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While telecommuting is not a new concept, the percentage of full-time employees working remotely has increased from 33% to 61% due to COVID-19. Many employers and employees have been thrust into this new reality with very little understanding of what an effective telecommuting strategy is. What’s important to consider is that even after pandemic subsidies, working remotely for many businesses is here to stay as employers and employees begin to understand that the big benefits of telecommuting outweigh its challenges.
Advantages of Telecommuting For Employers
You may be wondering, “What is an example of telecommuting?” Telecommuting looks different for each business. Most employers fear that a major drawback of telecommuting is that employees will ignore the company’s policies and fail to handle company projects with integrity and timelessness. The good news is, you don’t have anything to worry about because multiple sources report working from home increases productivity. New data suggests telecommuters had a 4% increase in average daily time spent on core activities and an 18% decrease in time spent on communication. This adds up to 58 additional work hours spent on core activities. While teleworking from home, employees tend to concentrate more on the task at hand, as there are fewer interruptions that can take place in the office. They can also work on a schedule that reflects their lifestyle.
Decreased Office Costs
Many businesses understand that the cost of rent, plant and equipment will be anywhere from 15% to 25% of their asset costs. Office space has to be maintained from cleaning, security, reception and canteens which can become a burden for employers. A key benefit of converting a large percentage of your workforce into telecommuters, this immediately reduces your fixed costs. This allows you to downsize office space and or even sublet parts of a building to other business entities. Utilizing the hot desks concept can cause a reduction in overhead by having multiple employees use the same space at different times.
Smaller offices mean fewer printers and copiers, less lighting, lower heating and cooling means significant savings for the employer. Telecommuting considerations tend to cover these variable costs without employer subsidies. All of these reduced costs improve the bottom line of your business in the long run.
Increased Productivity and Flexibility
As an employer, with more people leaning towards telecommuting as a preferred work mode, the quality of their work increases exponentially. Telecommuting gives your employees greater flexibility which means they can deliver their best quality of work at their most convenient time. Working from home, some telecommuters are more productive in the early morning hours while others night owls are more productive after dark. Similarly, by telecommuting, they can balance work commitments to fit in with other responsibilities in their life.
Improved Employee Retention
When executed properly, telecommuting means happier employees. This means, you can retain your best employees. Keeping your employees happy not only means you have the best workers but it saves you time and money training new employees. Telecommuting is a perk that motivates employees to work hard and efficiently in order to keep that benefit. The increased job satisfaction that comes with independence when employees are able to work from home means you’re less likely to lose them, even when offered better compensation elsewhere.
Embracing a telecommuting arrangement in your business means you can hire the best and most talented employees without limiting yourself to geographical location. Since telecommuting gives employers the freedom to employ a skilled task force regardless of their geographical location, the job market is becoming more competitive. This in return compels remote employees to prove their value as assets to the business by working hard to avoid losing their jobs.
Advantages of Telecommuting For Employees
According to the 2019 American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “among workers age 25 and over, those with an advanced degree were more likely to work at home than were persons with lower levels of educational attainment — 42% of those with an advanced degree performed some work at home on days worked, compared with 12% of those with a high school diploma and no college.”
Cost Savings
While telecommuting can contribute considerable cost savings for employers, this is also the case with employees. Telecommuters with a flexible working arrangement see immediate value and benefits of up to 20% of their taxable income. The costs of running a car, gasoline, tolls and parking add significant cost to any commuter. A typical 2 hours per day is saved on the commute, which equates to a time saving of 10 hours per week. This is also a 25% reduction in the effort of working and a 9% improvement in the time they can spend on work-life balance, leisure activities and family time. Telecommuters also avoid extra expenses that are associated with working in offices like daily lunches, transportation charges, and having to wear office attire.
Boosts Morale
Employees working from home naturally feel more energized as they gain a sense of responsibility and trust. Many in a remote workforce complain one reason they dislike going to work is having to deal with unfriendly colleagues. By letting them work from home, morale is boosted because they don’t need to interact with coworkers they don’t get along with.
Better Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is a major benefit for telecommuters because of flexible work schedules. This means that employees can often start and end their day as they choose, as long as their work is completed. Control over their work schedule is invaluable when it comes to attending to the needs of their personal life. Telecommuting allows employees to work more effectively while still managing to pick up the kids from school, attend a doctor’s appointments, run to the store in the middle of the day or even being at home for the plumber without loss of productivity.
Time Savings
Telecommuting allows employees to take advantage of not having to commute in heavy traffic twice a day. The average one-way commuting time in the U.S. is 26.1 minutes. That’s nearly an hour each day employees spend getting to and from work at a minimum. According to Auto Insurance Center, motorists spend about 42 hours stuck in traffic each year. Remote work either eliminates any commute time or at a minimum lessens it, depending on how many days per week is spent telecommuting. According to the “State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce” report, even part-time telecommuters gain up to 11 extra days each year that would have been spent in traffic. Avoiding the stress that comes with commuting, this becomes an added health benefit for a remote workforce.
How To Set Up A Telecommuting Plan For Your Employees
Before sending workers home to work remotely it’s imperative to create telecommuting guidelines. If you haven’t already done so, create a working remotely policy and communication plan. It’s important to have policies and best practices in writing and share them with each member of the telecommuting team. Not only does this help everyone stay connected and in-the-know, but it can also help improve team performance over time. This plan should outline your expectations, be updated regularly, and include the following details such as the availability of team members and the tools that your teams will be required to use to communicate successfully and securely.
While it may seem obvious to tell your team members to use Google Docs to create files or Slack to communicate, listing these tools in your remote work policy is a good way to ensure everyone knows the best way to exchange information and the protocols for contacting other team members.
Consider listing which tools your organization uses such as:
- Video calls/conferences (Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc.)
- Instant messaging/private chats (Slack, etc.)
- Project management (Asana, Trello, Basecamp, etc.)
- Document management (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)
- HR/payments
- Employee recognition and rewards
Takeaways
For many companies, the workshifting to remote work has been a big one. Many are wondering if workers will ever go back to the office. Having now experienced the employer and employee benefits of telecommuting, it will be difficult to put that genie back in the bottle.
- Ensure that you have adequate and secure tools available for your staff
- Create a plan of communication that helps create a sense of continuity and community for your teams
- Be sure you’re clearly sharing accountability standards for each team
- Your company will likely experience reduced costs, greater productivity and several other benefits from remote work
Best Business Phone Systems for Telecommuting
While the short-term work from home requirements may be coming to an end, it’s vital that you prepare your staff for longer-term solutions that can stand the test of time. Reach out to the professionals at Voicecom Plus at 201-903-1087 or via email to sales@voicecomplus.com to schedule a complimentary initial consultation. We can help you find the best NEC phone system with complete NEC phone system support for remote workers, creating a sustainable WFH solution that will be secure, reliable and ensure that your staff feels fully connected while they’re working away from the office.