Almost half of NZ SMEs have remote workers within business

23rd April 2013

Almost half of NZ SMEs have remote workers within their business

New Zealanders more likely to see the financial benefits than Australians

New research by New Zealand’s largest accounting software provider, MYOB, reveals almost half the country’s small and medium businesses (SMEs) now have employees who work from home or away from the office.

MYOB commissioned independent market research firm Colmar Brunton to conduct a nationally representative survey of 1,047 SMEs. 18% said their employees worked ‘mainly away from the office’, 28% said they worked ‘partly from home and from the office’ and the remainder did not have remote workers.

One key finding was that SMEs whose employees worked mostly from a location other than business premises were 43% more likely to have seen a revenue rise in the past year than those without remote workers. They were 21% less likely to see a revenue fall.

The survey also highlighted that while fewer New Zealand businesses have teleworkers than Australian businesses, where 57% support the practice, they were more likely to see the financial benefits. Australian businesses with teleworkers were only 24% more likely to see revenue rise in the past year.

MYOB General Manager, Business Division, James Scollay says, “The link between teleworking and improved business results is clear in MYOB’s research. SMEs whose employees worked remotely most or all of the time were 43% more likely to experience a revenue rise in the past year. 40% experienced a rise, compared to 28% whose staff only worked from the office.

“When looking at businesses whose revenue fell, 29% of the SMEs without teleworkers saw a fall, versus 23% of those whose staff teleworked most of the time. These trends speak volumes as to why empowering employees to work outside the traditional confines of an office is becoming increasingly prevalent. Businesses are realising the bottom line benefits and rewards from more engaged employees.”

Business advantages
Key benefits experienced by the 46% of SMEs whose staff telework include improved employee satisfaction and IT performance, travel savings and increased productivity.

Mr Scollay says, “Technology is a key enabler of teleworking and nowadays you don’t need to spend much money upfront to get started. There are plenty of simple free online technologies and applications available such as Skype, Dropbox and Gmail. And the cloud-enabling of new versions of more fully featured applications such as Microsoft Office 365 and MYOB AccountRight Live makes for an easy transition for working remotely.”

Teleworking technologies
Respondents whose employees worked away from the office to some extent were asked what technologies they used for teleworking. Almost three in four used email, more than three in five used laptops/computers and more than one in two used smartphones. Interestingly, fewer than one in 10 used VPN and video conferencing.

Those most likely to telework
Delving further into the research, SME operators most likely to use teleworking include those in:
• Medium to large sized businesses (76% versus 48% in micro businesses, which were the least likely)
• Business, professional and property services and construction and trades sectors (57% versus 24% in agribusiness, forestry and fishing)
• Start-up businesses (55% versus 43% of established businesses)
• Metropolitan based businesses (52% versus 29% of their rural counterparts)
• Auckland (53% versus 46% in Christchurch).

For MYOB product information, research results, business tips, discussions, customer service and more visit the MYOB Business Monitor webpage, The Pulse blog, MYOB LinkedIn, MYOB Facebook or MYOB YouTube.

About the MYOB Business Monitor
The MYOB Business Monitor is a national survey of 1,000+ New Zealand small and medium business owners and managers, from sole traders to mid-sized companies, representing the major industry sectors. It has run since 2009, commissioned to independent market research firm Colmar Brunton. This most recent survey ran late January/early February 2013. The Monitor researches business performance and attitudes in areas such as profitability, cash flow, pipeline, technology usage and the government. The weighting of respondents by both geographical location and sector is based on overall market proportions as established by Statistics New Zealand and is drawn from an independent survey group, which includes both MYOB clients and non-clients.

About MYOB
Established in 1991, MYOB is one of New Zealand’s largest business management software providers. Its 50+ products and services have been employed by over one million businesses in New Zealand and Australia. MYOB serves businesses of all ages, types and sizes, delivering solutions that simplify accounting, payroll, client management, websites and much more. With a network of more than 20,000 accountants and other professional partners, it provides the support and tools that help make business life easier. Today, MYOB is extending its solutions online and delivering innovation through cloud computing, enabling clients to make smarter connections with business partners and customers. Visit myob.co.nz/smarterconnections.

ENDS

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