Virtual Workplace - Benefits of Virtual Workplaces

Benefits of Virtual Workplaces

Virtual workplaces are advantageous in an information age where technology is expanding rapidly and a consumer need is to be met across the world. A virtual workplace enables individuals to work from anyplace at anytime in the world. This is convenient not only for the employee, but the consumer as well. It fits the need of excellent and timely customer service for an international organization.

The most persuasive argument for any organization is that concerning costs. Virtual workplaces streamline systems from multiple facets of work into a single unified unit easily accessible by both the consumer and the employee. Decreasing costs as well as increasing efficiency, due to the single system, is an instantaneous advantage. A virtual workplace is easier for employees because of business traveling, consolidates services, and assists in the communication processes. A few examples of costs saved by IBM clients' virtual workplace implementation are:

• A global technology organization reported savings of $54 million in the first year of integrating the virtual workplace into the organization

• An international financial organization estimated savings of over €270 million within 5 years

Productivity is crucial to any organization. With the implementation of a virtual workplace, productivity is increased immensely. This is because employees’ are more focused with business related projects with only one system to overview. Also, collaborating with team members is made easy with a virtual workplace. The world is literally at your fingertips. With the speed of the internet, projects can be completed with increased speed and effectiveness resulting in saved time. Most importantly, the needs of the consumers are being met with a virtual workplace in that it is more convenient for employees to access organizations.

Virtual workplaces allow a company to reach more of its employees via meeting workspaces and virtual training sessions. A company may choose to send only a handful of regional managers to a conference it sponsors annually to receive training in a new product. it may then rely on the managers to pass that knowledge on to its employees. Having a virtual training session saves a company money, not only the cost of travel where only a small handful of its employees receive proper training, but in the long run where all of its employees can receive the proper training and be more productive with a sharper learning curve.

In addition, the employees can more easily accommodate both personal and professional lives.