Home is where the office is

Factsheet: Work from home, as if you're in the office

We've all seen the surveys about creating a better work-life balance and we all want to do it.

Even our recent research with the IoD showed that collaborative working and providing home working were the biggest priorities for around a quarter of all companies. Still, few of us actually achieve it, despite new technologies to do it being readily available.

The reasons people give for not working from home is often the complexity and cost of setting up a system that gives them secure access to everything they need from the office. This was true a couple of years ago, but not anymore.

Home or remote working used to mean taking reams of paper and files home, and only being in touch with the office by telephone and fax. But in today's broadband and mobile world, home workers can be virtually in the office and access the same systems and documents as they can from their desks.

We're great believers in offering staff the option of working from home, and currently have over 6,000 home workers across the company, and the number is rising all the time.

The first and most important consideration for any company should be around communications. Remote workers need to be contactable during their working day, through a range of media. As a result, they need a landline, mobile and internet connection at the very least. This will allow them to easily keep in touch with clients and colleagues, and continue to work as an integral part of the team.

Communication has become increasingly mobile, so a broadband internet connection is perhaps the most critical. It provides remote workers with more than just high-speed surfing and faster email. It opens up a range of tools making the life of a home or remote worker easier.

High-speed internet allows users to securely access services, such as hosted email, as well as collaboration tools, and provides a secure link to the company's server or network. It also provides the opportunity to use services such as Voice over IP telephone and data backup services.

The latest email, messaging and collaboration tools are delivered using technology developed with Microsoft, which provides a starting point for companies looking to allow staff to work remotely.

Our Hosted Exchange services, such as Business Email, offer even the smallest company a choice of options, ranging from basic email access to fully functional collaboration platforms.

In its simplest form, it allows users to access their Outlook inbox, calendar, address book and folders over the Web from home or anywhere there is an internet connection. The same information can also be accessed via internet enabled devices such as PDAs and
BlackBerries, should they been on the move.

The additional collaborative tools offer the ability to share information and services, such as company-wide calendars, address books and folders. Users can access these services wherever they are, via their desktop, a remote web browser or a mobile device.

One of the other benefits is these hosted services generally provide the latest anti-virus and anti-spam protection and ensure information is fully backed up, as well as 24/7 support.

For those that don't have the hosted service, there are a range of support, security and backup services designed to work over broadband that can be used to make ensure time is spent concentrating on business, rather than IT issues.

Remote IT support services provide piece of mind to users that any IT issues can be resolved over the phone, or by the IT-consultant on the helpdesk taking control of the machine over the internet. They are also on hand 24 hours per day to answer any queries or discuss future IT requirements or setup.

Backup is also an important part of working remotely. Larger businesses generally have a procedure in place, but only 17 per cent of all companies backup remotely. For a minimum charge, starting at £5 per month, automated services allow users to set backup to happen daily, so the minimum amount of data is lost should disaster strike.

There are also important security challenges for home workers, similar to those faced in the office. For example, data security could be compromised if employees working from home use their work computer for personal purposes and download data from suspect web sites. The best way to overcome this is to provide staff with a computer and make it clear it's for business use only.

Similarly, make sure anti-virus and firewall software is installed on computers and the machines and network are password protected. Also make sure home workers have read and understood the company's IT policies and know their responsibilities around security.

Technology is making home working easier and more cost effective, and we have a number of professional services clients that use BT's services - from basic broadband access through to fully hosted collaboration tools - to enable staff to work from home on a regular basis in order to improve their work life balance.

One BT broadband customer in Cheshire, made the decision for all staff to work from home, which has enabled him to close one of his branches and re-use the capital in other areas of the business. Using a range of tools, including email and Voice over IP telephones for staff to keep in touch, he has cut costs across the business and improved the quality of his staff's work/life balance.

This highlights an increasing trend across the small business market, where companies are providing home working facilities for directors, which then filter down through the business until everyone has the option. This is set to continue as home working becomes safer, easier and more cost effective.

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