How to Collaborate with Mobile Workers

According to industry statistics, nearly 90% of companies have a mobile workforce of some kind. Mobile workers are using smart phones, pads and tablets to perform business functions in and outside of normal office spaces, or even in tandem with them. No matter the situation, all mobile workers have the same focus- using technology to stay connected with their work.



Sales people are traveling with virtual offices to meet clients, give presentations and share digital documentation. They are offering capabilities such as digital payments and paperless signature pads on mobile devices like tablets or smart phones for unparalleled ease in meeting client’s needs and closing sales in any location. Web-based payroll and HR platforms offer streamlined mission critical tools that employers can offer their mobile workforce. And email and social media remain the most used methods of connecting mobile workers. Staying connected anywhere, anytime is the key.

Advantages of Mobility

Employing a mobile workforce lends itself to remaining competitive in the marketplace. Many companies are using the latest devices and tools to empower their workers to increase productivity. Employees are even electing to bring their own devices (BYOD) of choice to work, and integrate them into their business systems. Companies are finding this advantageous in recruiting and retaining younger workers.

Business owners may also find additional ways to save capital by employing and empowering mobile employees. Mobility allows employees to work from anywhere and at anytime. This built in flexibility can be a benefit to both employers because it offers advantages such as saving money on leasing/purchasing office space, equipment, utilities, etc. Using on demand office spaces for meetings and allowing employees to use their own mobile devices to connect to their work can impact the bottom line significantly.

Trending Mobility

With ever increasing sales of mobile devices, consumers and employees alike are saying they want to stay connected. Business owners must respond by staying connected to industry trends as well. Understanding your mobile worker’s technological needs keeps you in sync with your growing business needs as well. Staying connecting and meeting the needs of the mobile workforce increases productivity, collaboration and effectiveness. This also increases your ability to compete in the digital marketplace, and to change to meet its ever evolving technological needs.

Creative Collaboration

Understanding your employees has always been important, particularly to small business or emerging business owners. Having the right team in place to jump start your business, build its infrastructure and grow its potential is part of successfully establishing any endeavor. Knowing how to help those employees do their best work and giving them the best tools they need to get the job done is the key. Younger employees are using social media as a large part of their mobile business work mode. Yet other employees need incentives to embrace new mobile technologies in the workplace. Meeting your employees where they are in the mobile workspace offers a better opportunity for creative collaboration and success in adapting your business to meet the demands of the market.

Outsourcing: 5 Ways to Vet a Service Provider

Outsourcing work to freelancers is becoming as much a part of the normal way to do business as hiring employees. While outsourcing has always been around, the advent of reliable remote connectivity tools has fueled a new freelance economy which has made outsourcing easier and more effective than ever.

Virtual offices are helping freelancers be effective performing their contractor work in a more cost effective manner than if the job was performed in-house. It makes sense for companies, big and small, to outsource non core-activities. To find the best service provider for your needs, there are several ways to weed through the available providers.

• Find out how the provider is able to communicate with you about the project. You may need nothing more than to communicate through email during business hours. However, many business owners need to be able to get a hold of their providers at other times and in other ways. If you anticipate needing Skype or cell communications with someone, ask just how you can get a hold of the provider as well as exactly what hours they are available.

• What kind of guarantees do you get from the provider? Some providers will guarantee a certain performance from the work they provide. Some guarantee that your satisfaction will be met when the work is completed or that further steps will be taken. If you are outsourcing written work, finding out whether rewrites are included in the price is necessary. If you are outsourcing software or Website design, you will need a guarantee of usability. For product manufacturing, product specification guarantees are in order.

• How does the price stack up with the competition? As any business owner knows, choosing a provider based exclusively on the lowest price isn’t always wise. However, choosing the most expensive from among comparable providers may not be any wiser. Take a look at how prices average for providers with the same level of expertise and experience. Providers who charge very little for very complex work may be in over their heads. Those who charge far too much for moderate skills may not be worth the price.

• Ask to see examples of past work when possible. If you’re outsourcing VA tasks, that may not be possible, but for many other industries it shouldn’t be a challenge for a provider to show you a few recent work examples. If you aren’t able to directly see past samples, ask for references. Past clients should be able to tell you how competent the provider is.

