Making the Business Case for Remote Workers with VoIP. October 2012

(1)

October 2012

Making the Business Case for Remote

Workers with VoIP

(2)

Introduction

. . . . 03

About this guide

. . . . 03

Remote worker - some definitions

. . . . 04

Home-based versus remote workers

. . . . 04

Market Trends

. . . . 04

Inside the workplace - business related

. . . . 05

Outside the workplace - society related

. . . . 07

Key Business Benefits

. . . . 09

Enabling Technologies

. . . . 11

(3)

About this guide

This guide is the first in a two-part series examining the opportunity presented to businesses by remote working . Our analysis here is focused on defining and framing the opportunity . There is a plethora of trends driving the need for remote working, both specific to the workplace and more broadly to society at large . Once these have been considered, businesses must look at the associated benefits in terms of their impact on the organization as well as the performance of employees . On a more tactical level, IT decision makers need to understand the enabling technologies for remote working and then determine which ones make the most sense to support their business objectives within the existing infrastructure environment .

These topics comprise the scope of this guide, and will provide a solid foundation for understanding what the trend toward remote working could mean for

your business . Building on that, our next guide will address the key network considerations for IT to support remote workers as well as the key business level considerations to make the case to management and get their buy-in .

(4)

Remote worker – some definitions

Before moving forward with our analysis, some basic definitions are in order . The label “remote worker” is rather nebulous and is often used interchangeably with terms like “home worker”, “teleworker” or “telecommuter” . For our purposes, they all speak to the same basic scenario - an employee that works from home . This could include part timers, contract workers and freelancers, but generally, we’re looking at full-time employees . They may not account for all remote workers, but do represent the most important contingent in terms of impact on the business and IT budget allocation . There is another aspect to consider here . They may be full-time employees, but they may not work full-time from home . Some will certainly be 100% remote – and that population is growing – but others split time with being in the office . Most businesses encourage home-based workers to spend time at the office for a variety of reasons, but generally, these employees work primarily from home .

Home-based versus remote workers

Finally, an important distinction needs to be made between home-based and remote workers . While home-based workers are remote by nature, not all remote workers are home-based . Certain types of functions lend themselves well to being home-based, such as customer service or software developers . Other types, however, are more valuable to the business outside the office such as executives, sales or field service . To varying degrees, they spend time on the road, at the office or in a home-based office . Their communications needs are more challenging than home-based workers since they must rely on the connectivity available from wherever they are . Not only are they often in a remote location, but one that is in motion rather than being static, such as a car, train, airplane, or even elevator .

Market Trends

If given a choice, many people would prefer to work from home, even just to avoid the daily commute . Businesses, on the other hand, lose some control this way, and

(5)

5

Making the Business Case for Remote Workers with VoIP

worry that employees will be less productive and committed to their jobs as well as their employer . Both sides have legitimate concerns, and to strike a balance, business decision makers need to consider what’s going on around them . There are two types of trends that make remote working an attractive option, and they need to be considered collectively to get that balance .

Inside the workplace – business-related

Here are four trends impacting all businesses, not just in terms of how they operate but also for how they structure their work environment .

Globalization This is a given for most businesses these days, and typically requires some form of global presence to serve customers . Globalization is a strong driver for growth, especially if your local market has become too saturated with competitors or demand has peaked for your product . There will always be untapped markets for your products somewhere, and by thinking globally, the business often finds itself pursuing new customers far from home .

To enter these markets successfully, a local presence will be needed, either to establish partnerships or serve customers directly . This usually involves opening up a local office, which could be staffed either with dedicated personnel or on a more modest scale with home-based workers . Either way, the business will need to support some form of remote workers who have the localized familiarity needed to make the venture worthwhile .

The virtual organization This ties in closely with the globalization theme, and is an efficient way to scale the business . Technology plays a key role here, and by using tools like VoIP and video conferencing, businesses can expand operations quite easily and economically . A virtual organization means there is little or even no infrastructure to worry about, and in many cases all that is needed is an Internet connection to support remote workers . With the Web being borderless, virtual offices make sense anywhere – either locally or internationally, and some businesses can easily operate 100% virtually .

A key driver here is flexibility, whereby businesses can enter or exit markets as demand dictates . Agility is essential for global growth, and this approach allows businesses to move quickly as well as invest just the right amount of resources . No

(6)

longer must businesses be tied down to costly or lengthy office leases; and they can instead focus on getting the right expertise, which is where remote workers enter the picture . Perhaps most importantly, any size of business can go virtual, making

globalization a viable strategy regardless of size or location .

