Intranet

In the recent spell of snowy weather, absenteeism reached up to 14% per day due to the extreme weather conditions, hitting the economy adversely to the tune of £0.5 billion per day in the UK. For a fair percentage of those unable to reach their place of employment, there was the chance to work from home. Some workers were able to operate reasonably productively working from home, and indeed others may have found the calm and quiet of their home a boon to projects needing peaceful attention.

With the January Big Freeze still fresh in people’s minds, it is a good time to consider the arrangements and benefits of Virtual Working. This would mitigate the risk of lost productivity when conditions make it difficult to attend the office, but more importantly it offers real benefits to employee, employer and clients.

My own company follows a virtual business model. There’s no head office where workers are expected to commute to. Our management team and consultants work primarily based from their own homes, or in situ with clients.

When it came to the support systems we planned to use, we realised that we would be better using systems already developed and on the (internet) shelf. Some of these have basic level memberships which are free for the user, and a good way to familiarise oneself before committing to a subscription for a more premium level membership. We use Huddle for secure online workspaces. We can share, edit and store documents easily, safely and securely, and use the white board facility to exchange ideas internally and externally. Skype gives us an essential face to face communication tool, though we use video conferencing for multiple “attendees”. There are further on line tools for, for example, CRM, direct marketing and accounting which are readily available.

Even with the collaborative tools mentioned we don’t profess virtual office life to be the same as meeting at the photocopier, but they do support the creation of an office environment. We have had to work with our teams in different ways, and change ways of thinking about achieving goals. Managing our virtual office required a shift of mindset from attendance to delivery – measuring people’s output, not their hours of work, number of emails sent, nor presence.

Leaders in virtual companies have particular challenges to face. Many of the employees will have grown up with social media, SMS and the like, so may have a better handle on the technologies than their seniors in the organisation. Leaders can be facilitators to the virtual social and working process; they can support the development of robust virtual relationships and smooth the progress of effective communication. They should be looking to align company structure, supported by the right technology to ensure that tasks are completed effectively.

Because micromanaging isn’t possible in the virtual office, workers are free to work with less interference and more self-management. As with managers in this environment, it can take a little time to adjust and become accomplished at being a virtual worker. When recruiting, consider whether a potential new team member has the desire to communicate and the skills to maintain connectivity and credibility while working away from the office. They should display a desire to learn; be a self starter; be disciplined in their work pattern, and be a good listener. Employees in virtual organisations see the benefits of reduced costs and stress of commuting, and the flexibility to work the hours of the day which suit them best. We encourage people to work and network where it suits them, be that their home, internet cafes, libraries or other locations.

And of course this works two ways. We can tap in to a rich seam of talent which we might not have been able to entice if working with us required a move to be in commuting distance of a centralised office. We can retain those people if their circumstances change (a move for a partner’s needs for example). Absenteeism is limited. We see our associates being able to maintain a positive work and family balance. Our overheads related to office space and equipment are reduced.

These benefits reach clients too. Virtual companies can offer very competitive rates for products and services, in part facilitated by lower overheads costs. Clients can use the collaborative tools described above, eg a joint workspace in Huddle where they then have immediate access to all the documentation related to the project being worked on. In effect it’s like an intranet system and they can review and work on the project files at a time to suit them. If anything, it’s suggested customers receive better and closer contact than from traditional bricks and mortar companies.

Face to face time should still remain important. There should still be a programme of meetings with clients, and potentially associates might plan to get together on a regional or functional basis. Even taking in to account these get-togethers, there is no doubt that the carbon footprints of virtual companies would be a small fraction of those of comparable centralised organisations.

If you want to become a strong boss and your managers to be strong managers the MA Consulting Coaching programme can help you. Call +441656 766363 or visit our website http://www.maconsultinginternational.com or http://www.macintsustainchange.com

Jean-Bertrand de Lartigue has enjoyed a successful career as a General Manager and Finance Director in international business. With over 20 years experience with Motorola in 5 different countries, he has an exemplary track record of managing a sizeable organisation during a time of change. JB is the co founder of HR2all Ltd and MA Consulting International Limited.

A strategic and visionary thinker, JB is able to provide clear leadership and to develop individuals and teams of people to achieve beyond their expectations.

Specialities:

Finance, Human Resources, Strategy, General Management, Corporate Turn Around