When it's not safe for your employees to come to work, do you have a remote worker
policy?
If popular culture represents public opinion, then take an episode of the
Simpsons in which Homer Simpson gains 300 pounds in order to work from home. The
idea was that he could get paid for his job but never have to ‘go to work.’ The
subtext questioned the legitimacy of working from home – Homer eventually goes
‘back to work’ after saving the town from disaster by using his weight to plug
up a gas leak. A role model for us all.
 As
fanciful as this example is, much of the old discourse around remote working was
surrounded in scepticism. Where previously many businesses didn’t consider
letting any employee out of their sight, they are now exploring how improved
work/life balance makes for more productive employees and improved operational
performance.
Recent events across the country have also meant many businesses are
legitimately examining a strategy to deal with a situation where employees
cannot get to the office. Additionally, aging baby boomers are feeling the pull home to enjoy the fruits of their labour
and, rather than let their skills and knowledge walk out the door, companies are
re-evaluating their stance on remote workers.
Contributing to the attraction of the remote worker model is improved security
(SSL VPN) and a generation of workers who didn’t know the world before mobile
phones. This mentality of constantly being ‘plugged in’ has impacts for how
businesses can best manage and leverage experienced mobile technology users.
New research is giving us further insight to what employees want in the remote
working space and how employers can implement policies that protect operational
productivity and put people first.
Increased staff retention
 Research release last week by Sweeney Research commissioned by Cisco WebEx found
that almost half of the 400 surveyed said they take work home with them at least
once a week and around the same percentage also said that remote working
provides "a better work-life balance" for employees.
A second set of research figures released by Citrix Online also demonstrated SMB
owners benefit from remote working opportunities, with 64 per cent doing it
"frequently".
"The survey found 58 per cent of Australian full-time workers would like to
work from home, but two thirds ‘never' have the ability to work remotely."
So
what’s holding back the remote working revolution? One issue could be the cost
although the same survey found that 16 per cent of Australian workers and 17 per
cent of small business owners said they would give up five per cent of their
salary to work from home one to two days a week.
Cost benefit
Many companies are finding indirect cost benefits by supporting a remote working
model, not only in reducing operational costs, but also in retaining staff.
Unity4 is an Australian call centre service provider with a difference who
developed a unique ‘homeshore’ model to deliver call centre services to some of
Australia’s largest business and government organisations. This solution taps a
neglected segment of the labour market to provide its customers with a
cost-effective, high quality, Australian call centre alternative.
Under the Unity4 model, call centre operators field calls from their homes all
across Australia. Its operators live in both metropolitan and regional areas
ranging from Bondi to Tennant Creek and Wagga Wagga to Wollongong. With 250
employees spread across Australia, Unity4 handles millions of calls each year
for clients such as NRMA Careflight and Virgin Money. Unlike traditional
operators, Unity4 agents are typically aged between 35–55 years and 75 per cent
are tertiary qualified. The turnover rate is less than five per cent – compared
to the 200–300 per cent outsource industry average.
“A lot of people who wouldn’t consider working in a traditional call centre will
work from home,” said Managing Director of Unity4, Dan Turner. “That includes
sea-changers, stay-at-home mums and physically disabled people that may not be
able to commute to work.”
“Our approach is simple. We find great people, give them the ideal working
situation, and then provide our clients with the most highly skilled, happy,
loyal and responsive workforce in the industry,” said Turner.
Changing perceptions
According to a survey of more than 1,100 managers by secure infrastructure firm
SonicWALL business leaders and managers are becoming more comfortable with their
staff working remotely. The survey of management views on remote working,
sponsored by SonicWALL, Inc. and conducted in the U.S. and Australia, indicates
more than half of the respondents believe that offering their employees the
ability to work remotely is a competitive necessity or at minimum a motivating
perk for employees. More than a third of the 1,184 managers surveyed have
employees that work out of the office more than 20% of the time. The chief
reasons to change their minds among managers with no formal remote worker policy
in place are: employee motivation (26%); cost of office space (15%); rising gas
prices (14%); and traffic or weather conditions (14%).
Half of poll takers also reported that their firms have formal remote worker
policies in place. But despite this growing support for offsite working,
business leaders identified several concerns unique to managing a remote work
force. If Homer Simpson represents the typical remote worker then it’s no
surprise that the top concerns are worry over whether their remote workers will
remain productive and potential security breaches resulting from remote access.
"Research indicates that use of collaborative tools, like conferencing, without
office politics and the other distractions actually increase productivity rather
than reduce it." Says Gavin Churton, Subject Matter Expert for Conferencing. "Worker outcomes are greater and employees are generally happier.
Also, within the collaborative tool environment, because the technology is
engaging, people tend to me more focused on the task at hand than distracted by
things happening in the office."
More information on the implementation of remote working
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