Technology has increased the efficiency of remote workers to create a new group of workers called the distributed workforce. The distributed workforce is a term given for the growing demographic of external/remote employees who can effectively work from almost anywhere with internet access such as coffee shops, hotel rooms, airport terminals, libraries and more. As a leading provider of online video platform solutions for enterprise-level organizations, MediaPlatform is uniquely positioned to analyze this synergy between the growth in adaptation of video collaboration tools and the rise of the distributed workforce. The infographic is available on the MediaPlatform website here: http://www.mediaplatform.com/site/2014/01/video-distributed-workforce-infographic/

As shown on the infographic, modern workers can be classified into one or more of the four categories: fixed and static, internally mobile, externally mobile and telecommuter. Fixed and static employees engage in independent work with traditional office tasks while telecommuter employees work full-time at home or in a satellite office. Internally mobile employees alternate between individual and group work throughout the day but stays in the office environment while externally mobile employees perform both individual and group work, but work anytime and anywhere.

MediaPlatform has also illustrated four things managers can do to build trust and engagement for distributed employees. First, support and participate closely when establishing distributed work environments. Second, define and disseminate formal polices and procedures for distributed work. Third, establish explicit and tangible performance measures. And finally, develop formal agreements about regular interaction. For example, schedule web conferences regularly and lay out clear expectations of distributed employees.

Among the benefits of this new technology, video conferencing increases employee collaboration and reduces total operational costs for companies. Labor-related costs represent 70% of an organization's total costs of operation, and video can reduce the cost of travel and entertainment, office space, and downtime due to sick leave and family emergencies.

About MediaPlatform

MediaPlatform was founded in 2005 and is based in the Los Angeles area. They provide medium and large-sized organizations fully integrated rich media webcasting services for corporate communications and training. They strive to help businesses improve employee engagement and enable collaboration. Visit http://www.mediaplatform.com/site/webcasting/ to learn more about their service and products.