Latest Telecommuting trends and Developments

As technology becomes more pervasive in the workplace changes are happening rapidly with how management and staff carries out daily tasks at the office. The use of remote tools, software, online platforms and others has allowed various institutions (companies, organizations, institutions, enterprises, corporations, etc.) develop gradually more flexible work schedules.

The terms telecommuting or telework refer to a working arrangement where employees or a team of people perform their work outside of the traditional on-site working environment, according to Mobile Office. Both of these terms were coined in 1973 by Jack Niles, the co-founder and President of JALA, and their usage differs because of the situations associated with each word. Telework is any form of substitution of information technologies for work-related travel and on the other hand telecommuting applies to a daily commute to and from work.

For some time, the adoption of telecommuting is gaining quite the attraction as a practice. It is proving to be more than just a motivator or a source of motivation for employees, but continually growing as a practice across industries. In a detailed report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) it confirmed that a workplace flexibility environment, specifically teleworking, should be used as a strategy to attract, retain and engage staff.

So how should this telecommuting scheme be executed? Well for starters you want to have it used as a benefit, and not as an accommodation or a perk. In addition, a news release on a Trends in Workplace Flexibility study confirmed that more than two-thirds of the managers or 67 percent of them offer flexibility to all or most of their employees.

Another bright side to this flexible arrangement is when you combine telework and workplace flexibility it results in lower turnover and absenteeism. In other words, it helps maintain your employee pool for longer periods of time and have elevated engagement levels.

Telework Findings, Stats and Insights

Could telework become pervasive in the future? According to Flexjobs.com there are one out every five workers around the globe who have a telecommuting job. Working from home or working remotely is estimated to be 57 percent in India while in Indonesia it is 34 percent, and 30 percent in Mexico.

In the United States (U.S) telecommuting was at 23 percent in 2009. That number is expected to reach 43 percent in 2016. Elsewhere A Mullen and Mullen analysis confirmed 3.6 million U.S workers are telecommuters, which represents 2.5 percent of the nation´s total workforce.

The following visual graphic illustrates where this work trend is heading:

This telework infographic also confirms that one in ten work from home on a daily basis. To put it in another way the rewards of developing a responsible and autonomous culture of teleworking can have a positive impact on multiple fronts. They are as follows:

• The USA would save over 650 billion annually
• Would reduce oil consumption by 280 million barrels of oil per year
• Reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of taking 9 million cars per year.
• There are 2 in 3 workers that claim increased productivity working at home
• If the opportunity was made available by their employer 34 percent of workers said they would be very likely to telecommute

Evidently the practice of telecommuting is gaining acceptance. The technology is also providing and allowing for traditional office work environments to be evolved, so it offers employees a work-life balance.

Work from Home: Advantages for the Employer

We have discussed the effects and results telework can have on employees. Now, there is an upside to having this new form of work within a company. For starters working yields a 10 to 20 percent increase in employee productivity as a plus when wanting greater performance from staff.

Surprisingly 78 percent of managers think flexible work hours help retain and motivate important staff members, conforming to Splashtop. Below is another infographic that tells another side to this discussion of telework:

Even though the company owners or seniors are in charge of safeguarding the bottom line, yet the telework framework ends up being a return on investment (ROI). Moreover, exactly 36 percent of employees would rather choose telecommuting over a pay raise.

At a time where climate change is proving to be a damaging and costly force increasingly there is now a greater sense of urgency by companies to integrate telework to reduce the carbon footprint. Whichever the scenario is all of the parties come away with a win-win situation in the long haul.

Takeaways and Conclusions

Telework and telecommuting presents opportunities to improve beyond traditional work models. For the first time the technology provides various gateway into distributing work hours at home and at the office unlike any other time.

With growing concerns of global climate change it comes as no surprise that this should be paramount to roll out as a model to work.

With the right balance telework can be deployed to really transform any entity into a more productive and functioning unit. Finally, as technology continues to invade our daily lives it is especially important to harness these tools to make telework that much more effective and environmentally-friendly.

 

Latest Pew Survey Findings Reveals Discontent towards the 2016 Election

Welcome to the 2016 Iowa Caucus by DonkeyHotey via Flickr 

Welcome to the 2016 Iowa Caucus

In this specific election cycle it can be characterized as interesting and polarizing. Unlike the previous two elections the narrative has been deemed controversial and vocal on a number of issues. In this survey conducted by the Pew Research Center (PRC) found high levels of dissatisfaction with regards to changes to the country, the federal government, the economy, and press coverage.

