Column: The virtual office arrives

BY GEORGETTE PASCALE

About nine years ago, for reasons both professional and personal, I made the decision to start my own public relations firm, Pascale Communications L.L.C. As I developed my business model, I knew that I wanted to avoid commuting, the high overhead of office space and the politics I”™d encountered in the companies where I”™d worked previously.

After much consideration, I opted to forgo the brick-and-mortar route and go 100 percent virtual. It was a decision that has worked well for me and for the staff I”™ve assembled. However “virtual” may be a somewhat misleading term since the only thing virtual about my business, headquartered in my Fairfield home, is the physical office space.

The challenges of running a business from afar and managing a team of 20 geographically diverse professionals ”” each with a distinctive skill set, field of expertise and personality ”” are very real. The benefits are also real and numerous, from the freedom the virtual model affords to the close community my team has forged by phone, email, Facebook, instant messaging and more.

The challenges of the virtual model start with the hiring process. First and foremost, I had to find the right team: people who are resolutely self-motivated and entirely comfortable working on their own without a water cooler, office buddies or a boss checking in throughout the day. And I often hired these people over the phone, sight unseen. It can be tricky.

I”™ve found over the years that while young freelancers may cost me less and may initially be excited about the prospect of working from home in their pajamas, they most probably have not yet developed the skills that allow them to focus on work and prioritize without face-to-face interaction and supervision. So I opted to hire a group of smart, responsible, senior level self-starters and from that point on was well on my way to creating an integrated, well-oiled machine from a group of formerly unrelated parts. And by hiring wisely, I”™ve been able to retain a sizable virtual staff for the long term and provide clients with consistent service, unlike many firms where freelancers come and go with great frequency.

But even working with that well-oiled machine, I have to occasionally fight the urge to micromanage from afar. I had to develop a happy-medium mindset somewhere between leaving my staff members entirely to their own devices and demanding minute-by-minute updates. Neither one works especially well. Also, because I”™m working with a team that resides coast to coast, I have to make myself available until long after my kids have gone to bed. It”™s a long day, but since it”™s my name on the door ”” or it would be if a virtual office had a door ”” I”™m responsible for addressing all snafus, client emergencies and looming deadlines regardless of the hour.

Working virtually benefits my staff members in a variety of ways. In fact, the challenges inherent in the virtual workplace can also be the pluses. Besides the pajama-wearing option (I don”™t ask, they don”™t tell), I work with many women who have small children. The flexibility we enjoy by being home for work and family is something they would rarely find in a different work environment. One of the reasons I opted to go virtual was for the pleasure of dropping my own kids off at the school bus each morning. My staff, which includes two young men as well as several women, enjoys the autonomy my virtual model allows and the means to combine busy work and home lives. And though I must admit that it”™s not always seamless, it”™s far more fulfilling than working long hours at a brick-and-mortar office ”¦ for someone else.

Georgette Pascale is CEO of Pascale Communications L.L.C. in Fairfield. The website is pascalecommunications.com.