smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Forthcoming legislation is set to extend the rights of employees who wish to work from home. Here Ollie Chivers, head of business marketing at T-Mobile, and SmallBusiness.co.uK, show you how to get remote working right.

After April employers will need a valid business reason for refusing flexible working requests from employees with children up to the age of 16, following government legislation. But there’s no need to be intimidated by the legalities.

If you have the appropriate technology and policies in place, equipping more of your workforce to work remotely can have significant cost-reduction benefits – such as driving down office space expenditure and utility bills. It can also improve your staff’s work/life balance, your response to customer enquiries and overall business productivity.

The right technology

Assessing the needs of the remote user will help you to decide which devices they require. If their off-site duties are mainly email related they may be best suited to a PDA or smartphone. Those working with Word, PowerPoint or Excel would benefit from using a USB Modem, which they can attach to their laptop.

Also, network speeds can differ across the country so consider the geographical location of your staff and the network coverage in the areas they visit most regularly. A ‘try before you buy’ trial can ensure that you invest in the right technology for your location.

Keep in touch

You will need to stay in regular contact with your remote workers. This can be achieved by using multiple communication channels – such as mobile, landline, email, videoconferencing and instant messaging – so staff always have a point of access that suits their work practices, a sense of inclusion and team cohesion.

Package deals

To avoid ‘bill shock’, find a network operator offering a business tariff which combines voice, texts, data and international calls. This will lead to greater savings, increased transparency with bills and more control over spending.

Software protection

Establishing a mobile workforce is not without its challenges. Moving sensitive company information into public environments could put your company at risk. To mitigate this concern it is essential to secure your broadband network.

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