5 Very Common Misconceptions about Virtual Office

A growing number of organizations are embracing the concept of working from a virtual office these days. This allows them to save a great deal of their money in terms of overheads, rent, utilities and set up costs. However, there are many other employers that don’t find the idea of operating from virtual offices to be appropriate. Here, discover 5 common misconceptions about a virtual office.

1. Reduces Productivity: A good number of organizations and employers believe that people working in virtual offices are not very productive. They feel that the absence of a boss makes them dull and less focused towards work. On the contrary, employees or bosses who work from a virtual office take less number of leaves, less number of breaks and finish work or projects on time.
2. Remote Employees Do Not Possess Skills: Another common misconception about virtual workplaces is that the employees working in such offices are not very skilled. Many people assume that the workers who operate from a virtual office are essentially freelancers who failed to qualify or acquire higher positions at numerous organizations. However, the fact is that many organizations today are looking to hire freelancers or independent contractors who are highly skilled and motivated for their remote offices.
3. Employees are always Sleeping: Many organizations and employers are of the opinion that employers working in virtual workplaces are always sleeping. The truth, however, is contrary to their assumption. Employees who operate via virtual workplaces are expected to follow a routine, speak to their clients at certain fixed hours and need to contribute to work on a daily basis. Their bosses keep a track of their performance on a regular basis and ensure that they finish the day’s work on time.
4. Communicating with Employees gets difficult: Bosses and business heads often assume that managing and communicating with employees operating through a virtual workplace is difficult. However, with so many communication and management tools, technologies and methods readily available today, keeping a track of the employees and their work isn’t difficult anymore. Right from using the internet to mobile phones as well as videoconferencing, employers can use various methods and tools to interact with remote employees on an everyday basis.
5. Virtual Office is Meant for IT related Organizations: There’s no denying the fact that IT, customer support and data entry related organizations have been maximizing their profits by relying on the virtual office concepts. Such businesses don’t require all their employees to work from a physical office and hence they either outsource these departments or run them through a virtual office. However, the concept of virtual offices is apt for other industries and segments too. Virtual teams can also be set up for various other roles such as marketing and sales, creative work and product development.

In a nutshell, employers and organizations need to understand the true potential and advantages of setting up virtual offices. Rather than holding on to misconceptions, they need to create specific rules for better and effective management of remote employees as well as boosting their profits as well as performance.