Companies or businesses that use extranet or intranet services, may enable their employees to access their offices from home by using VoIP technology.
This is the concept of teleworking whereby employees are able to convert their homes into a segment of their office and remotely use data, fax or voice services of their workplaces via the organization's intranet.
This enables office work to be done at a distance from where the work results are required or where the work would ordinarily have been done, by the application of information and communications technologies (ICTs).
Methods of Teleworking 1.
Telecommuting - Whereby an employee or contractor works from home instead of travelling to an employer's or a customer's premises.
2.
Mobile teleworking - Whereby executives, professionals or service staff members use ICTs to enable them to spend more time with customers, as well as deliver a range of services and capabilities while on transit, which previously would have entailed visits at company offices or involved office based staff.
3.
Telecentres - These are central points which provide local office facilities to people who prefer not to work at home but wish to avoid the cost, time and hassles of commuting to their offices.
4.
Telecottages - These are community centers which provide local communities with access to high performance ICTs, skills development and the networking and socialization aspects of work that may not necessarily be accessible to a home-based worker.
5.
Functional relocation - This is whereby the business functions that were previously located close to the customers are now concentrated and delivered from a distance.
An example of this is includes both "front office" (selling activities which were previously carried out in the High Street, but are now delivered by phone or computer networks) and "back office" (service and maintenance work which was previously done "on site", but may now be done anywhere in the world using remote access to systems).
6.
Outsourcing - Many types of work can now be carried out from thousands of miles away and "outsourced" across national borders.
Telework may also include "dispersed team working", whereby, for example, an engineering company may use three or more teams in different time zones to work 24 hours a day on a time-sensitive customer tender, with each team "passing the baton" to the next at the end of its working day.
This is a major advantage because it helps to cut costs and increase productivity.
Benefits for Your Business Cost savings - The main savings that can be made by a business adopting teleworking are in premises costs, office overheads and labor.
Companies employing teleworking methods achieve significant reductions in total office occupancy, because work can be done wherever the appropriate skills are available at the optimum mix of costs and other factors.
In certain case, recruitment costs may also be reduced, as well as the costs associated with high staff turnover (attrition) rates.
Through the adoption of a total "flexible working" strategy, all costs relating to the relocation of staff may be eliminated by a company.
Increased productivity - Productivity increases of up to 40% have been reported by companies who have adopted teleworking methods, with both teleworkers and their managers consistently reporting significant productivity gains.
This is because the teleworkers avoid travel time and the interruptions that are common in an office environment.
Improved motivation - In successful office teleworking programs, employees have been reported to having responded well to the show of trust and confidence indicated by the employer when they choose to adopt more independent work styles through teleworking.
Skills retention - Teleworking enables employees who might otherwise leave a job to remain, for example in situations whereby a family needs to move because of a job change by another family member who works in a non-telework company.
Teleworking also enables employees wishing to take a career break to continue working part-time and therefore remain updated with the business.
This similarly applies to employees wishing to take maternity leave, as they may continue to carry out some tasks, and will also require less retraining when they return to work full time.
Organization flexibility - Teleworking also allows people to continue to work without disruption to their personal lives, in the event of company restructuring and reorganization.
This means that employees may still work in dispersed teams that may be assembled and reassembled depending on the changing needs of the company.
This therefore minimizes the need for travel as the teams which represent the best skills and experience for a particular project may be created, regardless of geography and time zones.
Flexible staffing - Teleworking also allows staff to work limited hours in order to match peak workload, without having to travel.
When faced with limited hours, the time it takes to travel may be just as long as the time it takes to get the particular job done.
As such, a company may organize such that some staff remains on "standby time" at home at retainer rates, who may then be paid at higher rates when they are required for active work.
Resilience - Companies and businesses with effective teleworking programs have proved to be more resilient when faced with external disruptions, such as natural disasters, transport strikes, severe weather or terrorist action.
Enhanced customer service - Teleworking enables organizations to extend customer services beyond the working day or the working week without having to incur the costs of overtime payments or requiring staff to work (and travel) during unsocial hours.