New Study Says Retain Employees with Teleworking

A new study by unified communications solutions provider, Mitel (News - Alert), reveals the real cost savings behind working from home compared to commuting to work everyday. Employers take note.

 

The Mitel Canadian Unified Communications (News - Alert) Trends Survey showed that more than half (59 percent) of Canadian teleworkers claim to save at least $25 per month on fuel costs. More than 25 percent of them said they save more than $100 per month by not commuting to work.

 

"High fuel costs are leading many companies to create teleworking programs that put more money in employees' pockets without increasing their salaries," explained Doug Michaelides, vice president global marketing at Mitel, sponsor of the Canadian Unified Communications Trends Survey. "We believe this has been a big driver of the recent acceleration of customer interest in our unified communications solutions as employers seek to retain employees while holding the line on salary increases."

 

According to Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting company, that pressure is demonstrated throughout the economy. In 2009, base pay increases will lower, but employees will be compensated in other ways, such as bonuses, housing allowances additional vacation time, or flexible work arrangements, reveals a Hewitt Associates’ recently released study.

 

Employees will be more likely to stay at their current jobs if their employer lets them work from home, Mitel’s study found. In addition, 88 percent of those polled feel that teleworking is a "good" or "great" idea. 26 percent of teleworkers said they would re-think their job if their employer did not have a teleworking program, and 51 percent of survey respondents think companies should offer a teleworking program to new employees.

 

With the average cost of replacing an employee - including advertising, relocation, travel, agency fees, and benefits – now costing more than $7000, companies are taking the teleworking option to heart.

 

In addition, 61 percent of teleworkers in the Mitel survey said they worked more efficiently and created better work when working from a location other than the office.

 

"When you factor in productivity and the role of teleworking in recruitment and retention, it's pretty easy to make a return-on-investment case," said Michaelides. "Our unified communications solutions deliver the functionality of an in-office setting for off-site employees. As teleworking becomes standard corporate practice, it's becoming a competitive tool to retain the best workforce."

 

A recent WorldatWork study showed that the percentage of Canadian companies that offer teleworking increased from 25 to 40 percent in just the last 12 months. Rising gas prices, innovative technology, and the need for work-life flexibility were named as main motivating factors.

 

"This study reveals some of the many reasons telework is so attractive to employees," stated Bob Fortier, president of the Canadian Telework Association. "Cost reduction is just one reason many Canadians would prefer telework to a raise in pay, or would consider job change in order to telework. Employers who wish to reduce their own costs - especially during tough economic times - need to recognize telework as a highly valued, practical, and no-cost way of attracting and retaining employees to give companies an edge over the competition."

 

Mitel's customers have been among the early adopters of unified communications technology, and have benefited from the strong ROI of teleworkers, both in terms of financial impact and employee satisfaction.

 

"Teleworking allowed us to change our business model by scaling back on the number of nationwide service centers to reduce overhead costs, without losing our knowledge workers. They are our keys to success," said Lauren Johansson, manager of IP telephony services at MedQuist, a provider of medical transcription software technology and services. "By placing them into a virtual workforce, we reduce costs, retain the employee, and allow them to work in their own environment with all the right tools necessary to perform their job."

 

Mitel’s Canadian Unified Communications Survey was conducted online by Zoomerang Market Research in August 2008 among 428 Canadian white collar workers.

 

Mitel provides flexibility and simplicity in smart unified communications solutions and applications for organizations of all sizes. Mitel is reinventing how successful organizations gain competitive advantage by easily collaborating and communicating over distance and time with customers, colleagues and partners.