Hiring independent virtual employees can now be very possible through the power of internet. The main issue to be dealt with is how to manage these virtual employees since you’re from different locations, and even have different timezones. Here are some very helpful ways on how to handle people in a virtual office:

Having clear and realistic expectations/goals. Provide set of tasks that are achievable within the required time frame and be sensible enough not to burn out your assistants. You should be able to assess whether your virtual employees are capable of doing the tasks,  with minimal supervision. You should also know how to keep them motivated by acknowledging the exerted efforts, or providing bonus.

Never assume. When giving out instructions, make sure that your virtual employees understand your instructions. Also, you should never assume that your virtual employees are equipped with all the needed stuff. Before hiring, check the experience or the background, and verify if training would be necessary or not. You should also find out if your assistants have their own personal computer, internet connection and other requirements.

Check your assistant while working. As much as possible, you exert effort to see to it that your virtual employees are working. Communicate with them via email, chat or call. Try to coordinate and discuss if they have any problems or clarifications with regards to the tasks. This helps in tracking your agents’ productivity and accuracy of the tasks. However, you should also be confident that they can manage the tasks with minimal supervision. There’s no need for you to be there the whole time. Just make sure that there’s a time sheet with the tasks to be prioritized and those have already been accomplished.

Go for a conference call with the team. This can be made possible with the help of Skype. You can conduct a weekly or monthly conference meeting online with your team to discuss and resolve any work issues. This is also a great way to inform teammates with updates, or ask for their suggestions to improve the business.

If you really want a high quality output from your virtual employees, you also have to contribute your part. Make sure that your virtual employees are  managed properly to be able to provide the ideal output.