Managing Off-Site Staff for Small Business. Lin Grensing-Pophal
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upwardly mobile employees in general. As a manager, one of your key responsibilities is employee development. Telecommuters, as part of the staff, need to be part of this process.
7. The Benefits and Rewards
There are certainly potential barriers to making telecommuting work and there are some disadvantages for both employees and employers. There are also, however, a number of very definite advantages; there are good reasons why so many individuals and companies are turning to telecommuting as a work option.
SHRM’s “2008 Employee Job Satisfaction” report indicated that 46 percent of employees cited the flexibility to balance work/life issues as a very important aspect of job satisfaction. Many companies currently offer nontraditional scheduling options to employees to help them balance their work and personal lives. In fact, 54 percent of the HR professionals responding to the survey indicated that their organizations offered flextime, allowing employees to select their work hours within limits established by the employer. In addition to flextime, 51 percent indicated that their organizations offered some form of telecommuting: 45 percent on an ad-hoc basis, 34 percent on a part-time basis and 19 percent on a full-time basis. Clearly both employers and employees are seeing benefits and rewards associated with telecommuting and other flextime options.
7.1 For employers
Improved productivity. While there are some who question the productivity gains espoused by companies that offer telecommuting options to employees, most will claim a positive impact. The Gartner Group has estimated productivity improvements from 10 percent to 40 percent. Nortel, with more than 4,000 telecommuters, reports productivity improvements of 24 percent since 1995 — with an associated 10 percent increase in job satisfaction and reduced turnover risk of 24 percent.
Reduced sick time. Employers find that telecommuters have fewer sick days — an average of one to two days a year. It makes sense. There are times when a cold may make the thought of spending the day at the office seem like torture, but you might be perfectly able to function at home.
Reduction in office space costs. IBM has reported $75 million in annual savings on real estate expenses because of their telecommuting program. AT&T estimates that its implementation of teleworking results in an average savings of $25 million per year.
Environmental concerns. While the US Clean Air Act was changed in 1995 and no longer makes reductions in car-commuter trips mandatory, and further environmental laws may be forthcoming, environmentally aware employers know that telecommuting can have a positive impact on traffic congestion and, ultimately, emissions.
Weather and other traffic-related concerns. In Atlanta, companies began implementing telecommuting during the summer Olympics of 1996 when traffic, related not only to the event but also to event preparation, created difficulties for commuters. In northern climates, telecommuting means that snow days are a thing of the past. When you have only to commute on foot from one room to another in your house, bad weather is no longer a barrier.
Broader talent pool. The labor pool has experienced some significant fluctuations over the past few years. It is sometimes difficult to find skilled, qualified, and motivated employees. Telecommuting (and the technology that goes with it) makes it possible to bypass the boundaries of geography. For employers, that means the ability to select from a much broader pool of talent. It also means that barriers are removed when, for instance, a merger means that corporate headquarters moves to a new location and a number of highly skilled employees, unable or unwilling to relocate, now have the option of continuing to work for the company, but from their homes.
Enhanced opportunities for disabled individuals. Telecommuting provides a workable and effective way to accommodate employees with various health problems and disabilities that might otherwise keep them out of the labor market. Far beyond complying with legal regulations, the option of telecommuting can allow employers to provide highly qualified but disabled employees with the opportunity to contribute their talents toward meaningful endeavors.
Improved attractiveness of company to job candidates. Employees are, more than ever, giving their personal lives precedence over their professional lives. To many, the ability to work in a flexible environment is very attractive. Even those employees who are not interested in telecommuting may perceive a company that offers the option as being progressive and concerned with meeting the needs of its employees.
Move toward management by results. All managers should manage like managers of telecommuters. By focusing on results, managers can let go of outmoded ideas of employee surveillance or concern about the number of hours that an employee puts in. What matters are the outcomes. Today’s successful managers work collaboratively with their employees, recognizing that the measurement of performance depends more on quantitative results than subjective perceptions of an employee’s hard work.
7.2 For employees
Reduced or eliminated commute time. In major metropolitan areas and even in some smaller communities, a daily commute may mean putting up with traffic, congestion, long wait times, and frustration. Telecommuting eliminates these concerns — and allows employees to save money on gasoline, vehicle maintenance, and other travel-related costs. The elimination of a one-hour, round-trip commute each day results in a savings of six full weeks of work per year.
Flexibility. Formerly, employees were confined to their work areas from a certain time in the morning until a certain time in the afternoon, for a specific number of days each week. They were generally allowed one break in the morning and one in the afternoon (both at pre-determined times) and a lunch period of anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. To put it simply, their time was rigidly controlled and governed by the needs (or, more precisely, the whims) of their employers.
As employees have become more independent and the employment options available to them have increased, they have begun to question this rigidity and to request — even demand — flexibility in how their time is scheduled. Telecommuting responds to these requests by recognizing that it is no longer a 9-to-5 world. Today’s employees, if provided with the appropriate work tools and communication channels, can effectively work any time during the 24-hour day — 7 days a week.
An environment free of disruptions. The workplace can be very distracting and may result in lost productivity. Telecommuters frequently report (and companies agree) that they are more productive because they have greater privacy and fewer unplanned interruptions of their time.
Ability to balance work and home demands. Telecommuters are better able to balance the demands of work with the demands and personal needs of their home lives. Raising young children, caring for older parents, pursuing hobbies and personal interests; all this can be accomplished with less stress and frustration when the traditional concept of work is changed to one that recognizes the needs of the whole employee.
Decrease in miscellaneous expenses (i.e., clothing, meals). As any employee knows, there are a lot of miscellaneous expenses associated with working, including transportation costs, clothing, and food. Telecommuters are able to save on these costs, which results in a positive impact on their disposable income.
Elimination of transportation problems. Telecommuting eliminates travel concerns for employees in areas where winter can mean snowy and icy roads — and days when they simply can’t safely get to work.
While the many misconceptions associated with telecommuting can certainly keep companies from moving toward this flexible option, the biggest factor that limits the use of telecommuting at many companies is trust. Embarking on a telecommuting program can require a major paradigm shift for many organizations and individuals. Rather than believing that you are paying an employee for his or her time, you must move to an understanding that you are really paying an employee for his or her output — whether that output is measured in number of sales, completion of specific projects, or consultation.
Telecommuting means that we no longer have to go where the work is. Today, the workplace has become more of a concept than a place.