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Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. Traffic surrounding Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Roads leading to the software maker simply weren't designed to handle the 35, commuters who report for work there each day. The gridlock that greeted Gregoire was just the latest reminder that Microsoft needs to tackle its commuter crisis—and quick.
So Microsoft MSFT has embarked on a program aimed at getting more employees to work from home and other off-site locales, joining the growing ranks of companies to catch the virtual-workplace wave.
Benefits of letting employees work from outside the office include keeping cars off the road, helping a company to bolster its green bona fides. But the practice can also foster employee retention, boost worker productivity, and slash real estate costs. For all the benefits of freeing workers from the office, drawbacks abound. First, not everyone wants to leave. Some fear they will step off the corporate ladder, while others need a busy environment to stay productive.
Some managers are reluctant to scatter direct reports because keeping tabs on a virtual workforce can be harder than managing those close at hand.
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Some virtual workers can feel lonely, isolated, or deprived of vital training and mentoring. And communication breakdowns can impede innovation, trust, job satisfaction, and performance. Obstacles like these have prompted IBM, Sun Microsystems SUNWand other companies to seek out a host of creative solutions to the problems that virtual work presents.
Some turn to a combination of mobile devices, e-mail, instant messaging, and collaboration software to help colleagues stay in touch.
But experts say successful companies go a step further, adopting a whole virtual-worker ethos.
While many relish the chance to strike a better work-life balance by working from home, some are surprisingly resistant to being stationed outside the office. Smith School of Business. This reluctance may be fueled by fear that if they're out of sight, they will be out of mind, too.
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Even workers who are eager to telecommute encounter hurdles. Many managers simply don't know how to manage a virtual workforce.
For virtual workers, there are plenty of ways to stay in touch, be it through e-mail, phone, or instant messaging. The trick, say experienced virtual workers, is helping managers know how employees like to communicate. When Kathleen Timiney worked at Groove Networks, a software maker acquired by Microsoft inshe asked each team member how they preferred to communicate and posted those preferences where everyone could see them.
IBM discovered that workers who spend three or more days without talking to a manager or colleagues start to feel disconnected.
Binary option reviews optekt companies, including Microsoft, WebEx WEBXand Citrix CTXSalso specialize in penny stock trading mentors conferencing and collaboration software that makes it easier for people in different locations to work together and conduct meetings.
When Microsoft's Timiney worked at Idhayam work from home details, the company set a policy that if even one how to make money with google adsense step by step guide pdf was operating virtually in a meeting, then everyone would sit in their offices and the entire meeting would be virtual.
Another betfair trading strategies pdf to bridge the physical distance is to provide a stock option accounting us gaap with the tools needed to stay connected to colleagues.
For the virtual worker, a laptop, high-speed Internet access, and a personal digital assistant or mobile phone are de rigueur. But some companies go an extra mile to outfit virtual employees. IBM provides binary options pro universal messaging service that lets executives give a single phone number to clients and colleagues.
The service then forwards calls to wherever that executive might be located, be it at home, on cell phone, or in a so-called currency currency exchange forex gruppo11.net trading trading Center, one of the temporary offices set how to get unlimited cash in criminal case by IBM in locations around the world.
Patrick Boyle, director of health-care and life-sciences sales at IBM, spends about half his time traveling, working from taxis, airport lounges, planes, and coffee shops. He's also a frequent user of eMobility centers and considers headsets an essential tool of the trade.
Microsoft's Timiney says a quality headset is her most important tool. Some virtual workers at Sun use the company's line of workstations, called Sun Ray clients. Unlike conventional PCs, these devices contain no hard disk or operating system. Instead, all the software resides in the company's servers. That means all information is automatically backed up and stored securely—and won't be lost in the event the desktop is stolen or irreparably damaged.
No software on the desktop also means fewer frustrating calls to tech support, says Larry Ciraulo, director of client computing services for Sun IT. About five years ago, Sun realized that its offices were empty about half the time, as workers were out traveling or at meetings.
So the company began encouraging workers to work from home and created a network of temporary offices, similar to IBM's eMobility centers, that can be reserved ahead of time.
Sun also offers consulting services to help other companies that want to create flexible workspaces. IBM's eMobility centers feature cubicles and conference rooms equipped with the usual easels and whiteboards. They boast cafes with wireless access, so workers can meet informally as well. IBM realized at one point, however, that it needed to redesign the conference rooms to include clear glass. It's one thing to ask a seasoned employee to work from home, but a virtual work environment can be tough on young workers who are trying to learn their jobs and often try to develop friendships at work.
Often, Bamesberger will require that a new employee work in the office for a period of time before going virtual. Similarly, Convergys CVG asks call-center workers to come into the office for training and the first month of work before they start working from home. The company now employs about 60, call-center workers, about of whom work at home. Sometimes virtual workers simply miss that informal advice that colleagues give in an office setting.
At IBM, the company has tried to make sure virtual workers receive needed coaching and mentoring. That can range from a sales exec getting advice from a colleague before an important sales call to more formal events at the office, where senior executives run roundtables. As Microsoft establishes a formal virtual-work program, the company will likely have no trouble with the technology part of the equation.
Indeed, the company makes many of the tools that virtual workers need. Yet, figuring out how to use that technology wisely in a virtual environment requires a bit more thought.
Microsoft can just ask IBM's Pelino, who cautions, "We learned from trial and error. Bloomberg Anywhere Remote Login Software Updates Manage Contracts and Orders. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram. About The Company Bloomberg London. Global Startups Bloomberg Technology TV Gadgets With Gurman Digital Defense Studio 1. Latest Issue Debrief Podcast Subscribe. Climate Changed Video Series: Ventures Graphics Billionaires Game Plan Small Business Personal Finance Inspire GO The David Rubenstein Show Sponsored Content.
It's in the Details The benefits include lower costs and greater productivity, but figuring out how to communicate with off-site employees is crucial. Pros and Cons Benefits of letting employees work from outside the office include keeping cars off the road, helping a company to bolster its green bona fides.
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