Homeworking 'boosts recruitment potential'Companies may find that their catchment area for possible candidates to join their workforce becomes larger with a unified communications plan, according to an expert.

Hugo Harber, the director of convergence and network strategy at Star, suggested that businesses in the capital for example may find that by adopting such frameworks, they can look at applicants living outside the M25 in "cheaper areas".

These comments follow research by Frost and Sullivan, which revealed that across Europe sales of web conferencing services and technology increased by 19.3 per cent, largely on the back of a greater number of firms embracing flexible work patterns.

And Mr Harber said that converting business operations to include these approaches could lead to fewer travel costs and increased productivity.

Furthermore, he stressed: "Better management of resources, reduced consumption and optimisation are all good for a business’s health, as well as the planet’s."

The expert valued the price of operating the average office desk in the UK, including running costs, to be around £5,000 per year.

By Colette Paxton