How to Keep Home Workers Working
<p><strong>London — May 31</strong><br />Working from home offers advantages to both employees and employers, but in today's technology-dependent work culture, any technology problems encountered away from the organization's IT department can cause anything from worker frustration to serious productivity problems. </p><p>Thus, Training Synergy, a training solutions provider, is offering a course for home workers that not only delivers PC and networking basic skills but also ties these in with the home worker's organization's best practice processes and procedures.<br /><br />With space at a premium in many offices, the opportunity to get some of your employees working from home seems attractive for employers. </p><p>And for employees, the opportunity to cut out commuting time and be at home, keeping cool, during the summer weather instead of being in a crowded office is also attractive.<br /><br />"Not only does home-working offer a financial benefit, but it also facilitates the movement for work-life balance and improves the potential for staff diversity," said David Field of Training Synergy. "While the benefits and potential risks are well-known and documented, one of the major areas that tends to be overlooked is the need for home workers to be as self-sufficient as possible in terms of both applications and basic PC awareness.</p><p>"Being dependent on laptops, PCs and all the other paraphernalia that go with today's technology-dominated and facilitated workplace means that small technology-related issues can soon render a home worker helpless and unproductive."<br /><br />Investing in training for home workers in basic PC skills and networking is one of the best ways to reduce downtime and also take the pressure off technical support.<br /><br />"Often, the most frustrating problems can be simply solved as long as the home worker knows the basics," Field said.</p><p>He also said there are many courses and accreditations available for learning these basic skills.<br /><br />"There's the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) and soon, there will be the ICDL, ITQ — the new NVQ for IT — along with other accreditations," Field said. "Training Synergy also offers a course for home workers, which not only delivers PC and networking basic skills but also ties these in with the home worker's organization's best practice processes and procedures."</p>
