Homeworking

Should you be offering homeworking as an option within your ICT facilities?

The big freeze paralysing much of Britain’s transport infrastructure has once again highlighted the value of modern ICT to provide an alternate way for office based workers to contribute, even when unable to reach the office!

According to the governments latest report on the future of broadband in Britain, over 70% of British households now have access to broadband services (see the report at: http://bit.ly/hO3WKi). A great number of these households will have occupants who spend their days working in an office, whether as employees in a company or as operators of small businesses. Either way, it's clear that with the current weather conditions affecting the UK and predictions for the conditions to hang on into the New Year, then many will be looking to stay at home and attempt to work from there.
Most businesses have access to broadband, but in general, only the larger business will have put in place the facilities needed to enable their employees to work from home. Now is the time to look at your ICT facilities and services and see how they could be adapted to make homeworking a reality for your employees, or in the case of Business Centres, for the tenants using the property. The good thing about homeworking is that it doesn't need to be expensive to set up and in fact, the core equipment needed to deliver a basic homeworking connection is usually already available where an office building already has a functioning broadband service and an internal cable distribution system (network).
Adding a secure homeworking service can add real value to a Business Centre and help a business keep costs down and productivity up, irrespective of the weather and its affect on employees.
There are numerous sites on the web that offer good advice on homeworking such as the one by Business Link. The webpage is devoted to setting up a homeworking system, that considers the advantages, disadvantages and the technical aspects.
It can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/hLCqi9
If you’re unsure about your office building and whether the ICT facilities you have are able to support homeworking, an ict active survey offers an easy way to assess the ICT capabilities of your property and offers independent advice and help in improving your ICT facilities. To book an assessment, find out more about how ict active could help you or for any other general enquiries, please contact us on 0845 111 4122, or fill in the form on the contact page.