Cost reduction With a weak economy, this remains a universal theme, especially when serving a global customer base . Globalization is attractive by virtue of expanding your served market, but along with that comes more competition . As such, no matter what business you are in, there will always be lower cost providers . Unless your business has a sustainable competitive advantage that allows you to command premium pricing, the need to keep costs down will not diminish .

For most businesses, labor is a major cost factor if not the biggest . On a purely economic basis, remote workers - as in home-based - can go a long way in both absolute and relative terms . Home-based workers should lower your labor costs in absolute terms, especially if shifting from salaried employees to part time or contract workers . Even for salaried workers, savings can be realized around associated costs that fall once working from home, such as office space or car allowances . There is also a relative savings element to consider, and that has to do with right-sizing your

workforce . By having a pool of home-based workers to draw from, you can keep a core staff in the office, and then scale up or down your use of remote workers to meet the changing demands of the business .

Knowledge-based workplace Many Western economies - especially in North America - have shifted from being manufacturing-based to being service-based . This has given rise to the knowledge worker, and that trend has only intensified in the Internet age . Even in manufacturing-driven businesses, knowledge workers have great value, not just on the shop floor, but in mission-critical areas such as R&D, sales, marketing and distribution .

As businesses globalize, finding the right expertise is a key factor in staying competitive and today’s communications technologies make it viable to employ knowledge workers regardless of location . Not only does this provide a much broader pool to attract the best people, but the nature of knowledge-based work means they can be remote or home-based .

(7)

Outside the workplace – society-related

While the above trends are specific to the business world, there are also broader trends to consider that impact how people view the concept of remote or home-based working . Prior to the advent of the Internet, being based at your place of work was the only practical option for the vast majority of people . Much has changed since then, not just in terms of technology, but in our lifestyles and even the very definition of work . In that regard, here are five trends from outside the workplace that have given rise to the popularity of working remotely .

Always-on culture The Internet has enabled a hyper-connected world where people are able to keep in constant contact with others, mostly on a real-time or near real-time basis . This is contributing to a digital 24/7 environment, where information and

communication never stops, both at work and in our personal lives .

Few businesses today operate around the 9-5 model, and employees are both willing and able to be productive outside of conventional office hours . This very much ties into the knowledge worker trend and the fact that a great deal of work is now done via the computer . Broadband, by extension, means that employees do not have to be tethered to an office desk to do that work . With the right tools, a decent Internet connection and a disciplined work ethic, employees can be highly productive working at home or from a remote location .

Work/life balance Related to the above trend, the lines are increasingly blurring between work and home, and many people struggle to strike a manageable balance . With all of our Web-based and mobile communications tools, businesses expect employees to be available well outside of regular hours, but that also cuts into our home and family time . To offset this - and keep employees from burning out -businesses are more accommodating now about allowing workers to attend to personal needs while at work .

There is an implied social contract here, and it works well presuming the underlying communications technologies are there to support our everyday work and personal life needs . Clearly, there are many situations where working from home is the best - and even only - way to get this balance, whether on a permanent or temporary basis . With

(8)

applications such as VoIP, IM and video, workers can do this for as long as is necessary, and can just as easily shift to being office-based when things are more in balance .

Lifestyle preference This is really a demographic trend, and applies mostly to

Millennials . Workers in this segment may be in the minority today, but in time they will be the norm, and already dominate among startups and in sectors such as computer programming, Internet marketing and digital content creation . Millennials have grown up completely in the Internet era, and their concept of work is not tied to a

conventional workspace or 9-5 business hours .

For this demographic, working from home is very much a lifestyle choice . Some have lived through downsizing or outsourcing, and feel little affinity for an office

environment . Others do not aspire to the traditional career ladder and view work as a series of ongoing projects rather than following a fixed path . Millennials tend to be highly educated, tech-savvy and value independence . Working from home or remotely addresses all these needs, and they see no reason why they cannot be 100% productive working this way .

Work is work We live in tight economic times with very little net new job growth and many sectors showing no signs of recovery . With so many jobs being outsourced or made redundant, full time work is hard to come by for many . Businesses are doing what they have to do to cut costs, and this includes hiring full time employees . Not only does this add to payroll, but for many employers, providing health care coverage has become prohibitively expensive .

