(An insight from our Operations Expert, Alexandra O’Reilly.)

Octopus Blue is growing rapidly, back in December 2016 Andy Bailey was working alone in his spare room. Fast forward to August 2017 and we are now a team of five (soon to be seven) dotted around the UK and further afield in Alberta, Canada. What are the benefits and how do we manage it productively?

The Ability to Work from Anywhere

The most obvious perk of remote working is the ability to spark up the computer from wherever you are and get a few hours work done, morning, noon or night. I am in fact writing this blog from my sister’s front porch in Canada, its 8pm and all the children are tucked up in bed. So, even though I am on holiday I can keep up to date with how things are going back home.

Hannah Naylor, our Business Development Expert lives here and is a prime example of how remote working is good for Octopus Blue. Hannah starts work at 6am (1pm BST) and is able to fit her work around day-care, as is the case for many others.

Costs are Lowered



Consider all the costs involved in just one person working from the office. There’s the cost of the office space, electricity and so forth but also the time and money spent on commuting to the office. Remote workers, are being eco-friendly, reducing their carbon footprint by not having to commute into the office. When I am at work, my commute to is very small but on the days I work from home I really appreciate the extra time I have to get started, even if it just to get myself a cup of tea!

Productivity and Efficiency



The idea of working from home for some can conjure up ideas of slacking, this is not the case. At home (or wherever the remote working ‘office’ may be that day) there are less distractions, people are more comfortable, they can listen to whatever music they like and can wear whatever they like. Sitting under bright lights in the office all day can be stressful, remote working gives the worker the opportunity to modify their environment exactly as they want it. Less distractions and less stress equals a much more productive and efficient workforce.

Loyalty



Working from home can be the perfect working environment for some, be it working around children or simply a personal preference. Whichever it may be, it can mean the work/life balance is much easier to achieve. People are grateful to their employer for the opportunity to have a job they enjoy doing in the comfort of their own home. Gratitude can then manifest itself in loyalty to the company which will increase turnover and productivity. Fantastic for any employer!

Anything is Possible



Gone are the days of walking around with your phone in the air to get a signal. You can now go to most coffee shops and pick up free wifi making it super easy to work ‘on the go’. International phone calls used to be done from the office but with the likes of Skype this is possible for very little cost from your mobile and with platforms such as Crugo, keeping in touch with the team couldn’t be easier. Sharing information and documents is straightforward with the likes of Office 365 and Evernote. In short, there really is nothing you can’t do from home that you would do in the office.

It is, of course, good to have face-to face time too. Well planned team days can be both fun and productive ways to keep in touch and learn more about each member of your team. We recently had our first team way day and I am looking forward to planning our next!

Remote working may not work for everyone but, for those who can and do, it’s the perfect way to work, and play!

Octopus Blue
Octopus Blue help your business to optimise your processes and software, enabling you to operate in the most time efficient and cost effective way.

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