3 Things Productive Virtual Employees Do Differently

“The bad news: time flies. The good news: you’re the pilot”.

 

It goes without saying that these words from the wise Michael Altshuler resonates well with productive virtual employees. When we say productive, virtual or otherwise, we are looking at the same equally distributed 24-hour window of opportunity to get things done.

 

A day can only go full circle for a day with no option to extend. Traditional school of thought may disagree with the modern line of thinking when discussing the theories of productivity.

 

But it is highly unlikely that the answer to increased productivity is extended working hours. This derails any efforts you may have already made in establishing an environment conducive for sane working.

 

People who want to take in more hours of work regardless of compensation offered are often rare, if not nonexistent.

 

It is never a good idea to sacrifice work-life balance not just for the staff but for you as well. The occupational hazard-free alternative would be opting in the virtual working model.

 

With the way virtual offices are structured, you can have an efficient team not physically working side-by-side for you but providing the necessary round the clock support.

 

To illustrate in simple math, let’s say you have about 3 onsite staff who regularly start work around the same time as you do at 8:00 a.m. Then your virtual employees come in with a 4 or 8-hour time difference. Add up the amount of work your on-site staff finishes plus the work done by your virtual employees on a daily basis and you have nearly 16 hours worth of productivity. Not a bad start and end on a regular business day.

 

But while recruiting and hiring virtual employees can post a serious challenge to business operations, there are a few common measures you can adapt to effectively spot the productive virtual employees from the pack.

 

How can you tell the difference? Here are a few quick hacks we’ve compiled for you:

 

 

Razor-sharp focus and independence

 

There is no secret superpower to getting things done before anyone does.

 

But there are varying degrees of being focused on a task which makes a world of difference. It takes time and practice to master this skill.

 

In this instance, fortune favours those that have put in longer hours of work in the past than those who have yet to. The amount of energy that new graduates bring to an organisation is always a breath of fresh air. But this newness and lack of experience may not sink as fast compared to someone who is not doing it for the first time.

 

Focus and independence are aligned to the hip. It would take a decent amount of personal maturity to have both. Independence means having the necessary self-control and innate sense of responsibility. In most cases, those traits are not common among people who have yet to work a day in their life.

 

 

Smarter Not Longer

 

Falling into the trap of having too much work and not having enough time to carry them out is not smart.

 

For virtual employees, supervision from the employer is minimal.

 

They are mostly left to their own doing and expected to complete tasks at their own pace, except of course during urgent circumstances. Keep in mind that working hard is different from working smart.

 

The latter entails prioritising important or date-dependent tasks and deciding on the amount of time needed to finish each task on schedule.

 

 

Always Be Prepared For Tomorrow

 

Before the end of each business day, you will notice productive virtual employees do a quick recap of what they’ve done and accomplished. They take note of the things they have covered and the tasks they have yet to.

 

This strategy will not only enable them to  stay on top of their work game but it also provides them with a quick reset for them to be able to start on the next task with a clean slate.

 

In essence, it takes focus, preparation and ingenuity to accomplish assigned tasks sans minimal supervision. If your virtual assistant possesses all of the traits necessary, you can expect to have a virtual working partnership that truly works.

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