• How well does each prospective provider understand your project needs? If your project is unusual or one far outside the usual scope of a provider, communicate directly with that provider with specific questions about the range of services available. If the company seems to need far more direction than necessary, a virtual form of hand holding, you may not save as much time as you should by hiring that provider. There may even be misunderstandings about what the company is expected to provide. It may be worthwhile to seek out a company with more direct experience with what you want. It may also be necessary to draw up a highly detailed contract so that neither party is surprised with the outcome of the work done by the provider.

What is a Virtual Office Space? "From Boxers to the Boardroom"

Virtual offices provide the function and image that startups, entrepreneurs, mobile workers, and established corporate firms need to out-compete others in their market.

Cloud Virtual Office offers Virtual Office at hundreds of locations. From San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Sacramento; to New York, New York City, Washington DC, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte, and everywhere in between including Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Beverly Hills.

What is a virtual office?

A virtual office allows you to rent a business address rather than pay for the physical space. You may also have administrative support services that can come with your virtual office space.

For example, a typical virtual office space will include the business address, a telephone number that will be answered by a professional receptionist, mail forwarding and call forwarding. You may also have access to a conference room or a day office as needed.

Why should I use a virtual office?

There are many different reasons why solo-preneurs, mid-sized businesses and even corportations are switching to virtual office solutions. Startup companies or small independent firms appreciate the ability to have a professional office address without the high costs associated.

Virtual offices can also be used as remote branch offices, or as a meeting place. For example if your company is going to expand into Texas, a virtual office space can serve as a place for meetings before you get a more permanent solution.

How expensive are virtual offices?

One of the biggest benefits of virtual office space is that it can save much needed capital. By using a virtual office location you can decrease your overhead business costs and re-invest that money in other important parts of your business, like your advertising and marketing.

Virtual office plans can start from as little as $79 a month and are at most a few hundred dollars per month. Compare that to the thousands that most companies spend on traditional brick-and-mortar leases, and it's easy to see how virtual offices can save your company money.

Co-Working in Virtual Office Centers: The Professional Isolation Solution

The number of corporate employees and entrepreneurs who work from a home office and on the road is exploding. We expect to see this trend continue as business owners and corporate executives realize the benefits of lower operational costs, greener business practices, and flexibility (read: talent retention) that comes with working from offsite.

However, though these are real and measurable benefits for business, there are also a few downsides to working from home. Many entrepreneurs feel lonely and isolated working by themselves for long periods of time. As liberating as it is to own your own business and be out of the corporate lifestyle, there are still tangible benefits to the social interaction that comes from working with others.

This is where a virtual office really starts to shine. Coworking is less about desks and walls and infrastructure than about a different way to work – where independent professionals can enjoy the social and collaborative benefits of working in a shared office space – and the concept is spreading. There are approximately 16.2 million self-employed teleworkers and 12.4 employed teleworkers. If you're one of them then you know that the initial freedom that comes from working from home can be limiting in time in terms of productivity and creativity, and lacking the benefits of camaraderie that come from working with others.

While co-working can be extremely informal , a virtual office serves as a framework that combines community of coworking with the professional support that business needs.

Co-working offers several major benefits for solo entrepreneurs, especially when it comes to creativity:

Change of setting = change of perspective.

Sometimes even just a change of perspective can be enough to create a breakthrough. Co-working in a virtual office environment rather than your standard home office can help get a new perspective on your work.

Collaborative environment can lead to new ideas.

Although each user of the co-working environment is working on their individual projects, collaboration is encouraged. Bouncing ideas off of the person next to you and talking through problems is a way to develop new ideas. Another co-worker, even in a different field, can offer fresh perspective to your problem.

Co-working can lead to more opportunities.

Working with other entrepreneurs in a co-working location is also a terrific networking opportunity. You never know who you might meet at your co-working location. One day you might be working with someone who turns out to be the perfect fit for a referral – or vice versa. You could potentially find a joint venture partner that you can work with in order to take your business to the next level. At the very least, you'll get to know people running businesses in your area that have similar goals.