The idea of managing a virtual business is not novel. More companies became aware of the necessity for a remote working culture as a result of the pandemic. It gave more flexibility and considerably cut overhead expenditures.
In this article, we’ll explain how to manage a virtual business while switching to remote working properly.
What is a virtual Company?
A virtual business uses fewer physical locations and more digital tools and channels for communication. Most of the time, employees work remotely from their homes or through coworking spaces that the company offers across the globe.
Successful virtual businesses include TimeDoctor, Zapier, and FlexJobs.
From the outside, the idea of a virtual company could seem boring and unserious. However, running a business virtually with a remote team has numerous benefits.
What are the Benefits of Remote Working
Here’s a rundown of the advantages of running a virtual company via remote working:
- Reduces overhead expenses by doing away with the cost of running a physical location.
- Global talent-hiring capacity. No longer are location-specific workers necessary. With an internet connection, it’s possible to hire top talent from all around the world.
- Less time spent on commuting means that employees have more free time.
- A pleasant and distraction-free atmosphere leads to higher productivity.
Challenges with Remote Working
Having discussed some advantages of running a virtual business, you cannot ignore the difficulties that arise once you begin working remotely. They include:
- Lack of real-time communication can result in misunderstandings, holdups, and errors.
- Building a culture that encourages employees to socialize with one another is challenging.
- Insufficient inspections and growth measures make monitoring remote employee performance challenging.
- Low employee engagement results in a lack of contact and trust among employees.
How OKRs can help Overcome Challenges of Remote Working
A great way to deal with the challenges listed above is employing the OKR method in running your virtual business. Ready to start and run a successful virtual company? Make sure to create a working system for setting goals.
Goal-setting and objective-setting are necessary components of a corporate workflow. But it’s one of the most challenging tasks. A virtual firm makes things even more difficult because there isn’t any actual structure or communication. How do you ensure your objectives are successfully communicated to get the outcomes you want?
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is your best bet.
What’s the OKR Method?
It’s a method for successfully setting and achieving goals throughout a firm.
The main factor influencing Google’s stellar positioning and performance is the OKR technique. It allows the company execs and business owners to express objectives and ensure everyone knows their duties. It’s a tactical strategy that develops a framework for goal sharing and communication.
For instance:
Company objective: Boost employee engagement
Possible key results: Reduce absenteeism from 15% to 7%’ and boost promotion rate from 3% to 8%.
Having explained what OKR is, here’s how it can help you scale through the challenges of running a virtual company:
- Utilize online collaboration and task coordination technologies (OKR). These tools consolidate everything in one location so that any team member may verify it and handle the most critical duties.
- Establish OKRs with your virtual team, so they understand the strategy to be used.
- For innovative agendas, create data-driven graphs and charts. This will enable team members to conduct activities and discussions based on facts rather than conjecture.
- Establish weekly OKR check-ins to assess progress and talk about obstacles.
- Don’t set too many OKRs because your staff may become confused. One at a time, please.
With OKR for remote teams, there should be a deadline and a verifiable performance indicator for each goal. Teams frequently fall short of goals due to a lack of a tracking system and hazy timetables.
Setting OKRs with your virtual team may seem intimidating at first, but after you get the feel of it, it will be much simpler. It will also significantly improve the effectiveness of meeting deadlines.
Conclusion
The management of a virtual business is not simple. It involves strategic thought and execution, but it may benefit your company greatly when done well. Imagine how much time you may save and put into your business by working remotely.
Before adopting a remote work culture, many businesses give it much thought. However, there is no reason why a virtual business cannot succeed just as well as or even better than a traditional one.
So get ready and follow this guide to redesign your virtual company’s business model.
