Managing remote employees can become a nightmare if you don’t have the right mindset, tools and people. In this series we’ll address some of the issues and benefits of virtual offices.
It’s essential to have a plan in place from the outset: while recruiting, remote managers need to look for certain soft skills and cognitive abilities that have potential to contribute to the goals and objectives of the company.
Why do you need goal alignment?
Aligning company goals and objectives with your remote workers is the key to a successful virtual office. Only when your remote employees can consistently leverage their skills to contribute to your company goals and objectives can you say that you’re running a successful virtual office.
There’s a strong relationship between employee and business performance and the goals you set: studies have shown that aligning the goals of individual employees with company goals can deliver increased productivity and business success.
When your employees are aware of the company’s goals and how their work contributes to the overall success of the company, you’ll be well positioned to enjoy the following benefits:
- Increased business performance
Employees who see how their own tasks drive the company’s success have a sense of accomplishment and belonging, despite working at a remote location.
- Quicker accomplishment of tasks and execution of company strategy
When your goals and objectives are aligned across the board, it’s easier to create structures and processes. Being able to identify redundancies, pool resources and create more efficient workflows becomes a driver for faster strategy execution and increased effort.
- Develop better leaders
Nothing is more difficult for a manager than motivating and inspiring people whom aren’t in close physical proximity. How do you engage people whom you never see or interact with personally? Aligning goals and the practice of motivating your employees to reach these goals is a great way to develop better leaders.
- Retain more remote workers
When it comes to virtual offices, one of the biggest challenges is retaining talent. Quitting a job can be very easy for someone who doesn’t have to show up at an office or go through paperwork. But when you’ve aligned your goals and shown your employees how they contribute to these goals directly, you’re providing a career that allows virtual employees to balance their home lives and their contributions to your company.
- Reduce maintenance and turnover costs
Remote workers don’t consume electricity, internet subscriptions or other utility bills. You don’t have to pay rent for space since the cloud or the internet provides the means for you to work with them. Employees who stay with your company for more than a year have already saved you a lot of overhead, and they don’t cut into your recruitment costs. In fact, studies have shown that the cost of an employee leaving your business in the first six months of their employment is seven times the salary you pay them.
- Build a positive company brand
Aside from your product or the message your image sends to your target market, your company brand determines the kind of people who work for you. Once you’ve established yourself as a great company to work for, it’s easier to acquire better talent and people to help you grow.
Managing Remote Employees
Now that we’ve looked at some of the up- and downsides of virtual offices, we’ll spend some time next week taking a look at strategies for aligning remote workers to your company goals. Read our next blog in the series: Managing Remote Employees to Align Company Goals Part 2 of 2.
