Working Effectively asa Virtual Consultant

Insights from Clarity Consultants

Tips for Working VirtuallyHave you ever considered accepting an assignment where you work virtually? You’re not alone. It’s

estimated that 30 million people worked from home in 2016. Teleworking or working virtually is on

the rise, and even the federal government encourages it as a way to reduce commuter traffic and

carbon emissions across the country. To get you off on the right foot, here are some tips for making

the transition to home-based work.

Assess Your Skills and TemperamentMelissa Chambers, eMedia consultant withKnow Limits Media, suggests that teleworkersask themselves the following questions beforecommitting to a virtual work assignment:

• Am I self-motivated?• Can I work autonomously?• Do I have strong communication skills

in a variety of mediums and modalities?• Am I technologically savvy enough to be my

own information technology (IT) support?

Working at home requires self-discipline andorganization. Ideally, you should have an officeor dedicated workspace within your home awayfrom any distractions. People who have beenteleworking for a long time recommend thatyou establish boundaries between yourpersonal and business lives.

Are you skilled at communicating with othersusing email, instant messaging, and thetelephone? And do you know which method touse when? Karen Sobel Lojeski, a professor inthe Department of Technology and Society atStony Brook University, the State University ofNew York, and author of Uniting the VirtualWorkforce: Transforming Leadership andInnovation in the Globally Integrated Enterprise,cautions that techno-dexterity is a key skill for

teleworking. Lojeski says that techno-dexterityrefers to the ability to match the righttechnology to the right message so that it hasthe most impact.

Could you fix your personal computer (PC) orprinter if it goes on the fritz? If any technicaldifficulties arise, you’re going to have totroubleshoot the problem on your own insteadof contacting the IT department or submitting atrouble ticket.

Set Expectations at the OutsetEstablishing project parameters with the clientup front is the key to a solid workingrelationship. Rick Vossman has worked forClarity for ten years, serving such clients asWachovia, PepsiCo, and Walmart. During his

Working Effectively as a Virtual Consultant

“Establishing project parameters with the client upfront is the key to a solid working relationship.”

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• How well defined is the desired deliverable?• Do you know what you’re looking for?• What kind of analysis needs to be done?

initial interview with a hiring manager, Vossmanasks three critical questions:

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“Clients should have a crystal-clear, well-defined deliverable in mind. If they don’t, it canresult in scope creep and missed expectations,”Vossman says. Your role as a virtual consultantis to coax these expectations from the client ifthey’re not stated up front.

Establish Lines of CommunicationWhen you’re not interacting face-to-face withyour client, methods of communication becomeeven more important. As you start yourassignment, check in with your client and findout how he or she would prefer to stay updated.Should you hold weekly conference calls? Senddaily written updates? Have a SharePoint folderor Dropbox account to share files? Setting thesepractices at the beginning will reduce yourstress level.

MariAn Klein is a consultant with more than 20years of experience. She has worked with Clarityfor clients such as Deloitte and Symantec. Shehas also worked on the client side, as director oflearning design and strategy at Wells Fargo. Sheemphasizes that the method is not as importantas establishing expectations for communicationsup front with the client. Klein emails a bulletedlist of her progress to clients each week,whereas Vossman prefers an Excel spreadsheetthat serves as a tracking mechanism. “I just askclients up front, what do you want from me interms of communication?” he says.

ConclusionsWorking virtually is quickly becoming amore accepted standard of working. Aftermaking some minor adjustments to theirwork styles, most virtual workers reportgreater productivity and job satisfaction. A2015 study conducted by StanfordEconomics Professor, Nicholas Bloom,showed a 13% increase in productivity andestimated savings of $1,900 per employee.As companies embrace the positive findings,stigmas will be resolved and the number ofremote opportunities will rise.

The key to working remotely is to establishworking guidelines with the client at thebeginning of the project and to stick to theagreed-upon conventions. Communicationbecomes even more essential in a virtualproject, including knowing the client’spreferred mode of communication andwhich mode to use for which purpose.

Follow these strategies and watch yourproductivity soar.

Working Effectively as a Virtual Consultant