Remote working boosts productivity but managers don’t trust workers

The data shows managers are reluctant to move people away from desk-based operation and what BT and Nortel see as “outdated working models”. In what looks like a pretty clear bid to drum up business for the pair, John Wright, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, says: “This boils down to a matter of trust… Last week’s bad weather demonstrated the need for British businesses to enable their employees to be productive, wherever they are.” John Dovey, IT services director at BT Business, makes the point that today’s unified communications – integrating voice, data, fixed and wireless business channels – allows teams to work together, answer calls and customer queries, wherever they are. He also says that managers can check productivity right down to the number of calls and emails being made and answered. Costs and duplicate work are reduced, he suggests, because all customer, supplier and partner contact is reduced to a single communications system. “BT’s 70,000 flexible workers have saved us £500 million in building costs and 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide,” says Dovey. “We can effectively manage our employees and have seen a 30% rise in productivity. By unifying communications systems, our business customers can be more responsive to new opportunities and customer enquiries wherever they are.” And he insists that faster reaction and fulfilment times are a positive way to increase customer satisfaction, increase loyalty and encourage growth. “These technologies can also help to attract and retain staff through flexible working,” he adds.