Do you allow your staff to work remotely? Depending on your business, this might be an essential part of the way you work. But beyond sales teams and home workers, some businesses are actively encouraging staff to take up mobile working.

So can working outside the office really work? There’s been a lot of debate about the issue, not least in February 2013 when new Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer withdrew remote working for all employees. Much publicity (and more than a few resignations) followed.

The reality is that, despite all the publicity, remote or mobile working is happening. According to research by IDC, by 2015 the mobile worker population will be 1.3 billion - that’s 37.2% of the workforce. And company chiefs think that 50% of employees will work from home within the next decade [Virgin Media Business].

So, what are the benefits for business and how can you make the most of it?

What remote working means in reality

When you think about remote working, what springs to mind? Working from home, maybe sales teams on the road. But it’s wider than that. Really, it’s working any place that isn’t your office.

These are some of the most popular places for staff to work remotely:

And with the new flexible working regulations which came into place on 30 June this year, there may be more requests to work away from the office.

So what’s in it for you?

The benefits of working remotely

There are a number of advantages to working remotely, both for your staff and for the business.

A survey by Microsoft found that staff felt the top 10 benefits were:

And the benefits for your business include:

Cost savings and efficiencies

Having staff in the office costs money. In fact, the average office costs £6,000 per head per year, so allowing staff to work remotely can significantly reduce your overheads.

It’s also possible that you may be able to offer mobile working as a benefit and reduce your salary overhead too. Research from Arise shows:

• 58% of workers would take a pay cut to be able to work from home
• 25% would be happy with a lower salary if they could avoid their commute

Finally, there’s good news on efficiency too. Flexible working slashes absenteeism from 8.5% to 3.1% so you’ll reap the benefits of healthier employees with less time off work. And if they are sick, they won’t be bringing those germs into the office, which minimises the spread of illness too.

Access to new workers

Do you struggle to recruit qualified staff? Remote working could be the answer. Many people who don’t currently work would consider going back to the workplace if they could work more flexibly.

60% of mature workers say they would take up teleworking if it was available. They’d also delay retirement by an average of 6.6 years, so you’d get the benefit of their experience for longer.

And 74% of people who are currently not working would consider going back if they could work remotely.

Challenges

So, is it all good news? It’s true that to effectively manage mobile workers, you do need the right processes in place.

One of the challenges is the lack of face-to-face time with your team. According to a Regus survey, 49% of managers worry about how remote workers spend their time. However, 45% think effective management of remote workers is achievable with the right skills and training.

Other issues arise around access to information. In a Microsoft survey, 50% of workers said they lacked the right tools to allow them to work remotely.

But smaller business fare better than big ones when it comes to connecting to the office. Only 16% of couldn’t access systems away from the office vs 24% in bigger businesses.

We’ll look at some of the ways that managers can ensure their workers are well-connected.

Get the right solutions for your remote workers

Hardware that’s not hard-wired

Having the right hardware is vital for allowing your staff to remain connected when they’re out and about.

Don’t automatically assume that staff who work remotely will need a laptop. Many people now use tablets instead - research by Holiday Inn Express found that 58% of mobile workers travel without a laptop.

Using a tablet or mobile phone reduces weight and makes travelling easier. 32% of workers now rely on more than one mobile device during the day, according to research by Cisco.

If cost is an issue for you, consider allowing staff to use their own device to access your work systems. This trend - called BYOD or Bring Your Own Device - is growing, with 81% of companies now allowing use of personal devices for work.

Software that works wherever you do

You’ll also need to allow staff to have access to the right software and systems. With the rise of video calls and shared folders in places like Dropbox, it’s now easier to share information and stay in touch with other people. Some businesses now work entirely remotely, which would have been harder a few years ago.

As well as using cloud storage and systems like Skype, you’ll also need to ensure your software is available. This can be via remote access or over the cloud.

Some software also offers the best of both cloud and traditional hosting. For example, the new Sage 50 Accounts gives you the benefits of stable, reliable desktop software and the choice to also link your data in the cloud to easily share data with mobile workers.

What’s more, you can even connect when you don’t have internet access. The software allows you to get up-to-the-minute customer and product information even when Sage 50 Accounts isn’t running and you have no mobile network coverage.

Effective management of staff

Managing staff who work remotely requires a slightly different approach to managing those who are office-based. The key things are:

• Ensuring work is a good quality
• Making sure deadlines are met
• Giving staff the right support and advancement opportunities
• Helping staff to feel part of the team

The main thing is to keep communication flowing, with lots of conversations. This can be on the phone, over email, via Skype - whatever works for you and your team. Keeping people involved helps them understand how their role fits with the business and helps to motivate them.

Don’t think all calls need to be work-related - social calls also help to keep everyone connected and builds relationships. And don’t forget to invite remote workers to social events like Christmas parties and those drinks to celebrate the latest contract.

In terms of work, try to set clear targets so both you and the worker understand what’s expected. It helps remove opinions about performance and gives you something clear to measure against.

Don’t forget about training opportunities too. With new technology it’s often possible to share training via webcam so remote workers can access it via the internet. Think of ways that you can ensure your mobile workers can advance and keep discussing the options with them.

Finally, don’t forget to have regular one-to-one meetings to review their progress and how they feel about their work, the company and their working environment. This way, the business and your remote workers will continue to benefit from this style of working.