Modern solutions are giving staff the option of using the virtual office. What could your company gain from allowing staff to work remotely?
Ten years ago remote working was only possible for those who only worked on paper, but thanks to leaps and bounds in modern technology virtually anyone who works in an office can now split more of their time between the office, working off-site, or at home.
Wireless communication, PDAs, smart mobile phones, more-powerful laptops, and a host of other tools now make remote working not only easier but also allow everything you did at work to now be completed virtually anywhere.
"Working remotely gives people choice and better time management," says Hala Batainah, IBM sales manager. "E-mail plays a large part in bridging the gap between work and home, but as a manager you don't just want to communicate via e-mail, as this only exacerbates the disconnection that you sometimes feel."
"Instant messaging has also become one of the most useful tools to have on the road. You can chat with someone without invading their space. It's great for when you just want to ask someone a quick question and saves on a phone call. You can see instantly if they are online and it has made life a lot easier."
One of the main problems with remote working is the "disconnection" that many feel while working outside the office. The first is being physically disconnected from your team, your boss, and your customers. The second is the disconnection from the community. By being away all the time you can no longer just walk over and ask someone a question.
Batainah says that one of the main problems with working from outside the office is that you lose the community aspect of working in a team. A lot of people use e-mail to communicate their ideas, but she believes that you lose a lot with single threads bouncing back and forward.
"We use a team workplace program that allows everyone to come together on one site," Batainah says.
"You come through a browser, so you can access it anywhere. There is a set of databases, a team calendar, and instant messaging built in and you can see who is online looking at documents and you can chat to them instantly about it.
"We also do teleconferencing. Now when you have four or five people involved it's usually ok, but when you have up to 40 it can be very difficult. With new advances you can have many people online sharing a presentation and making comments as the e-meeting goes on. You simply host it on a Web site. There is a URL and calendar invite, and you just click on the calendar and that's you in the meeting. You can see who else is there, raise a virtual hand and ask a question. There is a whiteboard and you can ask the meeting holder to write information on it -- all in real time. All of these things are helping remote workers feel less disconnected."
The latest in end-to-end security systems recognise users, and depending on what program they are using, be it a laptop, mobile, or PDA, repackages the application for the screen being used and optimises the connection. You have a single sign-on that understands who you are and saves you having to log into different applications separately.
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