From the midst of the previous decade, virtual technology has seen unprecedented advancement, bringing a revolution of innovation in the business realm. Where such huge advancement makes entry, lots of competition also creeps in. Now, in such a competitive world, if a business fails to catch up with the latest technological advances, it is doomed to fall behind. Gone are the days when huge physical spaces and other infrastructure would be needed to kick start a business. Today, businesses, seeking to implement the latest technology while simultaneously cutting extra costs, are switching to a virtual office space. In a virtual office, employees are not necessarily housed in some physical office at a fancy location. Rather they are based in their homes connected via web to their virtual working space. They may be in the same city, different cities of a country, or even spread across the world.
However, to organize and coordinate business activities and to keep in touch with the customer-base of your company, efficient communication is very crucial. Every good business firm has a comprehensive mechanism of communication between administration and employees, among the employees, as well as among the administration, the agents and the clients.
Let us have a look into the role effective communication plays in boosting the growth of a virtual office:
Keeping Track of Work Progress
In order to be able to track the work progress of your employees working remotely, you need to have regular meetings with them so that there be no surprises or gaps. To do that, you need to set realistic goals and work benchmarks for your employees and then measure their progress on regular intervals according to the pre-set criteria. Some virtual leaders set specific days of the week for staff meetings. However, virtual employees should be given some space to be self-reliant and self-guided in the progress of their work.
Boosting Confidence and Morale of the Employees
Unlike a traditional physical setting, the admins cannot physically visit and interact with their employees to keep them motivated. In this regard, virtual sessions with employees can be helpful, in which admins can express their confidence in their employees so that they can become self-sufficient, self-motivated and efficient. Video conferencing and Zoom meetings can be held to engage employees, and motivate and train them to be more productive for the company.
Collaboration and Team Building
Through effectual communication and regular virtual meetings, employees who never ever get a chance to meet admins and other coworkers can get an opportunity to know them, and build a healthy collaborative work environment. This way, effective communication may help in cooperation and collaboration on business issues, leading to efficient team-building. Furthermore, such social interactions may pool innovative ideas to improve processes, policies and procedures, and provide a chance to share useful information on business issues, increasing a company’s growth potential.
Maintaining a Multi-front Contact with Customers
In addition to keeping in touch with your employees, efficient communication also gives you a chance to stay in regular contact with your customers. Contact with the public is essential to keep a business growing. It will help your company to attract new customers. For this purpose, you need to maintain a robust online presence. To give a look of some serious company, you need to register your virtual office with a virtual mailing address tied to some well-known location. It will also be helpful if you are planning to register your business as an LLC with a virtual mailing address. Additionally, you may require a business phone number and a virtual reception service for your incoming business calls and mail. All these steps, if implemented in correct manner, can ramp up the professional image of your business to a great deal.
Increased Productivity and Efficiency
Effective communication enable active exchange of information and ideas. Hence, workers can accomplish a task without unnecessary delays. This way, work efficiency and productivity of business employees are enhanced. In the absence of swift communication among remotely working employees, a lot of things can go wrong. An order or contract might get delayed or cancelled, leading to the loss of potential customers and a gradual decline in incoming projects. According to “Nextiva’s State of Business Communication Report”, one in every three companies lost a customer due poor internal communication in 2020, and 30 per cent missed important deadlines. This is because, client expectations from service providers have greatly increased over the past few years. Today’s clients have little tolerance for any unnecessary delays, and may switch to your competitors if you do not deliver in time.
Learn more about Nextiva’s State of Business Communication Report, here.
Hence, it is imperative in today’s competition-ridden environment that any hurdles in the way of enhancing ones company’s business potential be removed on immediate basis. For that, all internal and external communication issues need to be eliminated by putting in place well-thought of strategies and advance communication technologies. A virtual office is a great way to cut any non-developmental overhead costs. However, a virtual business entrepreneur must know how to master the art of communicating with his/her remotely working employees efficiently, in order to get done the most without wasting time.