The PRC research examined a wide range of topics like the divisive nature of the campaign trail, how life has changed in the United States (U.S), and the perceptions on the different candidates and the actual state of affairs. Whatever side of the fence you are on it is clear this election matters to people. The field has been competitive on the Democratic and Republican primary in the race for the party´s nomination.

One of the many findings from registered voters that participated in the survey is 46 percent of registered voters said life in the U.S worse today compared to 50 years ago, according to the PRC. In addition, a separate 34 percent said life is better while 14 percent think it has stayed more or less the same.

When it comes down to discussing the U.S economic system sharp and stark differences exist between both parties naturally. On the one hand Democrats lean towards categorizing the system favoring power interests and for Republicans, particularly those supporting Donald Trump, believe the economic system. Nevertheless, Bernie Sanders (91 percent) supporters are more likely to describe by the likes of Hillary Clinton (73 percent) followers as an unfair economic system.

How is the approval rating for Barack Obama? Surprisingly performing better than expected. Currently, 51 percent of the public approves of the way Obama is handling his job while 44 percent disapprove. It is the first time in almost three years into his second term his approval rating is now more favorable.

Elsewhere 54 percent of the majority of Americans consider the Republican Party as “too extreme” and for Democrats only 37 percent continue to associate it with too extreme. The feeling of registered voters in the view of the government is angry and frustrated. Out of the participants 22 percent were angry at the federal government, yet 59 percent were frustrated. Just 17 percent were content.

The election cycle has revealed a distinct and perhaps different dynamic this time around. There are deep political divisions and there is not a popular mainstream belief that is prevalent. It is safe to say that the presidency is much more scrutinized and contested this election season.

Voter Perception on the Press Coverage and Media Consumption on the Candidates

Since the inaugural and controversial speech by Trump to run for president the consensus is there has been excessive media coverage. Confirming to the results by PRC, three quarters or 75 percent of registered voters said news outlets dedicated too much press coverage.

Furthermore, Clinton facing a contentious battle with Sanders was also heavily covered by the media. Precisely 41 percent or four out of ten believed she had too much media exposure whereas 48 percent had given her the right amount of news coverage.

The challenger Ted Cruz was reported to have 57 percent of about the right amount of coverage by the press. John Kasich had a large 60 percent of too little coverage by sampled voters in this study. Sanders scored 53 percent of an amount of “about right” while 29 percent said he had “too little” media buzz.

Social media has remained an instrumental force and platform for the majority of the candidates since its widespread adoption. The following graphic by Demographics Pro offers insight on the candidates’ followers profile and interests:

Donald Trump´s Fighting Followers by DemographicsPro

From the visual above Trump supporters have an affinity towards violent sports and are 2.8x times more likely than the Twitter average to be interested in mixed martial arts (MMA) or professional wrestling. The rest of the field does not come close to producing the numbers that Trump actually does.

Another separate analysis provides a glimpse into the Media consumption habits of the candidate´s followers compare to the Twitter average:

Infographic and chart on extreme polarization in media consumption. Visual by DemographicsPro 

Major findings or highlights:

• “Trump followers are nearly 12x morelikely than average to read Men’s Humor.”
• “While John Kasich is often mentioned as a “moderate” relative to Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, followers match or exceed even Ted Cruz’s followers in their strict adherence to conservative media – having 126x higheraffinity for the conservative National Review than Twitter average.”
• “Hillary Clinton’s followers are tuned into the political soap opera, being5x more likely than average to read Politico. They also show an interest in pure celebrity soap opera media, reading Gawker and Jezebel (a Gawker Media site) at 18.5x and 19.0x higher than the Twitter average, respectively.”
• “Bernie Sanders reaches prototypical millennials, consuming highly digestible and technology focused media. His followers read the statistics-driven FiveThirtyEight and the science blog Nerdist at 21.0x and 23.0x the Twitter average, respectively.”

Takeaways and Conclusions

The 2016 U.S election has featured a wide-range of stories, debates and controversies. The American public has growing weariness around the candidate´s ability to deliver or offer meaningful change. The fact remains registered voters along with the rest of the American population are passionate about what is happening in the country.

Unlike the previous two elections the discourse has radically shifted for both parties. The Sanders campaign has forced the Clinton camp to adopt a more socialist approach while Trump and company push the scales to the far right.

The next round of primaries are going to offer a bigger clue as to who will finally be the nominees competing for the White House in November.

