I don’t want to brag but Oracle Tree was doing the whole “virtual office” thing long before Covid made it cool!

And while it might seem like everybody has gotten used to working from home now (and it’s old hat to talk about not wearing pants to meetings!) I thought you might like to hear what it’s been like to manage a virtual office from the very beginning. Read on…

When we first set up the Oracle Tree virtual office in 2009, the tech wasn’t quite as good as it is now. Plus, as early adopters of the tools that were available, we came up against bugs and tech hurdles galore. Image a world where Zoom was a “niche” thing? 

Being a completely online company has allowed us to have not only a world-wide client base but also manage a world-wide staff. This has meant that we’ve never been restricted with recruiting, instead we could focus on getting the right talent for the job, no matter where in the world they were located. We’ve also never had to worry about the overheads that our competitors with bricks-and-mortar offices have had to contend with.

But as head of HR for a virtual office that has operated for as long as we have, I can tell you that there are things I have learned about virtual working that you might want to take into consideration before making the switch permanent.

When your home is your office and your office is your home.

Prior to COVID-19, working from home may have seemed like a dream come true for most of us. And there are definitely benefits. No commute means more sleep for one! When I worked in corporate, I would have to wake up before 6am to get to the office for 9am. Nowadays, I commute from my bed to the bathroom, bathroom to my desk and it’s a nice thing to know that I can get up half an hour or so before I start.

Finishing work is another story though, as learning when to clock-off can be one of the hardest parts of working from home. As head of HR for a virtual office, it’s one thing that I try to enforce with my team. Know when you are not at work! With everyone con