A survey from business communications software, systems
and services provider Avaya has revealed that absence could be
costing Britain’s small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) up to
£25,000 per annum.
The survey found that a fifth of UK businesses with 20-80
employees estimate they lose £25,000 or more a year through
employee absenteeism; approximately one-third put the figure
somewhere between £10-25,000.
Yet despite this and a recognition that the issue that concerns
SMBs most is ensuring productivity of offsite workers, more than
80% of the survey indicated that they would like to allow employees
to work from home one day a week.
Almost three-quarters of respondents admitted they were
predominantly concerned with ensuring that out-of-office workers
were as productive as in-office workers and just 5% revealed that
technology costs was the reason they had not initiated flexible
working.
Commented Nick Roullier, country manager, Avaya, UK, “In a
small business, when one worker is out, it can impact the entire
company,” added Roullier. “By deploying technology such as Unified
Communications (UC), which brings the communications environment of
the office to any location, on any device, small businesses can
leverage more flexible styles of working that blend with an
employee's home life. Ultimately, flexible technology can help
small firms retain those employees, maximise their productivity and
avoid missed business opportunities.
“It is a popular misconception that Unified Communications is
for big business only. In reality, if you look at a typical busy
SMB where employees are performing multiple job functions, UC can
deliver concrete business advantages that are even more meaningful
to a small business – improved productivity and increased ability
to compete with bigger brands.”