Helpshift´s Platform Reveals The Importance of Support for Mobile Apps

My Current iPhone Apps by Eduardo Gutierrez de Oliveira via Flickr

In today´s fast-paced world businesses, state agencies, enterprises and other entities are communicating and staying connected through mobile devices. Whether it is a laptop, tablet or smartphone chances are you are using apps for personal or professional reasons.

Since the mobile revolution took off the technology built-in has allowed to do unprecedented things unlike any other time. At some point during the usage of any of those nifty apps installed on your iOS or Android you ran into technical problems, and after troubleshooting you had no resolution. According to the business to consumer (B2C) customer solution, Helpshift, the findings suggested that one out of every five mobile users seek help with their apps installed.

In addition, the data pulled from Helpshift´s data scientists conducted a poll of 1.3 billion devices and at the same time monitored over 3,000 apps. To put into perspective consumers 22 percent are actively are looking for help and this is where support for a mobile app will be mission critical for any organization.

“At Helpshift our goal is to bring Customer Relationship Management (CRM) into the post-PC era,” said Abinash Tripathy, CEO and co-founder at Helpshift. “This data proves the value of in-app customer support. Just as other technology is evolving, so too is CRM and customer support. We must tailor our support to our customers’ needs and meet them in their preferred context, so that brands can engage and retain mobile customers. Helpshift achieves that goal by being the only in-app support solution built specifically for mobile. We’ll continue to provide the best support we can and keep customers returning to your app.”

When a company invests on customer retention and providing a high quality customer experience the reviews along with customer satisfaction will be high. Below are some additional findings by the company:

• Users who engaged with a specific help topic within an FAQ were much less likely to file a support ticket than those who merely used the Help section as a way of contacting the company for support.
• The contact rate after viewing a specific FAQ dropped to a mere 2%, or roughly 1 in 50, thus proving the efficacy of proactive in-app support.

On top of investing in standard operating procedures that resolve customer problems look at investing further in frequently asked questions, so customers feel part of something more than just a service or product acquired.

The Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at HelpShift explained during a telephone interview how important it is to provide that in-app support.

Helpshift — In App Mobile Help Desk & Support

“Even if customers resolve their issues with FAQs there is still a percent of those that are like I am still confused. We provide the in-app ability to chat with an agent and share photos back and forth with screens telling them what to do. Thanks to the proactive action of the agent the consumer receives a high quality experience to get their questions answered and are able to resume successfully using the app,” said Kevin Grant.

By Helpshift (Screenshot of “Why In-App Mobile FAQs Are Essential To mobile Customer Service)

 

Tagamo iOS App Makes Organizing Events Simpler

Tagamo iOS screenshot

If you are looking for an alternative to existing platforms like Facebook to create events you want to check out the Tagamo iPhone app.

The app designed by the Brooklyn-based developers at AppPartner was conceived to make event organizing free from stress and simplify organizing a casual event right within your city. Tagamo launched from beta on Nov. 11, 2015 and available as a free download to eliminate some of the frustrations when planning impromptu last minute gatherings.

According to the press release, Tagamo was conceptualized to solve problems with creating changeable, on-the-go, low pressure events without a sense of urgency or obligation. So, with the app you can unformed ideas and activities into spontaneous events (get-togethers, spontaneous workout plans, drinks, live music, or outdoor activities).

“Millennials are more active than the media gives them credit for, but they’ve grown up in an on-demand world that long ago disposed of traditional event scheduling and organizing,” said Co-founder and President of Tagamo Player Haynes. “Group messaging is too messy and exclusive, and Facebook is too formal for the types of flexible low-pressure events Millennials commonly attend, like outdoor sports, music shows, or casual drinks.”

The Tagamo app makes all of this happen thanks to its built-in geolocation feature that enables users to make plans wherever they go. For instance, it updates on your current location while being able to find friends and activities on-the-move. Furthermore, it alerts nearby friends and friends of friends that can decide if they will join in on the fun or disregard the event altogether making it hassle free.

How are happenings created? Conforming to the company it can be done by selecting a relevant tag such as “brunch” or “workout for example. In addition you can add some great visual material further attract activity right from the internet, from the camera roll or the Tagamo library.

“My brother and I set out to solve a problem that we were facing daily: we wanted to alert local friends of cool activities we were thinking of doing without making it a big deal, while also doing our part to solve the FOMO – fear of missing out – epidemic,” said Co-founder and CEO Patrick Haynes of the company. “Tagamo makes it easy to join what you want to join and not worry about spoiling someone else’s fun if you change your plans or decide to pass.”