Work at home is all the rage, despite the recent public protestations of Yahoo!’s CEO and the move by Best Buy to reverse its policy allowing employees to work virtually. But with telework still very much a reality, companies must make sure work-at-homers are as productive as their in-office brethren.
Services can help make that happen. And Officescape’s Telework Management Platform is one of the newest of these services.
Officescape offers quite a range of office services, including office space rental and support staff contracting such as secretarial work, phone answering, and mail services. These services are often used by small companies, independent workers and remote offices.
The telework service addresses how these programs are administered and how policies are enforced. “It brings all of the essential components of a successful telework and mobility program together in one place and allows convenient, controlled access for users, managers and executives, from a web-based interface. Using this platform, organizations can have real-time reporting and statistics at their fingertips and can make informed decisions about the future of their telework program, with business objectives in mind,” the company detailed.
Officescape is well aware of the continuing controversy over telework, but believes good management, rather than getting rid of telework programs, is the answer. One issue is that management doesn’t always have visibility into a dispersed workforce, or even understands the breath of their existing telework force.
“Using Officescape’s cost-effective telework platform, each telework component can be administered, accessed and managed in one place, with customized and automated reporting available at any time. Teleworkers can login to the platform to access and utilize assigned services, submit PTO requests, reserve on-demand or hoteling space and communicate with other teleworkers via private instant messaging or Web phone,” the company said.
And with Telework530, a consulting service, clients tap Officescape experts to develop a telework program, and train key stakeholders.
On the network side, Officescape offers teleworkers a managed business-class broadband service to make sure the network doesn’t hold back remote productivity.
Other services include:
- Telesecure Computing, which uses thin clients and smart cards to deliver a VPN and desktop services
- Telesecure Voice, a secure VoIP offering
- Business Continuity, which provides an on-demand office for times when a teleworker’s system or the corporate system is down
Business Association Backs the Virtual Workforce
With all the publicity over moves by Yahoo! and Best Buy, the National Association for Business Resources (NABR) CEO, Jennifer Kluge, decided to weigh in. NABR for years has worked with the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, learning what makes for a great and productive work environment. Turns out, a virtual workforce is part of that great and productive approach.
"It's unfortunate that the decisions by Yahoo and Best Buy to move away from having virtual employees comes at a time when technology, accessibility of good talent and the realities of family life are converging to create a climate that increasingly supports the value of virtual work," Kluge said. "Technology has made it possible for companies of any size to hire the best workers, no matter where they are located or the particulars of their home situation, promoting both employee productivity and work-life balance."
Kluge also points to the white paper, "Engaging Virtual Employees: Innovative Approaches to Fostering Community," which shows that telework helps companies hire great talent and keep great workers.
Edited by
Braden Becker
