By 2011, IDC expects mobile workers to make up 73 percent of the total U.S. workforce. Whether mobile employees are out in the field or at home, sitting in a satellite office or constantly on the go within a corporate campus environment, they're going to need an effective way to stay connected and productive.
"Remote workers and a mobile workforce have become the rule, not the exception."
This new white paper explores how Web conferencing enables managers to get virtual employees and teams on the same page faster, move projects along more efficiently and make employees more productive.
White paper
Improving the productivity of
virtual employees
How GoToMeeting Corporate helps you manage a remote teamExecutive SummaryToday's workforce is no longer corralled inside the traditional corporate facility. In fact, the mobile workforce is growing so quickly that by 2011, IDC expects U.S. mobile workers to make up 73 percent 1of the total U.S. workforce. These "free-roaming" employees might be working out in the field or at home, sitting in a satellite office or constantly on the go within a corporate campus environment. Whatever the description, however, remote workers and a mobile workforce have become the rule, not the exception, and companies face new terrain in managing these virtual employees.
Remote workers and a Mobility presents obvious benefits for companies and employees. First, worker flexibility is a powerful mobile workforce have perk in attracting and retaining top talent. Many companies offer mobile work plans alongside other become the rule, not the benefits, such as salary increases or premium health/dental packages. Second, companies realize exception, and companies serious increases in productivity from virtual employees. That's because mobility enables companies face new terrain in to leverage different working styles or support employees in the midst of major life events, such as the managing these virtual birth of a child or a prolonged illness. This, in turn, reduces absenteeism and raises morale. Finally, employees. implementing a mobile work policy reduces commuting costs for employees, thereby increasing employee satisfaction and retention. It also reduces carbon footprints, which is good for the planet. Plus, less time commuting means more time actually working.
The benefits are plentiful, to be sure. But as a manager, director or executive who manages virtual workers, how do you enable effective communication between distributed employees? Let's take a closer look at how Web conferencing enables you to get virtual employees and teams on the same page faster, move projects along more efficiently and make your employees more productive.
Why Web Conferencing?
Figure 1: Top Reasons for Web Conferencing
22According to Wainhouse Research , an independent market research firm, the top four reasons companies are turning to Web conferencing include: cutting travel costs, involving more people or expanding reach, improving productivity and encouraging team collaboration. (See Figure 1.)
Virtual employees are playing a large role in the demand to incorporate Web conferencing into the business tools portfolio. And it's easy to see why - the abilities and benefits of Web conferencing are a perfect match for virtual employees' communication and collaboration needs. Web conferencing enables you to get virtual employees and teams Improving productivity with Web conferencing on the same page faster, Whether employees are tightening up a contract, laying out product specs or collaborating on an move projects along ®important presentation, let's look at how your mobile employees can use Web conferencing via Citrix more efficiently and make ®GoToMeeting Corporate to instantly improve productivity and get the job done. your employees more productive.To begin, you'll need to schedule a Web conferencing session, and this can be done in a matter of seconds. Figure 2 illustrates the simple steps required: Enter a subject description, select a date and time, select your audio options (conference call and/or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)) and click Schedule. You can even set up a recurring Web conferencing session by selecting "Recurring meeting" - it's that easy.
Figure 2: Scheduling a Web Conferencing Session
3During a Web conferencing session, you and your employees can effectively collaborate with each other and instantly share anything on your computer screens. Files, applications, Web sites and more can be made visible to attendees and facilitate effective real-time collaboration. (See Figure 3.)
Of course, collaboration wouldn't be complete without on-screen annotation tools. GoToMeeting Corporate enables you and your attendees to draw, highlight and point to items of interest on the screen. Also, you and your attendees can chat in real time privately (person to person) or publicly (broadcast to all attendees). Best of all, if attendees want to run with ideas before inspiration slips away, seamle... [download for more]
