Lack of IT support causes frustration for home workers

Loss of productivity due to IT failure has always been a problem for businesses, and it's made worse by suddenly switching to a workforce that's based at home.

According to new research commissioned by Velocity Smart, 54 percent of US employees have waited up to three hours extra to resolve an IT issue since moving to remote work. Something that's doubly frustrating if there's no fall back option.

There's an impact on productivity too, with nearly one in four remote workers (22 percent) saying poor performing IT equipment is making it hard to work and 36 percent unable to effectively communicate with colleagues.

"Minimizing employee downtime due to an IT failure was a constant challenge when the majority of the workforce was office based, now it has become an almost impossible conundrum as the workforce can be spread over hundreds and even thousands of miles," says Anthony Lamoureux, CEO of Velocity Smart.

Part of the solution might be to make it easy for workers to access replacement equipment in the event of failure. 91 percent of US workers say they want the option to pick up replacement IT equipment using a self-service system, while three quarters (81 percent) welcome the use of smart lockers that house equipment, ready to 'click and collect' if they have an IT problem.

"Flexible working is here to stay, but it seems no one's told the IT department who are working flat out to constantly keep up with new issues with old investments. Businesses need to think smart about how they support the remote workforce of the future," adds Lamoureux. "When something goes wrong, remote working employees need to be able to quickly and simply request replacement tech. 24/7 IT support should now be expected as standard. A seamless 'click and collect' model, similar to what we experience in retail, has to become the minimum standard set for the modern workplace."

The full report is available from the Velocity Smart site.

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