Tips For Virtual Offices

The Worldwide Workplace Council has released a report titled "5 Simple Steps to a Virtual Workplace Program," which identifies how SMBs can achieve the flexibility and employee satisfaction that can come from telecommuting.The Worldwide Workplace Council is an initiative by Citrix Online to promote a "location-independent workforce." Last May, the organization conducted a survey of business attitudes toward telecommuting and working from home and found that 53 percent of small business owners and 73 percent of the entire workforce wanted that option. The same survey found that small business owners are able to work remotely far more often than other workers.

Nevertheless, the survey found some resistance: more than a quarter of American small business owners believe they need their employees in the office, for reasons including a fear of lost productivity and technological considerations. So there's a gap between what small businesses want and what they think can can actually do.

The new report aims to help businesses fill that gap by outlining five steps for effective implementation of a remote-working program. The steps could be taken by a business owner or by an employee trying to convince the owner or manager that a virtual office could work. The steps boil down to: