Damovo Homeworking
Homeworking is not a new concept but it has traditionally had its limitations in terms of what roles and functions can easily be achieved when 'working away from the office' and its associated infrastructure and support systems.
However, technology today has enabled the coming of age of the phrase 'work is a process and not a place'. Organisations can not only easily equip employees with the tools to work from home but also, with collaborative technologies, enable those home workers to genuinely feel and be part of the team.
With broadband and increasingly wireless broadband readily available across the country, individuals working from home invariably are as productive in the home environment as they are in the office. Collaborative software and the integration of VoIP and video to the desktop over the broadband connection ensures they are always connected and with little or no additional cost, have full access to the organisations business systems.
Using collaborative technologies such as presence, instant messaging, VoIP and video conferencing organisations can expand operations and geographic reach without the costs of additional office infrastructure This can dramatically reduce office space and cost per employee so improving competitiveness or value for money
Flexibility
Allowing homeworking provides benefits that the traditional work environment cannot easily emulate. The flexibility that working from home offers people is perhaps one of the largest and most popular pluses when people are making a choice to work from home. Indeed for many people, flexibility is a large driving factor when considering a new role or career. Flexibility also allows the organisation benefits as well, for example when staff are needed in a contact centre to flex up or down their hours at different times in the day, including at unsociable hours or at short notice. This ability provides tremendous benefits while minimising the cost of getting to work for the employee, who may otherwise consider it too expensive.
Social Inclusion
In the past working at home or remotely from an office had its challenges. In one sense this can be seen in terms of not feeling part of the normal social interactions. For example coffee machine discussions, where individuals feel disconnected from the business if not able to take part. With technology such as video conferencing, presence and other unified communications tools, employees now feel far more included and less distant from the organisation. Providing connected communities also enable users within organisations to be more empowered and feel more in control of their communications. This in turn has the effect of creating increasingly satisfied employees, which leads to improved productivity.
Individuals with particular circumstances such as disabilities, personal commitments, restricted ability to travel, can benefit hugely from a homeworking environment.
Work Life Balance
Providing a better work life balance for employees is becoming increasing important for staff and business alike, with benefits of increased staff satisfaction, retention and productivity. Homeworking solutions enable staff to work more flexibly at home and can provide real benefits. For example with no daily commute time saved represents a benefit to the business, as well as the individual - with time that would otherwise be spent travelling able to be devoted to more productive activity.
Corporate Social Responsibility - Green Agenda
Apart from the benefits to employee and business of flexibility, social inclusion and work life balance homeworking solutions also play a major part in helping fulfil many organisations green agenda.
For example employees working from home full or part time are not only saving on the cost of travel and time, but they are also avoiding adding to congestion and the associated carbon footprint.
Moreover, with a proportion of staff working away from the office on a regular basis reductions can also be achieved in terms of office space and infrastructure. If hot-desking is also adopted with visiting staff sharing common resources - the overall saving in infrastructure, power, heating etc can be very significant.
