How the latest technology is lowering costs and improving business flexibility

Yes this 70’s drink is making a comeback but not in the form you know it. This is the latest buzzword being used around the most innovative companies in the UK.

"Martini" employment refers to flexible working arrangements where employees are able to work "any time, any place, anywhere".

According to a Mori poll, eight million of us prefer ‘Martini’ employment to a regular 9-5 job - and it’s not hard to figure out why. Modern lifestyles mean that many families have two breadwinners yet they still have to fit in all the usual chores such as banking, shopping, cleaning, dropping off and picking up the children from school or nursery… the list goes on. All this means more stress and less quality work!

Flexibility as to when and where people work enables them to work and live more effectively with benefits to employers and employees alike.

Simon Albert, Director of The PC Support Group, a rapidly expanding nationwide IT service company, has found that many forward thinking businesses are recognising the massive benefits of creating ‘virtual offices’: "It used to be the case that a home or mobile worker could use their PC or laptop anywhere but they couldn’t necessarily connect to the internet or head office, or if they had a technical problem they couldn’t get help because the IT support was only office based. On top of this, they weren’t part of the central telephone system so they couldn’t receive calls as they would in head office. All that has now changed"

"Anyone can now connect to the internet and their head office using high speed connections from practically anywhere: home, coffee shops, hotels, airports… new wireless connections are popping up every week"

"As for support, The PC Support Group uses technology that enables us to fix 90% of IT related problems remotely without us even visiting you. Providing you have an internet connection we can help. You could be at home or even in a hotel abroad!"

"Now with VoIP, telephony over the internet, the virtual office is complete. Calls taken centrally can now be directed to anywhere in the world as if it is an office extension… and at no extra cost! In fact we use this to transfer support calls to our regional offices throughout the UK."

So what specific benefits does this bring to a business?

Well firstly it means that offices need not be as large, as staff can work from other locations equally efficiently. Walk into any office on any day of the week and you will see empty desks. Why not have less desks for those that really need to physically come into work. This in itself can save thousand or in some cases millions.

Large companies such as IBM have been advocates of flexible working for some time. They say "Organisations can gain competitive advantage and improve customer service through a radical review of the way their employees work. Changes in the way office space is allocated (non-territorial working), opportunities for staff to work from home (home-working) and the ability of staff to connect with information and systems while on the move (mobile working) have the potential to reduce physical infrastructure costs, improve productivity, motivation and work/life balance."

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