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Telecommuting: Is it feasible for your company?

Written by: Jennifer Loftus

Article Overview: In researching fiscally sensitive lifestyle adjustments, this Astronology reporter discovered the growing trend of telecommuting. While it may not seem like a common HR subject, telecommuting is becoming a highly important topic in organizations.

Telecommuting: Is it feasible for your company?

Right now, many organizations are asking HR departments to creatively find solutions to cut cost yet retain talent. Introducing a telecommuting program within your organization may be the beacon of light needed to balance an organization during this time of recession.

What exactly is Telecommuting?

A worker who participates in telecommuting is someone who uses the flexibility of his / her job to make arrangements to work outside of the office. These workers substitute the average daily commuting ritual with telecommuting technology, such as the web and phone in order to connect to the office remotely. The standard of how many hours or days an average telecommuter will work is debatable.

For instance, Sun Microsystems has an employment program called Open Work. In this program employees have the option of working in 3 different settings:
• Sun Assigned- Assigned office on one of the Sun’s campuses,
• Flexible- Employees work in flexible offices, drop-in centers, and/or home whenever you choose to, and
• Home Assigned- Employees work directly from home.

According to Sun Microsystems, this platform program is ideal. The company’s corporate responsibility page highlights that “Sun's Open Work platform is one of the top reasons that 85% of our mobile workers say they would recommend Sun to external people.”

Pros vs. Cons: The Positives

An MSNBC report from 2007 states that, “12 million employees telework more than 8 hours per week, up from 6 million in 2000 (Gartner Dataquest report).” The report predicted that the number would hit 14 million by 2009. 2009 is another year fortified by technology, with new releases of handheld office friendly communication devices such as the Iphone (now with 3g), Blackberry Storm, and Palm Prè.

Due to the advances in technology and the capabilities of these devices, contact with supervisors is just as simultaneous as in the office. Further advances that make telecommuting a very ideal adjustment include software such as groupware, virtual private networks, video conferencing, and VOIP (Voice Over-Internet Protocol). The costs to create an at-home work station can vary, as high speed internet connections and VPN-capable routers have become reasonably priced in recent times. Expenses are even lower if employees are willing to contribute their own personal equipment such as a laptop or video camcorder.

Other positive aspects to telecommuting include the conservation of space. For a company looking to grow, without the funds to rent or buy office space, telecommuting may seem like the perfect solution. “If you have 1,500 employees¬¬----instead of having to provide workspace for each one you [can] provide 300 people with a workspace on any given day while four-fifths of the organization is working elsewhere,” states Rita Waltson, executive director of the Telework Consortium.

An organization can conserve energy and save costs by offering telecommuting options. Sun Microsystems Open Work Program has lead to $387 million in I.T. and real estate savings, and a 28K reduction in CO2 annually. Background research for the book, “Undress 4 Success: The Naked Truth About Working From Home” states that, “while less than 5% of the U.S. workforce currently work from home, 40% have jobs that would allow them to telecommute.” If the additional 40% telecommuted annually, they could: save 625 million barrels of oil, reduce greenhouse gases by 107 million metric tons of CO2 each year, and save almost $43 billion at the pump.

Pros vs. Cons: The Considerations

With every possible change or adjustment in organizational structure there are positives and negatives. Despite the ever growing popularity of telecommuting, there are still some concerns that have to be carefully addressed. One concern is safety and security.

For example, in healthcare, special consideration has to be given in regards to security of documentation. Aurora Health Care, a company that operates 13 hospitals and dozens of clinics, has several hundred transcriptionists who work from home. The company also has telecommuting radiologists. In order to protect classified information, transcriptionists are given standard PCs with hospital applications and antivirus security features. They also must use a secure VPN access.

Further, not everyone can handle the responsibilities of being a full- or part-time teleworker. As the previously mentioned MSNBC article pointed out, “Workers will have more of the onus on them to prove that they’re worth their salt since they won’t be hanging around the office where bosses can see them working away.” This means that your average teleworker would have to be an independent self-starting individual that can produce on a regular basis. The employer should have the confidence that the employee will do their job well enough to work without checking in with their supervisor at every stage.

With the invasion of the home office, some workers may not adjust to the personal part of home office working. Becoming too comfortable working at home may cause a problem with productivity. On the other extreme, some employees may become overly zealous and work 24/7. In both cases, telecommuting can present some dilemmas for the unprepared organization.

How Do We Get Started?

For those that are curious about presenting the option of telecommuting to their organizations, here are some tips:

• Present a written proposal and an oral presentation.
This demonstrates that a serious effort was made in order to introduce something new to an organization.

• Focus on the benefits telecommuting would bring to the organization, not to you personally.
Think of it like job hunting from résumés…the more it sounds beneficial for the organization, the better the chances of it becoming an established program.

• Demonstrate that you are a capable worker at the office, and that the practices would continue while teleworking.
Note your best accomplishments and contributions to the organization. Ensure that the good work will continue.

• Propose a trial period.
Many successful telecommuting proposals are those that include an offer to test the program…perhaps during a season when activity is low.

• Give evidence of a workspace and detailed descriptions of the equipment needed.
Take pictures or create blueprints of the area you would have designated for work, including the equipment. Present not only pictures but actual detailed specs about the equipment, what it will be used for, and how much it would cost.

Although telecommuting may not work for every organization or every individual, statistics show that more and more organizations are considering and offering some sort of teleworking program. With the economy still less than positive, and utility expenses still high, perhaps telecommuting can help alleviate some of the pressures that are perhaps being felt by your employees. Why not take it into consideration and see if a pilot program would be worth exploring?

Looking for additional resources? Other sources for statistics in support of the benefits of telecommuting include the following: ITAC, The Telework Advisory Group for WorldatWork, Work Options.com, The State of Connecticut’s Telecommuting Website, and Undress4Success Telecommuting Statistics.

Related Articles
  Earn Money From Home By Telecommuting
  Telecommuting Saves Big Companies Money
  Have A Plan Before Proposing Telecommuting To Your Boss
  The Pros and Cons of Telecommuting for Employers
  How To Convince Your Boss Telecommuting Is A Good Idea

Article Tags: 6 million, advances in technology, campuses, communication devices, corporate responsibility, dataquest report, employment program, flexible employees, gartner dataquest, hr departments, iphone, mobile workers, msnbc, msnbc report, platform program, recession, sun microsystems, telecommuter, telecommuting program, work platform



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