In a society not so long ago, people mostly farmed or ran a storefront business where they lived. Then came migration to cities, where a new generation of workers and immigrants packed factories, working long hours for the owner in the upstairs office. This was followed by major social changes and advancements in transportation. Workers could now move to a suburban home and travel to their city jobs in buses, trains and cars. This meant sitting in traffic twice a day for sometimes hours on end, but it was worth it to own the home of your dreams. Or so it seemed.

Now the virtual workforce is changing everything. As I write this on my iPad from a beach-side coffee shop, I can count 16 other professionals with their Apple gadgets keeping them connected to the demands of day-to-day business. So I find myself asking the question “do we even need to go to the office anymore?”

It’s not the office, it’s not your home, it’s…the third place

I read a global survey recently which quizzed 600 executives and found 60 per cent of them predicted their office space would shrink rather than grow within the decade, with more than half believing the office would become a place of occasional use. The survey also found that only 12 per cent of people wanted to work from home. The biggest shift was the idea of a “third place” of work, be it a cafe, library or suburban hub where businesses rent space close to their employees’ homes.

Today a majority of your tasks can be done just as effectively sitting on the beach at Bondi as sitting in a cubicle. And some of the best ideas don’t come during office hours, they hail from the gym or running the coastal path, perhaps in the early hours of the morning. BRW’s recent list of the top-50 companies to work for in Australia is dominated by companies in the IT sector, along with other organisations that embrace workplace innovation and encourage a virtual work force.

Hints for making it happen

So how can we best manage a virtual workforce in the financial services sector? Here are few tips.

· Develop trust with all of your virtual team members. Let them know you respect them and that you know they will do their best work for you. Support their independence to make decisions when they have to. You will not always be around to police everything they do. You need to be very comfortable with this.

· Be available to your team members. Let them know they can contact you if a problem arises.

· Encourage them to interact. If they build a rapport, they will feel confident to help one another.

· Be sure they are trained to use IT properly. This will help avoid the excuse “I didn’t get it done because I couldn’t log in”.

· Establish clear, measurable goals and precise responsibilities for virtual team members. Develop timelines for the projects they are responsible for completing. This will help them stay on task.

· Communicate with your remote workers on a regular basis. Set up a particular day and time to meet with them. Keep them informed to alleviate miscommunication. Discuss their progress on projects. Let them know you are aware of what they are working on. If they know you are keeping track of their workflow, they are less likely to become careless or disengaged.

· Compliment your team members regularly. Encouragement boosts productivity and can make your virtual office a success. Trust breeds loyalty and this point of differentiation will maximize the opportunities to attract, retain and develop the best people.

Technology has made it possible to wake up in Bondi, go to work for a company in Melbourne, call clients based in London and have an evening virtual business meeting in New York. Many companies are realising the advantages of a virtual office and are moving against a wasteful culture of presenteeism, judging employees performance by their output as opposed to the hours they clock up. Moreover, the resulting savings on office floor space rental can make a significant difference to the bottom line.

Why not gather some thoughts on this. Get away from the office, go to the coffee shop and take your laptop…you’re at it already!

Simon Boulton, director, Aequalis Consulting