BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
VIRTUAL WORKING
Insights on Virtual working
Over one in three (36%) start-up businesses have a preference for a ‘virtual working’ environment, according to new research from communication management specialist Yac
They surveyed 512 of customers, specifically those just embarking on setting up in business, for their views on the office environment they wanted to create.
Those businesses opting for a virtual office tended to be in the service sectors, and most identified the flexibility of such a set up as the primary benefit (81%), enabling them to work from anywhere whilst still being connected to their customers via the phone and email.
The lack of overheads such as premises was also a key factor (69%), as was being able to offer staff a more varied and flexible working environment (62%). Of those respondents that favoured virtual working:
- 75% felt they were likely to move their ‘office’ location during their first six months of trading, and so didn’t want to be tied down to one address
- 85% did not have the funds to set up a permanent office, and therefore favoured technology that enabled them to work from any location
During the first few years of a new business, many entrepreneurs work extended hours, especially as they may be the only staff member, or have access to a limited team.
Those surveyed by Yac also noted the value of a virtual office in enabling them to work more flexible hours, without having to be sat in an office or behind a desk. Whether this is to answer customer calls or emails outside of the usual office hours or simply being connected at weekends in order to handle any customer or supplier communication.
Ian Osborne, Chief Executive of Yacs states that :
“It is evident from our research that creating a stable virtual environment is a key factor for many start-ups. With the technology available today, small businesses can easily stay connected with their customers, giving them the ability to work from home, an office or when on the move, without jeopardising the service they deliver.
For start-ups especially, setting up a traditional office environment can be very expensive. And the nature of being a start-up business, and the long hours and investment this often requires, can be more conducive to a flexible way of working. It’s clear that employees too value the ability to work from outside of the traditional office space, and recent research in the market has shown this to be a contributing factor in staff loyalty and motivation.
The capability to work virtually also enables start-ups to easily ‘scale up’ their business depending on need, such as adding new staff who may be part-time, home workers or contracted through short term outsource agreements, based in multiple locations.”
So what is virtual working?
Virtual working is based on the premise that people do not necessarily need to be in the same location to get the job done. It has been driven by improvements in technology such as email, mobile phone and internet which means there is less of a need to be office or desk bound.
A virtual team consists of a group of skilled people who work together on a project but aren’t necessarily in the same location – often they work from home - and in some instances, colleagues never actually see each other, communicating only by phone, fax and email.
Virtual teams can be project-based, product based, service and support teams, cross-border management teams, or instant response teams pulled together to address emergency situation. They can of course also be people trying to make a living and build a business at the same time, requiring the expertise of other workers in areas that will support the company.
Who works in virtual teams?
Most self-employed consultants and writers are already essentially ‘virtual’ workers. Sales teams and engineers have been doing it in some organisation for decades. The concept is not new. What is important is to make the way of working work for you.
If you’re just starting out, then you need to consider what skills you require from your virtual colleagues, which areas or your business you’ll need support with and how long you’ll need to work together with them – is it just to get the business established, or for a longer period?
If you a running a larger organisation then the business case has to be identified in terms of how it will make the company perform better. Remember, just because you can work virtually does not mean that you have to. Be clear why you are doing it. Will it make you more productive or more profitable? Or are you the kind of company where daily interaction is what gets the job done?
The growth of low cost telecoms such as email and Virtual Private Networks, Wi-Fi Hot Spots, home-working & teleworking, the need for staff to be productive whilst travelling, and the increasing number of projects in which several firms collaborate, have all led to the emergence of a new form of team working. Although staff members continue to work with colleagues based in the same offices, they can now also expect to find themselves working more often with colleagues based at their homes, in different departments, or even travelling to or based in other countries. They could also be working as part of a team with people from other companies on a particular project - perhaps never actually meeting these people face to face.
This mixture of new technology and new patterns of work is what has become known as
“Virtual Working”. Another driver for the growth in this new, virtual working pattern is the increased emphasis on work/life balance. In April 2003, new flexible working rights were introduced by the UK Government. This gave working parents with children under 6 the right to request flexible working. There are3.8 million people who fit this category in the UK.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development conducted research in October 2003 on the impact. 28% of employers saw an increase in requests for flexible working, and 62% have approved at least half of all such requests.
The research also found that 91% of employers were prepared to consider requests for flexible working from all staff.
A recent survey of graduates by Price Waterhouse Coopers also found that the number one motivation to work with any company was not the money or opportunities for travel, but the work / life balance offered. Virtual working is a way of offering this - and, as importantly, it’s a way of making sure that your business is the best placed it can be to adapt and grow. More and more of us will be engaged in Virtual Working.
Types of virtual teams and technology
According to the business consultants, MaST International, there are 4 types of virtual teams Each team may have different reporting structures, may meet - or may not, and might well have perhaps conflicting goals:
• Departmental Virtual Teams - people who work for the same department, but could be based in different places - e.g. sales reps out of the office or working from home.
Typical technological aids to the problems faced by such a team might include email,
VPNs, PDAs, Smart Phones, Wi-Fi, Voice over Internet Protocol - VoIP (e.g. Skype) Videoconferencing, Data-conferencing ,Intranets and other forms of Teleworking etc.
• Company Virtual Teams - normally people who work for the same company but within different departments and possibly locations. Aids to the problems faced by such teams
might include email, Intranets, Wide Area Networks, Voice over Internet Protocol - VoIP
(e.g. Skype) Video-conferencing, Data conferencing etc.
• Organisational Virtual Teams - made up of people who do not all work for the same firm.
An example might be a marketing team, working in partnership with an external design
Agency, carrying out particular work on their behalf. Aids to the problems faced by such teams might include email, Extranets, Voice over Internet Protocol - VoIP (e.g. Skype) Videoconferencing, Data-conferencing.
• Multiple Virtual Teams made up of a mixture of virtual teams: an example might be a cross department team, all based in different locations, that also works with an external supplier based in another country. Aids to the problems faced by such teams might include email, Extranets, Voice over Internet Protocol - VoIP (e.g. Skype) Video- conferencing, Data-conferencing.
Leadership and team culture
Technologically speaking, the problems faced by such working arrangements are fairly straightforward.
What is likely to not be straightforward – and could cause difficulty if unaddressed - are the managerial and team aspects of such arrangements.
The issues are likely to revolve around:
· Trust between team members
· Communication issues
· Common values, standards and behaviours across the team
· Team culture issues
· Project evaluation
All the above are leadership and managerial issues anyway - however, the virtual aspect of the relationships tend to magnify the issues.
USEFUL LINKS
Hire freelancers to help as part of a virtual team or register to become a freelancer :
Download SKYPE free enabling teleconferencing
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/get-skype/
FREE Office Software
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/free-office-software
Other useful links
Books on being an Entrepreneur