Undoubtedly, the way that we are working has significantly shifted over the last few months – and it
feels as if it’s here to stay. After all of those months spent without a morning commute, or with
shorter meetings because they’re being conducted over video conference, does anyone really want
to go back to the office?
I note at this point, that there are plenty of people that would still be keen for an office return in
some shape or other, but the fact remains that this year we have seen an acceleration towards
home working like nothing before. Many businesses have had to adapt quickly to the changes(something we can confirm first hand, judging by our support tickets from March and April!)
So without a doubt, this trend is going to change a lot for businesses. But is it all bad?
An immediate benefit for businesses is the flexibility of talent now available to businesses, given that
there is a shift away from static based offices. Because businesses are not stringently attaching
themselves to one physical location, it means that the pool of talent that they are able to attract and
employ is significantly larger than it has been before – you are no longer restricted by the commute
that people are willing to endure.
There is plenty of evidence to show that workers who are working remotely or flexibly are happier
and more productive in their roles. A study from Owl Labs in September 2019 indicated that full-time
remote workers are on the whole 22% happier in their jobs than workers who don’t have this
flexibility of working.
The indication is that remote workers have a better work-life balance, that they are able to focus
more on their job and have less stress. This in turn shows that companies who give their employees
greater flexibility are more likely to retain that staff. So, if you as a business are able to embrace that
flexibility of working, you may well end up with happier staff that stick around for longer.
This is a something we have experienced ourselves, even with geographically spread staff we can still
offer the same high levels of customer support no matter where we are located, it gives our team
the flexibility to work from home as necessary or as per their preference, we concur with the
research – less commute to work equals happier staff!
When it comes to the work at home shift, there are some real benefits but in order to take
advantage of these you need to ensure that your IT set up is as robust for your staff as it would be in
the physical office.
Things you might want to think about are:
Do you have the right hardware for staff? Obviously, this includes laptops so staff can work, but might
also mean things like printers, or microphones and webcams if you’re expecting staff to be doing a
lot of video conferencing.
What tools do you have in place to enable your team to work effectively and collaborate? Microsoft
365 is a really good place to start as it has a range of tools that people will already be familiar with
but is very flexible depending on a business’s specific needs.
Have you got the right systems and processes in place so that your IT solutions can grow with you? If
this is a question you aren’t sure about – we would be delighted to have a chat with you to understand
your needs and how we might be able to help you get on the right track.
Contact us today to take the worry out of your IT.
