Suggestions on managing the virtual office revolution

In a previous blog Ways grow your Small Business quickly, we mentioned that one of the fastest ways to grow your business is by hiring virtual office staffers that you do not need to create office space for. To some companies this might be easy; but others have the fear of losing the ability to track employee progress. The trick to making it work is by having the right tools and constant communications with the remote team.

Implementing a remote-workforce team allows you to source talent from any location, meaning you have access to the smartest, most capable workforce in your industry. This means that not everyone on your team needs to live within driving distance of your main office. In most cases, you will want a new hire to spend their first weeks at your office for training and meet the rest of your team in person. This not only makes them feel part of the team, but introduces them to client support and business procedures.

While most communications will be done through electronic means such as email, telephone and video conferencing, you still want to bring your remote team together a few times a year to help promote relationships with other team members and to reinforce your corporate culture. This is especially true if you are adding new team members to your remote workforce. It gives new hires a chance to meet the entire team at once.

Speaking of communication technology, having it available is not always enough. In order to have good communication with remote staff, some planned communication is needed – whether it is daily or weekly check-ins with a manager or scheduled teleconferences with the entire team. The remote team member who is not directly working on projects with other team members, is the one you really need to keep in constant communication with, to ensure that he or she is a functioning member of the larger overall team.

Another reason for constant communication is to help remote workers fight the feeling of isolation, when focus on tasks can be lost. Some people can get distracted while they are working at home alone, and this can cause the quality of the work to suffer.  Mixing up the types of communication may help. Teleconferences can be an efficient way to communicate with your remote team, but a video teleconference allows people to see the reactions of other team members when they make a point. This can be complemented by a web-based project management tool that allows all team members to see ongoing and new activity, as well as the status of each project they are working on.

Setting up a open chat room allows team members to leave messages for other team members. It is important to keep these chats alive while not  being too distracting to getting the job done. There should be enough conversation to discuss important issues, while at the same time feeling like they are connected as one team. You may also consider a second chat room that allows for non-business-related chat that acts as a virtual water cooler. But make it clear how much time can be spent and establish guidelines on topics that are off limits.

While bringing employees into the office space on a scheduled basis for training and project updates is good for collaboration and team building, it may not be enough. Use the time that the entire team is together to allow for social interaction or non-business-related team building events and exercises.

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Telsec | Logo White
18 King Street East Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1C4 Canada
416-574-1112
Telsec | Logo White
18 King Street East Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5C 1C4
416-574-1112
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Hotels

1. Jennifer Smith
General Manager
The Omni King Edward Hotel
37 King Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1E9
Tel: 416-863-9700
Website: www.omnihotels.com/hotels/toronto-king-edward

2. Mark Perry
General Manager
Executive Hotels and Resorts (Boutique)
8 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E1
Tel: 416-350-2419
Website: www.spazen.ca or www.cosmotoronto.com

3. Emeline Boul
General Manager
Hotel Victoria (Boutique)
56 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1G5
Tel: 416-363-1666
Mobile: 647-574-5832
Website: www.hotelvictoriatoronto.com

4. Omkar Sawant
Reservations Manager
One King West Hotel
1 King Street West
Toronto, ON
M5H 1A1
Main: 416-548-8100
Reservations: 1-866-470-5464
Website: www.onekingwest.com

5. Van Nguyen
General Manager
Cambridge Suites Toronto
15 Richmond Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1N2
Direct: 416-601-3757
Hotel: 416-368-1990
Website: www.cambridgesuitestoronto.com

Restaurants

1. Michael Pagliaro
Carisma (Italian)
15 Toronto Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2E3
Tel: 416-864-7373
Website: www.carismarestaurant.com

2. Patti Shaw
Terroni (Italian)
57 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1K6
Tel: 416-203-3093
Website: www.terroni.com

3. Declan
Restaurant 20 Victoria – Michelin guide approved
20 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2A1
Tel: 416-804-6066
Instagram for reservations: https://www.instagram.com/twentyvictoria/

