Telecommuting, the practice by which employees work even if said employees don't go into a physical office, is one that's been met with a lot of reactions. Skepticism has been on the rise lately as companies like Yahoo and Zappos have expressed resistance to the concept, but in many companies, telecommuting is the order of the day. While admittedly, there are problems with the idea of telecommuting, there are also quite a few benefits to the idea as well, and perhaps the biggest of these is direct bottom line impact in the form of cost savings.
Telecommuting in the United States is on the rise--up fully 80 percent since 2005, according to a study from GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com—and shows no real signs of stopping. There are five key points that allow a business to profit from telecommuting, and explains why so many businesses are inclined to allow employees to work remotely. The first is increased productivity; a telecommuter is actually nearly twice as likely as a non-telecommuter to work over 40 hours a week, with 53 percent of telecommuters doing so and 28 percent of non-telecommuters doing likewise. This isn't universal, however, and often depends on the kind of work being done. Employees with rote or repetitive tasks, for example, actually do six to 10 percent less when telecommuting, but with online productivity tools and the like, these losses can be mitigated.
Lower overhead becomes an important factor too; with fewer employees in the office, the need for many office standards like power, heating, water supply and the like drops. Reports suggest that, should a company allow even just half-time telecommuting, the business would save about $11,000 a year, per employee. That's a substantial portion of an employee's annual salary in many cases.
Better yet, retention rates increase on average with telecommuting options, as employees who do report both higher job satisfaction and loyalty rates, which drops attrition rates, and can reduce training and onboarding costs in terms of getting new employees up to speed. Plus, employees commonly take fewer sick days when telecommuting, as many employees take sick time to address personal issues or stress-related illness. Since telecommuting allows added flexibility, to a degree, the need to take that sick time falls through the floor, including things like taking appointments that aren't work-related, like dental appointments. Finally, travel costs also fall off, as most telecommuting tools can be used to make contact with remote users as well. While conference call tools and the like aren't a universal replacement for business travel—sometimes that face-to-face touch is necessary—such tools can replace some travel, and reduce expenses.
Take all of these points together, and, particularly over time, the savings add up. With big savings and little savings together, a lot of cash can be saved and reallocated elsewhere, a move that's likely to produce further profitability elsewhere. Throw in the various “green benefits”—reduced power use at the business, reduced commuting costs and carbon emissions from employees driving to work—that can have powerful goodwill impact, and the picture becomes pretty clear in favor of telecommuting.
It doesn't necessarily work well for everyone, at every company, but there are plenty of compelling reasons to at least try it throughout the company. A few minor considerations and savings could follow right in line, a development that few businesses can afford to ignore out of hand.
Edited by Maurice Nagle