Over the last twelve months we have seen more and more businesses equip staff with flexible working technology such as, unified communications, lap tops, mobile phones and headsets, which have enabled staff to work remotely, minimising the impact the recent tube strikes have had on their top line profits. In addition, we have also noticed business, across a variety of working environments, equipping mission critical staff with technology that supports flexible working practices, allowing employees to work from home in instances where they have been unable to get into the office. Communication with colleagues and customers is crucial to the success of any businesses, and as we saw in the news with the recent tube strikes, many businesses were left hamstrung because they did not had the right technology in place to support flexible working.
Tube strikes are not new. In fact, if anything, they seem to occur more regularly as issues around job and pension cuts increasingly come to the fore. As such, businesses should have put measures in place by now to enable them to overcome them. At Plantronics we have equipped 95% of our staff with flexible working technology which means that our employees are able to work just as effectively whether in the office, on the road, or working from home. However, there are still many companies that have not; and it is frustrating when you consider the amount of money invested in ensuring IT uptime, only for staff to be on forced downtime because they cannot reach the office and lack the supporting technologies necessary to work remotely.”