4. Mana
Nami (Japanese)
55 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1K6
Tel: 416-362-7373
Website: www.namirestaurant.ca

5. Restaurant Lucie
100 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2W1
Tel: 416-788-9054
Website: www.restaurantlucie.com

6. Niam H
Cantina Mercatto
20 Wellington Street East
Toronto, ON
M5E 1C5
Tel: 416-304-0781
Website: www.cantinamercatto.ca

7. Siva Sathasivam
Uncle Tony’s
38 Wellington St E
Toronto, ON
M5E 1C7
Tel: 416-455-6650
Website: https://uncletonys.ca/

8. Pizzaiolo
104 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2Y6
Tel: 416-860-0700
Website: www.pizzaiolo.ca

9. Robin Singh
Woods Restaurant and Bar
45 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-214-9918
Website: www.woodsrestaurant.ca

Health and Wellness

1. Thom Tullo
Morpheus8 by Inmode
47 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-863-6564
Website: www.amanspa.ca

2. Altitude Athletic Training
56 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-366-3838
Website: www.altitudeathletictraining.com

3. Physioheath Studios
33 Victoria Street, #130
Toronto, ON
M5C 2A1
Tel: 416-368-2525
Website: www.physiohealth.com

Our Amenities

We are by far the most experienced and best coworking team in the market – established in 1980

  • We are the highest Tech centre in the market
  • We have a very modern, high quality, brand new facility located at:

   18 King Street East, Suite 1400

      Toronto, Ontario   M5C 1C4 Canada

    • 18 King Street East is a boutique Class A building – East of Yonge: easy street parking, less traffic, excellent restaurants and lovely parks – St. James Park @ Church & King and Berczy Park @ Wellington East, Scott and Front Streets – Very high energy and engaging area
    • A few steps (a few seconds) to the Yonge Street subway/underground PATH network and streetcar available outside building
    • Building is located in Toronto's vibrant financial district
    • Plenty of parking available in the area including street parking and reserved parking in the 18 King building 
    • Adjacent to the building huge outdoor food courtyard - Beer Bistro www.beerbistro.com and Craft Beer Market www.craftbeermamrket.ca restaurants and bars with onsite catering services
    • Onsite amenities:  Tim Horton's, Beer Bistro, Convenience store and Starbucks across the street 
    • Nearby amenities:  underground PATH network, numerous restaurants, banking, Starbucks plus a wide array of nearby shops and services 
    • New modernized office layout fully furnished with meeting spaces and training rooms plus café lounge area
    • We are leaders in the service of training/meeting rooms with full conference facilities, high quality hot and cold catering
    • Largest training room and conference facilities accommodate up to 60 people classroom style
    • Ultra-high-speed - 1 GIG pipe = 1,000 x 1000 fiber-optic network, which will deliver internet connection speeds faster than most North American services
    • Private shower room
    • Indoor Reserved Parking at the current building rental rate
    • Bicycle parking
    • Rent a space to accommodate your team for meetings, training sessions, corporate events or coworking space or flexible office space for one day, one week, one month or one year, or whatever term suits your business
    • Telsec has over 650 locations in 40 different countries worldwide available for their clients.  Office clients receive up to 8 hours of meeting space per month at no charge at any ABCN member location.  Plus, Office and Virtual Office clients may rent a space from any member location at special member rates which varies depending on the location 
    • King Edward Hotel is located across the street - recently completed a $40 million renovation and boutique hotels close by within walking distance
  • Dining and entertainment at high quality restaurants only minutes away – Carisma, Terroni, Woods Restaurant & Bar and Michelin Rated - Restaurant 20 Victoria. Plus numerous lunch and takeout eateries nearby

         Please check out our 70 second video on our home page or click here:

Take a look at our facilities www.telsec.net    

Telsec will Customize Your Client’s Office(s) Layout to Meet Their Requirements. 

You are welcome to drop-in any-time, a quick call would be appreciated to ensure our availability Vanessa 416-574-1112 or Josie 416-606-4349 or e-mail josie@telsec.net.