Teleworkers not couch potatoes but vital assets

Colin Calder

It's no surprise, therefore, that remote working is moving up the agenda of many organisations based in and around Edinburgh. As firms struggle to recruit and retain suitable staff, many see the need to offer a more practical and flexible way of working.

Heriot-Watt University is one organisation that is embracing the concept, with its Edinburgh Engineering Virtual Library project employing a total of seven teleworkers. Nicola Harrison is a part-time employee who works 14 hours per week from her home in Bruntsfield and a further three hours when she is required to go into the university for meetings and training. She says: "The flexibility is ideal for me because it allows me to be at home while continuing to work in an interesting field. The job fits in with having children because it allows me to take them to and from school and avoids me having to pay child minders. "There are also other significant cost savings by working from home - like not spending money on commuting, and not having to buy lots of office clothes."

Harrison's job involves reviewing internet sites providing engineering information and selecting them for inclusion into the virtual library on the basis of their content, quality and availability. She adds: "Teleworking offers a good lifestyle, but you have to have the right mind-set to be able to motivate yourself without supervision. It can be lonely and quite isolating at times, but the big benefit is that I have the freedom to be entirely flexible about when I actually do the work at home - as long as I meet my targets." Harrison says she sometimes misses the social networking aspects of office life - like chatting over the photocopier or water cooler - but says she is "kept in the loop" by e-mails and gets updated when she goes into the university one morning a week.

She has only had one problem about the perception of having an easy time working from home. "One younger colleague thought I must be slacking because I wasn't actually in the office, and saw it as a fantastic perk. But we sorted that out by comparing workloads. I am more productive than office-based staff, which is a benefit for my employer along with all the costs savings on office space."

The university is happy with the arrangement as it says that staff can be much more efficient working from home and in control of their working day. No time is lost to transport delays and teleworkers are more relaxed without the added stress of commuting. And technological developments, such as broadband internet, make it easier to set up secure, high-speed external links, allowing home-based workers to access company networks in a cost-effective way.

Beer firm Coors Brewers is another employer that encourages teleworking locally. David Beattie, marketing operation manager for Scotland, has worked remotely for the past five-and-a-half years. He said: "Compared to working in an office environment I am sure I am the lucky one. Flexibility is something that I enjoy in abundance. Although this means that, essentially, I am on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week it also means I have the freedom to plan my own diary and I don't have to clock in and out. "Working in such a vibrant industry as the drinks trade - and on big brands, such as Carling, means you have to be flexible and available outwith the normal 9am-5pm. Being mobile and able to work my own hours helps me achieve this. I love it!"

Central Scotland Forest Trust, based in Shotts, is a former winner of Lloyds TSB Working Families "Employer of the Year" title. Simon Rennie, chief executive, needs no convincing of the benefits of flexible working arrangements like teleworking. He said: "Too many companies are stuck in a traditional working model that has nothing to do with the needs of modern business. We accepted the challenge of re-thinking what was essential for the business and what was merely habit. As a result we challenged many aspects of the working day - including facilitating working from home for some employees." Several of the organisation's staff work remotely, for at least part of the week. Rennie added: "The needs of the business have to come first, but if we can help an employee achieve better work-life balance by introducing flexibility, while ensuring the job gets done, then we are entirely happy. "When most of the current working practices became the norm, office technology was in its infancy. Those who do work from home insist that they get far more done, and in less time overall, through the lack of office distractions. It takes courage to confront the status quo but the rewards in terms of employee contentment and loyalty justify the effort."