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.

Looking to Learn More?

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

Restaurants 

 

1. Ryan Halsall

CRAFT BEER MARKET (OUTDOOR COURTYARD)

Courtyard backs onto our Telsec building, 18 King St. E 

1 Adelaide St E (enter on east side of Yonge St., south of Adelaide)

Toronto, ON 

M5C 2V9

Tel: 437-922-BEER (2337)

Website: www.craftbeermarket.ca 

 

2. Michael Pagliaro

Carisma (Italian) 

15 Toronto Street

Toronto, ON

M5C 2E3

Tel: 416-864-7373

Website: www.carismarestaurant.com 

 

3. Patti Shaw

Terroni (Italian) 

57 Adelaide Street East

Toronto, ON

M5C 1K6

Tel: 416-203-3093

Website: www.terroni.com 

 

4. 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/ 

 

5. Mana

Nami (Japanese)

55 Adelaide Street East

Toronto, ON

M5C 1K6

Tel: 416-362-7373

Website: www.namirestaurant.ca 


6. Restaurant Lucie

100 Yonge Street

Toronto, ON

M5C 2W1

Tel: 416-788-9054

Website: www.restaurantlucie.com 

 

7. Niam H

Cantina Mercatto

20 Wellington Street East

Toronto, ON

M5E 1C5

Tel: 416-304-0781

Website: www.cantinamercatto.ca 

 

8. Siva Sathasivam

Uncle Tony’s

38 Wellington St E

Toronto, ON

M5E 1C7

Tel: 416-455-6650 

Website: https://uncletonys.ca/ 


9. Pizzaiolo 

104 Yonge Street 

Toronto, ON 

M5C 2Y6

Tel: 416-860-0700

Website: www.pizzaiolo.ca 

 

10. Robin Singh 

Woods Restaurant and Bar

45 Colborne Street

Toronto, ON

M5E 1E3

Tel: 416-214-9918

Website: www.woodsrestaurant.ca 

 

11. Amadeusz Domyslawski

GUSTO 501

501 King St. E

Toronto, ON

M5A 1L9

Tel: 416-477-5647

Website: www.gusto501.com

 

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 

 

Hotels

 

1. Jennifer Smith

General Manager 

The Omni King Edward Hotel

37 King Street East

Toronto, ON

M5C 1E9

Tel: 416-863-9700

Website: https://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 

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, click below:

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.