Lauren Levine
It truly takes a unique type of employee to excel in a virtual work environment. While an individual may thrive in a particular role in an office, the temptation of a television, pets, and household chores can cause them to get off task quickly when they work from home every day. For this reason, a hiring manager needs to be careful when bringing new talent on board to work remotely. In order to land the ideal staffer to take on virtual employment, look for the following personality traits:
The ability to focus without reminders from management
Many employees are great at getting work done when they know that their boss is floating around the office, but in order to excel in a virtual work setting, your team members need to stay focused even when they’re working alone in their homes or apartments. This kind of self-motivation is hard to come by, and it’s one of the most important traits to look for when you’re hiring someone for a virtual work setup. You’ll want to make sure that they can get the job done even when they don’t have a manager breathing down their neck, or else their productivity levels will be non-existent.
The ability to communicate well with a manager
It’s easy to feel disconnected when you’re in one place and your team members are in another. In order to keep your business feeling cohesive, with or without an office, you’ll want to make sure your employees are good at communicating. When you’re all working from home, you lose the casual conversations that happen as you pass by someone’s desk to go to the bathroom or get a drink. Because of this, you’ll need to go out of your way to communicate. Whether this means sending an e-mail, getting on the phone for a quick call, or sending a text message, you’ll need to ensure that your employees are focused on careful communication. In fact, they should almost overcommunicate in order to ensure that everyone is on the same page, even when they aren’t in the same room every day.
A passion for what they do
Working from home can be lonely, and many people find that they miss the sense of camaraderie that is inherently part of a traditional office. In order to overcome the downfalls of a remote work environment, your team members will need a real passion for what they do. When your employees love their work and get a real sense of joy from doing it, they won’t miss the perks of a traditional office.
Making careful hiring decisions as you staff a virtual office is key to keeping productivity and employee morale levels high, as it takes a very specific personality type to excel in this unusual sort of office setup.
Image: Bigedhar/Bigstock.com
Spark Hire
Guest Post
