Conference calls can create and expand possibilities for people who wish, or need, to work from home. For many, working from home can be an ideal situation, or sometimes even the only option. Many life circumstances can make commuting to work every day extremely difficult and inconvenient: young children, disability, living far from the company’s base, having dependent family members or simply working better alone, rather than surrounded by groups of people. Thus, the ability to work from home opens up great professional opportunities for those who may otherwise have very little available to them.
However, while working from home may alleviate some of the pressures and difficulties confronted in the search for a suitable job, it can create new and unique issues. A key problem faced by many working from home is the lack of communication with employers and colleagues. The distance between them, the lack of daily face to face contact, can make workers feel out of the loop and alienated. This lack of communication can lead to high levels of stress, disorganisation and poor productivity for those working from home.
Conference calling offers the perfect solution. A simple conference call paves the way for clear and easy communication between colleagues anywhere in the world. Scheduling a conference call each week, or even each day, is an easy and effective way to check in with employees working from home. Some conference call bridges make this exceptionally easy, with handy calendar attachments and conference cards so you can never miss a call. And to give you financial peace of mind, some even offer free conference call services.
By holding regular, frequent conference calls, you can ensure your whole team is on board, and those working from home are not left out of sync. This is a great practice, that will allow you to get to the root of any issues encountered, and resolve them quickly. It also encourages and stimulates creativity and new ideas, as these can be discussed freely and at length over the phone, rather than stifled, forgotten or sent in a hurried email. Ultimately, by simply creating a conference call room which you can use regularly, and having everybody dial in at the allotted times, you will help your business to grow, keep morale high and teamwork efficient. It really is the perfect tool.