Remote Working

Thanks to email and the internet remote working is a practical option for most employees and allows them to fulfil their work commitments without the need to either travel to the office or to clients' offices.

This will not be suitable for every individual or business. However, working at home and video conferencing make remote working an alternative worthy of consideration.

Aberdeenshire Council fund IT Hot Stops in Huntly and Peterhead open to the public and businesses wishing to try remote working or use the internet or video conferencing facilites.

Even working from home once a fortnight reduces an employee's commuting time by 10%.

Potential benefits of working remotely?

• Reduces the need to travel - which saves time, money and the environment.
• Improved quality of life for employees, because it is easier to combine work and family commitments.
• Easier to concentrate and less unnecessary interruptions.
• Saves space at the office and allows 'hot-desking', potentially resulting in reduced building costs.
• Increased flexibility for employees.

Potential barriers to working remotely?

• Self-motivation of employees is required as there are no managers around to ensure work is being completed efficiently and on time.
• Not in the office for important meetings.
• Absence of the personal touch with colleagues or clients.
• Often heavy reliance on technology - no IT people around to fix the computer.

How can you effectively introduce remote working into your organisation?

• Installing video conferencing.
• Encourage a home/work balance in your organisation.
• Trust your staff to self-motivate.

Aberdeenshire Council is investigating ways to increase opportunities to work remotely and contribute both to service improvement and reductions in the Council's business miles.

If you have any comment you wish to make regarding this page please contact The Travel Planning Officer on 01224 664773.