by Brianna Crandall — August 21, 2013—With discussions about the pros and cons of telecommuting taking place throughout organizations around the world, Kona , the social collaboration platform from Deltek, has released the results of a survey showcasing public sentiment on this issue and how workers are adopting technologies like Kona to work, communicate and collaborate better together. Deltek is a global provider of enterprise software and information solutions that empower some 16,000 organizations in over 80 countries around the world to unlock their business potential.
Highlights from the survey, which was conducted in conjunction with SodaHead.com, reportedly the Web’s largest opinion-based community, include:
- A full 70% of workers would rather telecommute than work in the office. For workers between the ages of 35 to 44, the numbers jumped to 81%, while only 66% of those aged 18-24 wanted to work remotely. In addition, 70% of parents would rather work from home.
- In offices that allow employees to work remotely, jealousy is often present. Over half (57%) of respondents said that working remotely spurs jealousy among remote colleagues. For workers over the age of 65, the numbers jump to 65%. 60% of parents and 75% of those who earn over $100,000 per year are jealous of co-workers who telecommute.
- With major advances in social business tools and platforms, the survey reveals that many companies and workers are not taking advantage of technologies that can make working remotely more productive and collaborative. 64% of respondents feel that e-mail is an effective way to communicate within a group, 20% still use “paper and pen” to keep track of group activities, and 22% keep track of everything “in their head.”
“Innovation combined with the right leadership, processes and people allows businesses to be more adaptable to the needs of their teams, spurring a more productive environment—whether that’s a traditional, virtual or hybrid work setting,” said Scott DeFusco, Deltek’s Vice President of Product Strategy and Management for Kona. “Using a social collaboration platform like Kona enables team members to be more connected and engaged. The Social Enterprise unlocks the potential of people and businesses by being the virtual equivalent of an open office environment.”
To reinforce these trends and support the transformation to distributed workforces, the company recently launched Kona Business —the premium version of the popular cloud-based social collaboration and productivity platform. Kona Business offers one integrated solution for project/task management, private or enterprise social networks, and personal productivity. Internal and external members can collaborate with more control around communication in the context of the projects and groups they are associated with each day. Deltek says this helps employees (and others like partners, contractors, vendors and customers) become more productive and teams more successful, individually and together.
Realizing the challenges that distributed groups across many locations may face when trying to accomplish activities with co-workers, Kona aggregates all of the components of people’s work lives into one manageable space. According to the company, workers using Kona are able to address the three most common issues typically associated with telecommuting:
- Ongoing connection to and interaction with team members, regardless of their location or the project;
- Ability to aggregate relevant information, in context, with anyone who is appropriate; and
- Keeping the work flow moving forward, whether the employee is in transit or just checking in while away from the (remote or traditional) office via Kona’s mobile apps.