In this context, part time work addresses the needs of both parties . Employers can affordably add staff at levels the business can support, and more people can start earning a living again – or scale back their work commitment to suit their lifestyle . Part time employment is often the best or only option, and there are many roles that can be adequately filled by working from home . Not only that, but this gives people more flexibility to pursue multiple part time opportunities if the objective is to replace lost earnings from a full time job .

Greener lifestyle Above and beyond the need to find meaningful employment or earn a good living, environmental concerns drive some people’s priorities around work . Every

(9)

big city has traffic congestion, and commuting is a major stress factor that is only getting worse . If given a choice, many employees would prefer to drop the commute and work from home; either completely or a few days a week . Increasingly, employers are concurring, especially if employees have the right communications tools to work productively from home .

This certainly speaks to the desire of many to be green by reducing the use of fossil fuels as well as our collective carbon footprint . Building on that, of course, comes the healthier lifestyle by cutting out the stress from commuting along with the time gained back, which can be used to better balance the work/life issues outlined earlier . Add to that the savings from expensive gasoline, along with vehicle wear and tear, and the green factor becomes a compelling driver to work from home .

Key Business Benefits

To whatever extent the trends in the previous section apply to your business, there are several benefits to supporting remote or home-based workers . The enabling technologies will be discussed in the next section, and they provide the core foundation to realize these benefits . Today’s technologies are a boon for both the workplace and the home, which creates a lot of fluidity between them . This yields attractive benefits for businesses, some of which are self-evident, but there will be others that you may not have anticipated . Below are eight types of benefits you can expect with remote and home-based workers .

Cost savings This has been addressed already, and may well be the main driver overall . In the extreme case of offshoring, this approach allows you to lower labor costs dramatically, especially for tasks or functions that are relatively low-value and not mission critical . Of course, there is a trade-off in quality to consider, but that is a topic for an entirely separate guide .

Improved productivity Long-term, these are the type of gains that are most beneficial to the business, as this translates into results on many levels and goes beyond reducing labor costs . There are two core scenarios to consider here . In the case of home-based workers, productivity should go up by virtue of them working in the manner that suits them best . You can also expect gains in terms of them not losing work time due to everyday commuting or inclement weather that prevents them from coming to the office .

(10)

More effective decision-making This builds on earlier themes regarding the increased need for people to work in teams, often from disparate locations . In this regard, the benefit is more relevant for remote workers who are simply out of office rather than working from home . These are often executives or key personnel who are typically on the go, but need to be accessible for business decisions . Communications technology plays a key role here and allows them to remain mobile but also remain key drivers of the business at the same time .

Greater employee satisfaction For employees who prefer working from home, as well as for those who work remotely, having the right tools to work effectively goes a long way towards keeping their satisfaction . If these tools are lacking, their work environment become a detriment and satisfaction will suffer . The key is to enable employees to work the way they want to work, and if being home-based is the answer, businesses have great resources available today for them to do so .

Better talent retention and recruiting Related to satisfaction is retention, and this has more to do with providing the tools that allow remote workers to communicate on their terms . Expectations among Millennials are different in this regard, and if you don’t provide or prohibit what works for them – IM, text, even social media – this can be a key factor in losing them to a competitor who does . The same applies to attracting new hires – having leading edge tools can be a cool factor in getting the best people, especially if working from home is a must-have .

Access to a richer talent pool With the right communications tools in place, this could be the greatest benefit from remote working . The globalization theme discussed earlier applies to businesses of all sizes, and to succeed you must operate globally . Supporting remote workers is the most effective way to do that, not only for getting people on the ground in faraway locations, but also for tapping into specialized expertise that could be vital for sustained growth or just for sealing a particular deal . In a knowledge-based economy, this capability could well be your greatest differentiator . Access to a broader range of workers This is a variation of the above, but with an added dimension of social responsibility . Most businesses think in terms of hiring able-bodied workers, but again, in a knowledge-based economy this is simply too narrow a view . There are several segments of the population for whom working in an office is not practical or even possible, even though they have skills or expertise that could be of value to the business . Prime examples include people with physical

(11)

disabilities, social anxieties, mobility issues, and seniors . Within all of these groups, there are capable people willing to work, even on a part time basis, but have no opportunities for conventional jobs . There is a largely untapped pool of talent here that businesses could engage with via home-based working arrangements .

