Virtual Offices Are Great Solutions for Telecommuting Workforces

By Irene Williams • July 10th, 2009

working from home - slippers under keyboard A recent survey conducted by Cisco of its own workforce indicates telecommuting is an effective, productive alternative for this global company. Presently, the average Cisco employee telecommutes two days per week, using 60% of the time saved to focus on work tasks. Not only do employees enjoy heightened productivity and the freedom of more personal time by telecommuting, Cisco is reducing its carbon footprint and benefitting from a “next-generation workforce” that is experiencing increased work-life balance and job satisfaction.

Certainly, it’s not surprising that Cisco would be a forerunner in telecommuting technology. As stated in the company’s news release boilerplate, Cisco is a “worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate.” The company utilizes its own advanced, well designed electronic collaboration tools to equip telecommuters to work together effectively.

The same approach this global, technology-based company is utilizing is also transforming and empowering businesses of all shapes and sizes to usher in an advanced phase of the telecommuting era. Unlike ever before, businesses big and small are harnessing employee productivity by releasing the past perception that physical location was essential to getting work done.

Especially in economic crunch times, telecommuting’s benefits are magnified. Reduction in the need for office space saves on real estate and site maintenance costs; heightened productivity of telecommuting workers bodes well for all involved. For example, Capital One’s recent push toward a larger telecommuting workforce model has saved the company 20% in real estate costs as of February of this year. Employees are given a stipend to upgrade their home work spaces, the company supplies equipment and technology, and everyone wins.

In spite the buzz about our digital age’s flexible, innovative workforce, there is still (and will always be) need for face-to-face meetings, to bring coworkers and clients, colleagues and customers, together—in real time, in person. While corporate powerhouses such as Cisco and Capital One will maintain their own physical locations and office space, smaller or more nimble businesses can rely on the ever-growing, responsive Virtual Office industry to find “real” meeting places just about anywhere on the globe that a meeting needs to occur.

The telecommuting workforce, with access to affordable virtual office space, is uniquely poised to herald an exciting new era for the business world. Efficient and productive yet unequivocally connected and responsive, the next-generation workforce is ready to go—be it online or in person—without the usual hassles of lengthy, draining commutes and unbalanced work days.