How to assess the potential of letting staff work from home
For various reasons, employees increasingly want to work from home - to telecommute or telework. Telecommuting is becoming a preferred option for many employees. Indeed, in the United States more than one in ten white-collar workers now work from home for at least part of their time. So when you’re approached by a worker keen to telework from home, it’s important that you have all the information that will allow you to act in the best interests of the organisation and the individual. Here are some important pointers...
1. Determine if the job lends itself to telework.
Telecommuting is not for everyone, and certainly not for staff who are either not meeting expectations in the office or simply looking for an alternative to child-care. As a general rule, those who are effective in their office jobs will be just as effective if they work from home - provided they want that arrangement and it fits within their employment contract.
A bigger issue for you will be deciding which jobs qualify for teleworking. Salespeople and consultants, for example, have been operating successfully from their home offices long before the term ‘telecommuting’ was invented. Staff in management positions, however, and those whose duties require face-to-face contact with customers, are unlikely to be able to telework on a regular basis.
Sound out other companies with programs already established. You’ll find that their insights, experiences, and policies are likely to prove invaluable.
2. Weigh up the pros and cons.
A study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that a person who worked from home for just two days a week in 1998 saved the employer between $US6,000 and $US12,000 a year in office space requirements, equipment costs, turnover, and increased productivity. Telecommuting, as a cost-effective work option, has other benefits:
- a significant boost in productivity
- elimination of travel time
- a reduction in direct supervision time
- time saved in readying oneself to go to work
- working in an environment free from day-to-day crises and office politics
- having performance judged on the work and results produced.
On the other hand, potential down-sides could include:
- non work-related interruptions
- inadequate self-discipline
- removal from the organisation’s culture
- an increased possibility of ‘moonlighting’ (doing work for other companies).
3. Collect your facts.
Try telecommuting yourself for a brief period as part of your information-gathering process. Not only will this experience help you to understand some of the real benefits but it will also develop an appreciation of equipment needs and the need for a written schedule detailing how to get the best value for time spent. Your experiences could result in a trial or pilot by others for an agreed period.
