The prevalence of telecommuting and home-based businesses is on the rise. In fact, the U.S. Small Business Administration reports that more than half of all U.S. businesses are based out of an owner’s home. Additionally, 2005-2014 American Community Survey data reports that Fortune 1000 companies are revamping their spaces because employees are already not at their desk 50-60% of the time. This trend is likely to continue, with 80% to 90% of the U.S. workforce reporting they would like to telework at least part-time, according to GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com.
These types of work arrangements are a win-win for employees and employers. Employees see it as a way to be more productive and have more work/life balance, and employers are realizing telecommuting and working from home allow them to retain talented workers. The question, then, is not if you should allow telecommuting, but what do you need to do to make it a success?
Home-based businesses and telecommuters need set-up and ongoing networking support so they have the same access to a technology infrastructure as they would if they were located at a company facility. If your technology infrastructure is not working properly, then business suffers—in downtime, lost revenue and perhaps, most importantly, damaged reputation.
Studies show that lost time due to telecom and computer network issues is the single largest technology expense to a business. To be successful, home-based businesses and telecommuting work arrangements must have:
- Secure network/secure data to protect your privacy and information
- Reliable, fast network
- Connectivity across devices
Telepoint can help you determine what you need, the best way to deploy it and what needs to be done to continue to leverage technology for bottom-line results. We remotely monitor the critical aspects of every phone system and computer’s security and performance around the clock, allowing us to anticipate and correct many issues before they occur. Call us today for a consultation.
Telepoint, a company of The Brookfield Group, provides phone system solutions and IT services to businesses of all sizes.
