Here is an inarguable fact: millions of us are doing jobs in the office that could be carried out at home.

The future of work will involve just that: removing the geographical, physical and time boundaries of work, to ensure a fully virtual and highly flexible employment model.

Some call it teleworking, others telecommuting, home office, or virtual office. Banks, service centers, councils, management consultancies, software and law firms, or PR agencies: many companies offer their staff options to follow this new work model.

The numbers equally show a clear direction: the regular population of work-from-home employees who aren’t self-employed has grown by 105 % since 2005. About 2.8 % of the workforce works from home, and 50 % of the workforce has a job that allows for them to work from home at least part time.

So what are the benefits?

Engaging in a virtual set-up, businesses see higher levels of performance, they find it much easier to attract and retain talent, and have more flexibility, while efficiency and productivity increase as well. Remarkably enough, some American studies even show as much as a 30-40 % increase in productivity.

The benefits for the society as a whole are equally remarkable: there is a more diverse labor force, a better work-life balance and a reduction in commuting – that’s just to name a few.

If remote work is so beneficial, why aren’t we all doing it already? 

An important factor for many employees is certainly performance: if superiors can’t directly manage what their employees are doing, how will they know that their performance is good? Certainly, the issue here is of a human rather than a technological nature. Yet here it simply comes down to establishing trust that people do what they’re supposed to. There are also a variety of models and programs to monitor performance, like the average handling time of a task. Setting up optimal communication measures, demonstrating appreciation, setting clear rules and guidelines in the management of virtual staff are helpful measures.

How did the home office model come about?

Being a part of today’s modernized world, it’s hard to imagine that long ago it was very common for people to work from home.

Think of tradesmen, iron and stone workers, carpenters, bakers, farmers, tailors and so on. Many of them lived and worked in a building called a “workhome.” Essentially, this was both a residence and a storefront or business property. There was no such thing as a flexible working trend, because it was quite simply their way of life.

This set-up existed for centuries, until the Industrial Revolution came along and the idea of automation was largely adopted. At that time, larger businesses and corporations boomed, replacing factory workers and manual laborers with machines and hardware that could improve the manufacturing process. The staff employed by these businesses had to work onsite. Hence, the idea of working from home, or merging a single space into both a living and a business space was mostly forgotten. 

The SELLBYTEL approach: at home advisors (AHA)

In order to cope with today’s requirements, the SELLBYTEL Group has enhanced its service portfolio by introducing the at home advisors.

We have been running our home office program for the client, a leading producer of IT lifestyle products, and specifically their online store project, since mid 2014. We also expanded our activities for a European Pay TV provider and are currently growing with several other brands.

Working remotely has impacted the outsourcing field more than many others. At SELLBYTEL we supply the workforce and knowledge for the future of work.

Our scalable, virtual solutions are tailored to our partners’ global needs and support their strategic growth. We have removed the geographical, physical and time boundaries from providing customized outsourcing solutions.

Our approach is entirely virtual, from the recruitment process to on-boarding and continuous training as well as personal development.

Our global outsourcing network offers almost 30 years of customized outsourcing experience, specialized in providing technical support, customer service, back office and inside sales solutions.

Remote work is here to stay

Remote work is, without a doubt, a growing trend. We’ve seen an enormous increase in the last decade alone. Both professionals and businesses are equally valuing the benefits of flexible employment.

Find out how our virtual workforce can support you too! We look forward to hearing from you. Contact us via Thomas.Soria-Galvarro@invires.de

Also have a look at our The HUB magazine to read more on our varied home office solutions.