in your workflow. As communication comes at a premium in a remote working environment, it’s essential that you use whatever tools you can to get a better understanding of how your business is running and what issues need to be fixed.

Dealing with flexible schedules

Remote working usually involves working from home or in a shared office space. It’s important that you tell your staff not to slack off and to still set working hours despite being able to work from home. A good suggestion to remind them of is working at a cafe or a shared office space. This can emulate the office working environment and can be a fantastic tool for networking. This works if they’re being distracted at home or simply can’t work effectively because they aren’t used to the freedom.

Working remotely is a fantastic way to improve your business’s productivity, but it can quickly lead to disaster if you don’t take these points into consideration. Managing remote employees is a whole different ballgame, so make sure you learn the rules and strategies for it.