Quick Summary
Many small- to mid-sized business owners enjoying rapid growth face a challenge – how to quickly scale their operations without dramatically increasing overhead expenses.
One way to meet this challenge is to establish a virtual workforce. Under this organizational structure, employees, many of whom might be located across the country, or even around the world, work remote. This eliminates the need for you to lease more office space and constantly move into larger offices as your business grows.
A virtual workforce can lower your costs and even increase productivity by keeping your overhead expenses low.
A study from Stanford University found that companies could save an average of $2,000 per employee by letting them work from home. That same study showed that those who worked from home were more productive than those who regularly worked from a company’s office.
A virtual workforce was once difficult to manage. In the last few years, however, new technologies, such as video conferencing, scheduling tools, and project management solutions, now make managing a virtual workforce far more practical and much easier to manage.
Your field sales team and field service team probably already work largely on a remote basis. Hiring other types of employees to extend your virtual team opens up the possibility for hiring more experienced and talented individuals.
What’s more, employees are rapidly choosing to work virtually if they can. According to CNBC, the millennial generation is becoming increasingly interested in working remotely. This fits right with current trends indicating that virtual companies are on the rise. There are currently 170 companies in the U.S. that are 100 percent virtual compared to only 26 in 2014.
