Telecommuting, does it suit your Firm?

Telecommuting, or working remotely is becoming more popular as technology advances. We all have busy lives outside of the office, and it’s becoming a popular trend to start working remotely, creating an opportunity for more of a balance in our lives. Telecommuting isn’t for every business, and some employers still don’t agree with it, but it’s certainly the way of the future, and it’s beneficial to both businesses and employees.

Working Remotely from any Office

Physical office space can be costly, and difficult to gauge pending growth of your business. Large cities may have the amount of space you need, but it’ll definitely cost you. On the flip side, if you’re thinking about moving into a small town, it could be difficult to find the appropriate space needed for your office. Allowing employees to telecommute lowers your overall overhead costs, and lessens the pressure brought on by hiring new employees and trying to find desk space for them. Telecommuting allows your business to grow and profit without the growing pains of office space.

Employee Perks

Telecommuting allows employees to have flexibility in their lives and work full time jobs as needed. Working remotely helps graciously for parents, skilled employees who live far from the office, and people who like to get more work done outside of the usual 9:00am-5:00pm. Daycare costs just as much if not more than the average salary for a US employee, so having the option to work from home with a new child is highly sought after.

Not only are you helping out your employees, but you’re improving your environmental impact. Allowing employees to stay home keeps them off the road, keeps their car emissions down, and lessens traffic, gas, and overall pollution for everyone in the community.

With Change comes Challenges

Trust and Responsibility

Of course, for telecommuting to work you’re going to need to have trust in your employees and ensure that your employees are responsible and getting their work done. It’s important to keep everyone accountable and check in with your employees frequently. Think about setting deadlines and goals. Schedule regular in office buildings and be sure that you’re always available for questions or to chat. Consider having a software program that tracks employees work and productivity throughout the course of the week.

Don’t let it be Lonely

Don’t let your employees feel isolated for working at home. There certainly is a different family-type atmosphere coming to the office every day, so transitioning into a remote at-home office can be strange at first. Make sure all of your employees feel welcome, comfortable, and important to the business. It’s important to keep team building exercises and outings in mind, because team work makes the dream work.

IT from Home

Technical support might be the overall hardest part about transitioning into a home office. The easiest, seamless, most upcoming way is to move to the Cloud. The Cloud allows users to work from any device at any location as long as they have some sort of internet provided. Users can work within virtual servers, save their work to shared drives, and work just as they would in an office building. This solution lowers the need for immediate IT, since you’re going to be working within a virtual server.

As long as you keep up on your employees and ensure that they’re working to their maximum potential, telecommuting is a great thing to start implementing.  In the long run, it’ll improve employee attitudes, work ethic, and overall lower your overhead for the office.