Powwownow: Teleworking Proven To Increase Productivity by 20%

MANCHESTER, England, July 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

As the London 2012 Olympics approach, people are being advised to work from home yet again, but why isn't teleworking already the norm?

UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond recently called for employees in London to work from home during the Olympics next year. The move - intended to ease transport congestion will surely be welcomed by many in the Capital, scores of who are forced to travel between 45-60 minutes each way, every day.

However, in the latest CBI / Pertemps Employment Trends Survey, almost half of all employers (46%) said they now offered teleworking to staff, which is a dramatic increase from 14% three years ago and 11% in 2006.

Bosses believe that staff may be trying to cut their carbon footprint, or are avoiding a troublesome commute and poor transport infrastructure. Employers also understand that by using teleworking and free conference calling, productivity need not suffer if staff are not in the office.

British Telecom began a telework scheme in 1986, and now has 15,000 homeworkers out of 92,000 employees. The company argues that home workers save it an average of £6,000 a year each, are 20% more productive and take fewer sick days.

"Using teleworking to take work out of the workplace has become very popular, and is also a useful way to avoid a laborious commute, balance family commitments, and even reduce carbon emissions. As technology becomes more reliable and widely available, this trend can only grow." - John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General.

Andrew Pearce, CEO of leading Teleconferencing Company Powwownow, said: "For the last three decades flexible working has been the principle backbone of the UK's productivity. Our strength has not been achieved solely by efficient plant and machinery, but through having a flexible and talented workforce which works to the advantage of both the employee and employer."

When Telework Association and Wisework Ltd. surveyed 350 people asking how confident they were about their productivity when working from home, more than half were definitely sure they were more productive ( table 1- see here).

Participants were also asked whether they agreed with statements on a list of possible reasons for increased productivity; almost all agreed that the elimination of commuting was a contributor ( table 2 - see here).

Powwownow is currently in the process of assembling a definitive white paper regarding the benefits of remote working for business. The conference call provider is actively encouraging businesses from all sectors to contribute quotes and case studies, which will then be included and credited when the paper is published later this year. If you or your company wish to have a say - then it is advised you get in touch via their Facebook page: facebook.com/powwownow

About Powwownow:

Powwownow (http://www.powwownow.co.uk/) was founded in the UK in 2004, offering customers low-cost conference calling facilities with the ethos of no booking, no billing, no fuss. The customer does not need to book a conference room and never receives a bill from Powwownow. They only pay the cost of their own call, which is added to their standard telecoms bill. The company now operates in 15 countries worldwide including the US and major European markets and recently acquired web conferencing and business collaboration providers, Yuuguu. Turnover for 2011 is predicted to reach £10m.

Find out more about Powwownow by visiting the Powwownow Facebook page and following @Powwownow on Twitter.

Powwownow employs 49 people and is based in Richmond and Manchester.