We believe that businesses of all sizes can start to work smarter and more productively by embracing the concept of remote working and really harnessing the power of technology.
Many companies have been reticent about using remote working, and it’s not really expensive or difficult to implement. Companies of every size need to evaluate where and how greater connectivity can improve their business
Having access to systems, files and emails whilst away from the office brings a range of business benefits and cost savings – from increased productivity and greater staff motivation to more effective use of time. So, what can you do?
Enable your staff to work from anywhere…
An amazing 80 per cent of businesses report that employees do not have full access to business systems that would make their work easier and more efficient, including the technology to work away from the office. The ability to work effectively from almost any location is one of the biggest changes happening in workplaces today and can increase productivity significantly.
Increase opportunities to collaborate from any location…
Ensure your staff have access to ‘read and share’ collaborative document viewing and editing services, such as Google Docs and Microsoft SharePoint to increase productivity on team projects. Working away from the office used to mean either copying files to your laptop or logging in to a terminal server which was housed, expensively, back at the office, but advances in technology mean this is no longer the case. The introduction of Cloud Computing and faster, more reliable internet connections mean that staff can collaborate much more efficiently and you have the reassurance that the data remains secure. Employees can store and share files with each other using an online file sharing service. Such services act as a virtual folder on the user’s desktop or mobile device, allowing files to be ‘dropped’ in an online storage folder to be accessed again later from anywhere.
Collaborative working can also be enhanced using services such as Google Apps or Microsoft Office 365 – a suite of applications that bring together essential services to help businesses, including; Email, document sharing and shared calendars. These tools allow multiple employees to organise schedules and view and work together on a single document at the same time. These services require no additional hardware or software creating time and cost savings for your businesses.
Stop journey time from impacting on efficiency…
Stop spending so much time and money on travel that you don’t always need, whether it’s between home and the office or between multiple UK locations around. Even when journeys are necessary, they’re often nevertheless unproductive. Simple measures like investing in remote working technology, from webmail to 4G connectivity for laptops, could save employees 127 hours per year.
Don’t forget to include telecoms…
In addition to being able to access work on files from anywhere, you can also install Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems that enable you to make and receive business calls over internet connections. This means these phones become part of the office network with all the abilities to transfer calls, and pick up voicemails. Employees can even take the phone anywhere with a network connection, plug it in and pick up calls just as if they were in the office.
Using software applications such as Skype can further enhance communications by offering text chat (often faster and more convenient than sending emails), as well as allowing users to communicate and conduct free audio and video conferencing with up to five work colleagues.
These are great ways for businesses large and small to give an instant boost to their productivity. The technology behind remote working is getting cheaper every year making it an attractive option for employers.
Even small improvements, such as using smartphones, mobile apps, and cloud computing services, will help drive business productivity and restore the UK’s competitiveness within Europe and beyond.
For more independent advice and assistance with your remote working strategy , call us on 03300 886 116.