Businesses Out Of Touch With Their Employees

Common perceptions regarding the productivity of home workers challenged in annual UK small business investigation

LONDON, 18th January 2010 Businesses are failing to recognise the link between productivity, innovation and competitive advantage, according to a comprehensive national study across more than 1200[1] office-based small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the UK.

The survey revealed that over half (55%) of employers failed to see that remote working policies could increase employee productivity, for example by allowing staff to utilise more of their day or by enabling greater opportunity to concentrate on thought-intensive tasks.

oneDrum (www.oneDrum.com), the UK start-up which commissioned the research, today warns SMBs that they will lose competitive advantage if they do not streamline work processes and deploy flexible working policies to increase staff productivity. According to oneDrum CEO Jasper Westaway, a more productive workforce will have more time and energy for creative and strategic thinking, leading in turn to greater innovation and competitive advantage.

Key Findings:

·             Over 80% of employees felt they would be productive when working from home or remotely because they would be less distracted by meeting interruptions allowing them to spend more time on particular projects.

·             One quarter (24%) of employees interviewed stated that they found themselves working from home more this year than they did last year.

·             If this trend were extrapolated, then in less than five years we could see 100% of employees of office-based SMBs in the UK working from home at least part of the time.

·             Nearly three quarters (72%) of employers revealed that they offer staff the option to work from home, but 61% of employees never do.

·             Even though one third (33%) of employees said they could do all or most of their job from home.

·             Over half (55%) of employers failed to see that flexible working policies could increase employee productivity.

The top reasons quoted for not deploying a flexible working policy were:

·          “Employees need access to documents that aren’t accessible outside of the office”

·         “We do not have the necessary technology in place do so”.

Graham Jones, Internet Psychologist, added: “After earning money, the most important reason for going to work is social – being with other people. What this means for companies trying to benefit from the flexibility of remote working is the need for an efficient system of sharing documents and easy online working, so that employees can then spend the remainder of their time chatting with each other in online social networking groups or even on the phone. In the past, remote document sharing systems were cumbersome and time consuming – and that meant people who worked from home felt isolated as they didn’t have time to connect with their colleagues. Using flexible and easy-to-use online document sharing systems to free-up time so people can socialise with their work colleagues is an essential component in making remote working possible.”

Jasper Westaway, founder and CEO of oneDrum, commented: “Employers need to streamline processes to work staff smarter, not harder. By offering a more flexible working policy, employers make their staff more productive, allowing room for more creative and strategic thinking – two essential catalysts for innovation. Where there is strength in strategy and innovation, there is healthy competitive advantage and a more motivated workforce.

“Many respondents stated that working from home wasn’t an option because they needed access to documents and colleagues. With the range of collaboration technologies available to us today, and the Digital Economy Bill pledge for broadband in every home by 2012, this barrier to remote working should be removed. However, SMBs will need to identify solutions that truly meet their needs and budgets, as well as trust both the technology and their employees to treat their data with care and attention,” Westaway continued.

Further Findings:

·             33% of employees interviewed could do all or most of their job from home, while three quarters (75%) answered that they could do at least part of their job from home.

·             SMB office workers in London and the South East are more likely to work from home regularly than their counterparts in the rest of the UK, while those in Wales and Northern Ireland are most likely to work from home at least some of the time (see map for regional breakdown)

·             To review the study in more detail, download the analysis report from the oneDrum website: www.onedrum.com.

Filed Under: Business News