Telecommuting is an increasingly prevalent trend for companies. As many as 30 million U.S. workers telecommute one day a week, according to the Global Workplace Analytics and Telework Research Network. Also, some 3.1 million other U.S. employees telecommute for the entire work week.
Technological advancements such as cloud computing have led to more employees working outside of the office, while still staying in touch with colleagues.
For instance, SYNAQ introduced remote workers in 2012. Its staff is based in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as other locations. The employees find they have many benefits with the telecommute option.
Employees report they have improved work-life balance. They also do not spend time commuting. Employees are appreciative to be able to get this kind of flexibility, as well.
There are also benefits to employers. Companies can run 24-hours a day, using employees from different locations. There is improved productivity and customer service, as well, according to IT News Africa. There are lower costs too, such as less money spent on a central office.
To get an idea of the improved productivity, a Stanford University study of a travel agency in China with 16,000 employees, which has at-home workers, saw there was a 13 percent jump in performance after just nine months of telecommuting. Telecommuters worked harder than the employees in the office, the study adds, and they enjoyed their jobs more than the office employees.
"Due to the success of the experiment, [the firm] rolled out the option to work from home to the whole firm and allowed the experimental employees to re-select between the home and office," the study said. "Interestingly, over half of them switched, which led to the gains from [work from home] almost doubling to 22 percent."
If an employee is trying to get telecommuting in place for their job, TheStreet recommends proving to the boss you are spending more time working. For instance, by showing you will add work time by no longer commuting, meet deadlines on time or earlier than requested and save money by not using office space and office equipment.
The article suggests, first asking to work at home one or two days a week. Then after a few months, review performance and if it works well, try to add more days to the work-at-home schedule.
Remember, too, conferencing will be needed to stay in touch with the office, colleagues and clients. There is a need for an exceptional conference call service provider in order to make telecommuting more effective.
AT Conference is a conference call services provider offering the tools needed to successfully make the transition to telecommuting. Its reservationless calling allows a call to be set up in seconds. Its web conferencing offers a high level of collaboration options and for those not familiar with conference calls there is the option of an operator assisted call—receiving moderation from an experienced operator every step of the way. Conference call services let telecommuters take part in conference calls around the clock using any landline or mobile telephone ensuring that just because you’re not enough the office, you still have the same levels of productivity and collaboration.
Edited by Maurice Nagle