Why telework can be a lifesaver for growing SMEs
June 6, 2010
Business is starting to pick up and there are signs of tentative growth in many areas of the economy, but it would be unwise to assume the worst is over.
Telework and other flexible working methods can help a young company avoid painful and sometimes fatal growing pains. I have seen many a successful micro-enterprise founder as it tries to grow, most often this is either due to the founder being unable to adapt to managing a larger organisation or the cumulative effects of infrastructure changes imposing constraints on company resources.
In the latter case the growth pattern is not governed by sales or staffing, but by infrastructure. The point is that moving offices is time and resource consuming, expensive, and generally intensely irritating for all involved. Although good planning and project management can significantly reduce the disruption of a move, don’t forget that the person responsible will be using their time and resources, probably to the detriment of other activities.
Some of the issues that commonly arise when the business premises are nearing capacity:
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Postpone recruitment until new premises are available.
A lack of office space means that it is difficult to recruit the people you want, when you need them. Trying to pack people into an already crowded environment is not a great incentive, and generally impacts the productivity of all concerned. Postponing essential recruitment until space is available can mean lost opportunities in markets and recruiting talent.
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Recruit too many new staff because space is available
The aftermath of the first issue. Having moved into a larger office, there is a temptation to be too lax in recruitment criteria which can result in underemployed and unsuitable staff.
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Moving office can result in a 5% reduction in annual productivity.
Just consider the process of moving, even using professional movers. Preparing key papers and documents, securing key electronic data, finding lost items, resolving unforeseen infrastructure problems, and re-establishing a workable comfort zone. If something can go wrong it will, and if disruption lasts for less than 5 days you will have done well.
I have known fast growing companies that have been forced to move 4 times in two years, and the cumulative strain on business has been significant.
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Opening a branch office causes management crises
To exploit new geographic opportunities some organisations feel it necessary to open a branch office. This can often result in duplication not only of infrastructure but administration as well. The challenge of suddenly having to manage a team remotely can be catastrophic due to lack of experience with remote management.
Flexible working methods offer remedies
Cramped conditions are not conducive to productivity, so why not use hot-desking and telework for established employees and free up some real estate to enable the new recruits to spend their induction in less cramped surroundings. At minimum it will provide time to find the best possible accommodation for the future, at best it will enable a seamless path for expansion without the need for new premises.
Telework from home, or the office?
April 5, 2009
With Telework very much on the agenda again driven by the desire to be a good corporate citizen and reduce commuting carbon footprint, reduce real estate costs and improve general productivity. The only problem is that many home environments are unsuitable for dedicated teleworkers, and in some cases local legislation can be very unfriendly to home offices, insisting that they comply with health and safety regulations applicable to formal office environments.
Home environments can be unsuitable for several reasons:
- A simple lack of space.
The kitchen table may be good for a couple of hours but not as a permanent environment. - A family at home.
The excitement of having a key family member permanently accessible can prove too much of a temptation for some partners, and the discipline involved can cause family strains. - Infrastructure.
Despite massive investments many areas still do not have access to consistently good broadband communications. This can give problems with video conferences, and SaaS environments. - Your home may be fine but neighbours may not be adapted to a working environment. It is surprising how distracting lawnmowers, pumps, drills, barking dogs, pools etc. can be when trying to work.
- An office at home can lead to being always accessible. For many this is not an issue or can easily be controlled, but continual binge working can be dangerous for your health both physical and social.
Now this may sound like I’m rubbishing telework, no far from it, it means that the telework location needs to be carefully thought out. In the early days of the telework movement there was a lot of focus on telecentres or telecottages. These would be centres local to the teleworkers’ homes where they could work, share expensive equipment, high speed internet connections and at the same time have access to shared expertise and training. There were variations on this, satellite offices operated by employers close to where the employees lived, office centres where facilities could be rented by the hour, day, week or whatever period is needed, or more recently individual companies offering to rent out one or more desks in their own underutilised office environment.
For various reason the telecentre has not become a major part of the telework scenario, although in some countries it is stronger than others. The main reason is that technology costs have come down to the level where they do not need to be shared, and the systems and communications are sufficiently reliable not to need a technician at hand all the time. However shared office centres have gained a lot of custom especially for the mobile teleworkers who need to have access to quality facilities in many locations, but in general these facilities can be expensive to justify for many would be teleworkers.
The final category is that of office sharing, and this is gaining increased attention as companies need to cover the costs of unused office space. This may be because it was surplus to requirements anyway, or their own telework programme had liberated space, or because of staff reductions, whatever the reason it makes sense to use it rather than just let it be an overhead. There are quite a few web-sites offering information on these offers, and in many cases the costs involved are similar to the real cost of setting up and maintaining a home office.
If you are putting together a telework program, considering requesting telework from your employer or just setting out on your own business, I suggest you take a look at the sharing option, it overcomes a lot of issues associated with working from home whist retaining many of the advantages.
Here are a couple of sites as an example:
If anyone know of other sites around the world offering similar services, or have experience of using them, do let me know.
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