Have Laptop Will Travel

The annual BIG conference entitled B2B Research:New Dimensions took place from 13th to 15th May 2009 at its regular venue, the St Pierre Marriott Hotel in Chepstow.

Representing FDS International was Richard Hepburn, CEO of parent company Munro Global, who delivered a presentation on remote working written by Research Director Neil Aulton.

The session, 'Changing Business Models' was chaired by Sinead Jefferies of Royal Mail, and included pieces on 'The future of work' delivered by Keith Bailey (Nokia) and Andy Dexter (Truth), and 'Virtual reality' delivered by Sara McFadzean of Chaterhouse Research.

Neil's paper explores how businesses are affected by remote working, both positively and negatively. Citing technology, security, and management style as some of the 'health warnings' that should be associated with remote working, Neil also highlights several success stories of colleagues who work as far away as South Africa and Thailand who bring a positive impact for the business.

As a long standing client of FDS, Neil was able to share some findings of the BT Flexible Working Survey from 2006 where BT undertook analysis on the impact of their move to encourage remote working within their business, and found significant cost savings in terms of office overheads of around £6,000 per year per remote worker; they also estimated an environmental impact of this policy saving 12 million litres of petrol each year through reduced commuting.

The presentation was met with enthusiasm from the floor; and the full paper can be downloaded here.