Why home working could save your business stress and money

Embracing home working or remote working on a regular basis will enable a smooth transition to working from home for businesses when weather or travel disruption prevents staff from getting to the office says Ed Watts, sales director of Chicane Voice & Data.

Following the widespread disruption caused by the Beast of the East and Storm Emma last week, economic analysts predict the bad weather will have cost the economy £1bn a day in lost productivity and GDP growth could be halved in the first three months of 2018. This is likely to be the most costly weather event since 2010, when freezing temperatures and snow brought the economy to a standstill a week before Christmas.

Thousands of employees across Suffolk were forced to work from home or take the day as holiday as schools and nurseries closed.

Thankfully, while the Beast from the East is a fairly rare occurrence in the region, giving staff the right tools to work from home is paramount to business continuity and success and need not be complicated, according to Ed from Chicane Voice & Data, which provides phone and data services.

“With the right systems and technology in place, making the transition towards flexible and remote working is simple,” said Ed.

“The key to adopting a successful contingency plan and mitigating risk is to embrace working from home as part of business as usual. Where possible businesses should embrace home working where it makes sense to ensure the technology works, the business can function and employees are comfortable using it.

“Then when the Beast for the East strikes again, or the Orwell Bridges closes, and you need to engage your contingency plan, you can just scale up and you’re fully prepared.”

It has been reported that 72% of organisations both large and small are still using old fashioned technology such as desk phones, tying their workforce to the office. These outdated systems and technology can add to the pressure and prevent continuity during disruptive weather or traffic.

Ed added: “Advances in technology in recent years has made mobile working a simpler and more cost effective solution. Tools such as VoIP systems allow employers to easily redirect calls from the office.”

To find out how to roll out the technology to facilitate a seamless transition to working from home, contact Chicane Voice & Data.