Improved customer satisfaction and retention On-the-go remote workers play a major role in achieving these outcomes, especially in terms of being responsive to customer needs or addressing problems . These factors are paramount for your ongoing success, and increasingly, the employees with the most impact are not in the office . Some will be home-based and some will be on the road, and the key is being able to engage with them as customer needs arise . Clearly, having the right communications tools makes all the difference here .

Enabling Technologies

Having outlined the benefits your business can expect from making use of remote workers, it should be clear by now that much of this will be determined by how effectively you deploy communications technologies . These provide the tools that enable remote workers to both collaborate among themselves and engage with customers in ways that are just as effective as being based in the office . Below are five enabling technologies you should consider using to achieve these results .

1 . VoIP This is really foundation for any form of remote working, since it allows your telephony infrastructure to easily extend beyond the LAN to any site that is broadband-accessible . The public Internet may not be the most secure environment for VoIP, but it’s universally available and affordable . For those who want more security – as well as more control over QoS - quality of service - other options exist such as a private Internet service or a VPN . In short, telephony is the lifeline for everyday communication, and VoIP is the best way to enable that, whether working from home or on the road .

2 . SIP trunking While VoIP refers to how voice service is provided across an IP network, SIP trunking provides the connectivity that helps tie VoIP to other applications that enhance remote worker productivity . This is not a necessary condition for remote working - or VoIP for that matter - but it can enhance the telephony experience by supporting HD audio, which can be an important

(12)

consideration for remote contact center agents or other customer-facing situations . SIP trunking is also beneficial to the business in terms of being less costly than physical trunks when extending LAN access to remote locations . Not only that, but they can be quickly deployed, making it easy for businesses to scale up remote workers to support rapid or cyclical growth .

3 . Video conferencing VoIP may be the easiest way to enable remote workers, but video is the most engaging . Until recently, video conferencing options outside the office were limited, but today there are many high quality desktop applications to choose from . Businesses can certainly use free consumer grade video services, but there are better quality paid offerings that are not costly and can integrate more effectively with other business applications . Video conferencing goes a long way to overcoming the virtual nature of remote working, allowing these workers to contribute more meaningfully in real time and truly feel like they’re part of the team . 4 . Mobility The sky seems to be the limit with mobility, and it certainly is a key enabler for remote workers, especially those on the road . Mobility per se isn’t really an enabling technology - it’s just a more convenient way to make calls . More relevant here would be FMC applications – fixed mobile convergence . This allows businesses to extend PBX functionality out to mobile devices, so remote workers can use voice just as effectively as being in the office . FMC also supports the seamless handoff of calls going either way between a desk and mobile phone, which certainly benefits workers on the go . Pushing out to smart phones and tablets, mobility becomes an even better enabler for remote workers by supporting business-specific data applications . With VoLTE and 4G services coming, remote workers will have deeper integration with Unified Communications, especially RCS - Rich Communication Suite . This is a topic unto itself and will be explored in future guides .

5 . Cloud-based services This is really a network-centric consideration, but is an important enabler for remote workers . Your business may well be deploying a range of cloud-based services already, but the most relevant capability for remote workers is business continuity . By hosting communications services/platforms in the cloud - in a remote data center - mobile or home-based workers will always have access to connectivity for getting work done and keeping in touch with customers . Perhaps just as important is preparedness for disruptive conditions, such as extreme weather, natural disasters, power outages, etc . These situations can bring work in the office to a standstill, but the cloud enables employees to go home - or stay home, and resume working from there . Not only does this keep the company open for business,

(13)

Conclusion

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc . is a leading digital media company specializing in the technology market, reaching over 40 million highly engaged in-market buyers and influencers every month . Ziff Davis sites, which feature trusted and comprehensive evaluations of the newest, hottest products, and the most advanced ad targeting platform . Ziff Davis B2B is a leading provider of online research to enterprise buyers and high-quality leads to IT vendors . More information on Ziff Davis can be found at ziffdavis .com .

There are many good reasons why working in the office is the norm, but most of the barriers to working outside the office no longer exist, and businesses now see several advantages to going further down this path than in the past . In our view, remote working is here to stay, and with today’s technologies, businesses can do as much or as little as they like and adjust these levels to match market conditions as they change . This paper has been written to help business decision makers understand the trends driving the need for remote working, and more importantly where the benefits will come from . In some cases, the associated cost savings are sufficient justification, but we hope you can see from our analysis that there is a much richer set of outcomes to support the business case for remote working . Not only will these benefits serve you well today, but they can position the business for greater agility as your customer needs evolve in the always-on age of digital communications .