Want to make your staff more productive? Send them home!
After all, more than 70% of people claim to do more work when they are away from the office, according to research conducted by Microsoft. cloudpro.co.uk highlighted some of the other findings from the report, including that 38% of people felt that they could be more creative for their business when allowed flexible working conditions.
So what’s stopping more businesses from allowing employees to work away from the office? Steve Tassel from Microsoft told cloudpro.co.uk: “We found that people who are not physically seen in the office, as part of the team, struggle with trust. Knowing those people are working productively is harder for office staff.” To this point, the report also found that 73% of respondents felt they couldn’t trust remote staff to work as hard as office workers.
We think there are some simple tools which can help build trust, by bringing all your employees closer together. Video conferencing is one of those, helping ensure staff keep in regular, visible contact with each. And when video conferencing isn’t necessary, there’s always instant messaging (IM) and other useful, real-time collaboration tools such as Soonr and Sharepoint.
Tools like IM or video conferencing aren’t the answer to all of the issues created by a dispersed workforce. But as the trend for remote working grows they are an excellent way not only of keeping in touch, but even of building trust.
And if remote workers are trusted to work as hard at home as they do in the office – if not harder – then surely everyone benefits?
Make Do
12 June 2013
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