Towards the end of 2019, online research - based on 2,016 UK flexible workers - was conducted by Censuswide, on behalf of 99&One. The survey sample included 558 decision makers who work in IT, Finance and accounts or HR.
The research showed that 66 per cent of workers believe that they are more productive when they work flexibly, but many are being held back because they cannot make the best or most effective use of their technology.
99&One’s research revealed that companies are still not getting some basic technology configurations right, with 17 per cent of employees still experiencing connectivity issues when working remotely.
The survey disclosed that part of the problem is that workers have been overloaded with technology they have not yet been able to fully adopt or master - such as 67 per cent who state instant messaging; 61 per cent shared documents; 48 per cent cloud-based collaboration tools; 40 per cent video conferencing and 36 per cent audio conferencing.
It was also revealed that just 43 per cent of employees have received additional training or support on technologies to enable them to work more flexibly.
Employees who have received sufficient training on flexible working technologies were found to be 56 per cent happier at work than the 11 per cent who are not offered any support. Trained workers are also more than twice as likely - 45 per cent as opposed to 18 per cent - to say that they get more work done in the same amount of time when working flexibly.
Steve Haworth - CEO of the TeleWare Group - stated:
“Digital transformation is the key to encouraging productivity, engagement and collaboration. However, many companies have still not got to grips with their IT investment. Just 1% of UK businesses have productivity above 1%. Optimised technology could improve productivity, profitability and employee engagement.”
He added:
“Setting employees up with the right tools to carry out their role is not enough. They need to feel confident using them. Companies should be prepared to deliver and embed technology change in a people-first way, helping everyone in the organisation to fully embrace change.”
