Marketing director Jack O’Hern explains that the company has a relatively young workforce, many of whom are parents: “One of the triggers was when one of our tax managers returned from maternity leave. She was intending to work part time, but could only manage one day a week in the office due to childcare. By offering her the ability to work from home, we have doubled her capacity—now she works a day a week from home, and a day in the office. This is great for her, and for us as we retain someone highly qualified.”

For Wright Vigar, which has now equipped all of its fee-earners to be able to work at maximum productivity when away from the offices (whether that’s from home, or while on the road), this strategy is not just about saving on commute time or cutting them loose from the office, but enabling them to work more flexible hours that fit around their home life.

O’Hern says: “Although most of our work is client-based and must fit around this, we can’t see any reason why a parent can’t be on hand to deal with something important at home, if they have the ability to complete a project later in the day.”

Supporting this new way of working came with a price, though. Although the firm was updating its systems anyway, the company spent 10-15% more per user to equip them with a laptop rather than a PC, and about the same to upgrade to a server that would enable remote staff to connect to the company networks and access all their usual resources.

Although Wright Vigar hasn’t yet quantified the business benefits, it claims that, in addition to being able to retain key staff with young families, it is able to save fee-earners a substantial amount of “dead” time in their working days.

That staff can do this without needing a fixed telephone line provides even more efficiency savings. “With Wi-Fi (fast, wireless internet connections) popping up all over the place, even on trains, our fee-earners can be productive as they travel, and between meetings, instead of having to kill time at the shops,” he adds.

The company will also be able to avoid the expense of having to relocate staff to temporary offices for several weeks when it begins disruptive office renovations soon.

Financial recruitment specialist Lynne Hargreaves knows exactly how much her firm has saved by adopting a teleworking strategy, which has involved handing her company’s data management over to a remote hosting company, Datanet, so it can be accessible by all the company’s consultants over broadband internet connections.

It has enabled the company to dispense with its business premises altogether, following the realisation that it just didn’t need them any more. “The main motivation behind adopting home working was to increase my own productivity, as a single mum to an 11-year-old,” says Hargreaves. “But I soon realised that, as most of our business is done on the phone, email and at off-site meetings, we didn’t need our offices at all. We’re now saving ￡16,000 a year on rent, plus the cost of utilities, not to mention what would have been spent on commuting.”

1. What is the main topic of this passage?

A) How business managers view hi-tech.

B) Relations between employers and employees.

C) How to cut down the costs of small businesses.

D) Benefits of the practice of teleworking.

2. From the research conducted by the communications provider Inter-Tel, we learn that .

A) more employees work to full capacity at home

B) employees show a growing interest in small businesses

C) more businesses have adopted remote working solutions

D) attitudes toward IT technology have changed

3. What development has made flexible working practices possible according to Andy Poulton?

A) Reduced cost of telecommunications.

B) Improved reliability of internet service.

C) Availability of the VoIP service.

D) Access to broadband everywhere.

4. What is Neil Stephenson’s advice to firms contracting internet services?

A) They look for reliable business-only providers.

B) They contact providers located nearest to them.

C) They carefully examine the contract.

D) They contract the cheapest provider.

5. Internet-based telecoms facilitates remote working by __________.

A) offering sophisticated voice services

B) giving access to emailing in real time

C) helping clients discuss business at home

D) providing calls completely free of charge

6. The accountancy firm Wright Vigar promoted teleworking initially in order to __________.

A) present a positive image to prospective customers

B) support its employees with children to take care of

C) attract young people with IT expertise to work for it

D) reduce operational expenses of a second office

7. According to marketing director Jack O’Hern, teleworking enabled the company to __________.

A) enhance its market image

B) reduce recruitment costs

C) keep highly qualified staff

D) minimise its office space

8. Wright Vigar’s practice of allowing for more flexible working hours not only benefits the company but helps improve employees’ .

9. With fast, wireless internet connections, employees can still be __________ while traveling.

10. Single mother Lynne Hargreaves decided to work at home mainly to __________.

Part Ⅲ Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)

Section A