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In this ever changing world of globalisation and technology advancement, where more and more businesses are outsourcing work to low cost service centres and people are working more flexibly, businesses are having to adapt how they work by using virtual teams to maintain a competitive edge.
Author: Clare Johnston Consultant at i3Works
The number of people working from home in the UK has reached its highest level according to the Office for National Statistics. In 2014, 4.2 million people worked from home which accounts for 13.9% of the population. Being in the office from 9 to 5 is no longer the key to organisational productivity and forward-thinking companies are driving their innovation by finding smarter ways to work.
Technology now allows us to work virtually from almost anywhere and can lead to added benefits of employee wellbeing and increased productivity. Costs are kept down for both the employee and the employer as commuting and office space is reduced. By giving employees the flexibility that they need, work-life balance is maintained and people are more motivated and accountable. Working with virtual teams gives businesses the ability to grow and develop quickly without the risk of committing to large infrastructure and overhead costs.
i3Works has a thriving virtual workforce and here are some of the hints and tricks to help your organisation work smarter:
Technology
- Use cloud computing tools such as Office 365 which allow employees to work from anywhere on any device. With online storage, work can be accessed, edited and shared between colleagues in real-time
- Virtual teams can feel isolated, so to support communication and collaboration use Skype for Business for calls, video conferences, messaging and file sharing
- There are lots of intuitive on-line tools coming to the market such as Yammer, Trello and Slack that enable and help drive collaborative working and communication
People
- Flexible working allows for a more diverse workforce leading to more efficient, dynamic teams
- Have tangible deliverables with interdependent tasks so that employees become accountable and responsible for their work, aiding development and productivity
- Hold regular reviews with the team to share lessons learned and celebrate successes and accomplishments
In the ever developing, global business environment, virtual teams offer a modern, flexible and innovative method to ensure a smarter way to work, and hopefully success.
References:
Office for National Statistics – Record proportion of people in employment are home workers
