Working from Home has it’s Perks
There are a lot of common misconceptions and myths about working from home, and the concept of a remote workforce has received a good deal of media attention lately. This is in part due to the recent and highly publicized leaked internal company memo from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer removing the option to work from home for all Yahoo employees. MarketingProfs’ Veronica Jarski Corey O’Loughlin outlined a few misconceptions and realities about working from home in a recent article.
Myth #1: Speed and quality are often sacrificed when working from home.
O’Loughlin explained that while this may have been true even only a decade ago, now smartphones and other mobile technologies are common. With virtual phone solutions, mobile workers can respond to emails quickly, download documents to edit and approve, send status reports and upload files for others to edit and approve. In fact, some may even argue that with advanced collaboration tools enable workers to produce higher-quality work more quickly than they would were they in an office setting.
“Yes, there are distractions at home (as there are in an office environment) so you do need to be able to juggle the literal home/life balance and set good boundaries,” said Courtney Bosch, program manager for MarketingProfs. “Communication skills are key! You have to be visible and connected to work virtually.”
Myth #2: “To be the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side by side.”
O’Loughlin also emphasized misconceptions found directly within Mayer’s memo. In response to the above mentioned line in the memo, the truth is that the wide variety of communication tools available today make it so that virtual workers can collaborate just as easily as in-office staff.
Remote workers should be enabled with the appropriate communication and collaboration tools in order to be efficient and productive employees. Technology is the important factor when discussing at-home working programs. In fact, TheDigest.com recently responded to the Yahoo story with a release detailing how VoIP technology actually helps businesses reduce costs by enabling remote workers. The source cited a 2012 study from the Labor Bureau, which found that roughly 15 percent of U.S. workers work remotely and this increased flexibility was linked to a boost in productivity, a decrease in absenteeism and an increase in employee retention.
“The secret to having successful remote employees is good communication, and a good business VoIP service is one of the best ways for companies to stay in contact with their workers and for their workers to stay up-to-date with the company,” TheDigest stated.
When it comes to VoIP technology, businesses can opt for AccessDirect’s hosted PBX solutions to realize even more significant benefits from a remote workforce. Features like Find Me Follow Me ensure that employees can always be reached, and overall customer service for the business will also be boosted. Because these services are particularly scalable, all home-run businesses will be able to adjust services as necessary. Promote work from home success with AccessDirect.
