Can I preview it?
You bet.
Click on the blue text link(s) below
How to Decide if Telecommuting is Right for Your Small Business
ConnectsUs HR's Teleworking Policy & Agreement is packed with essential terms and conditions to create a bullet proof contract to protect both the employer and employee. If you believe your small business is right for telecommuting, this Agreement is stop #1 on your road to creating a successful remote work program.
preview & download
this template for free
Teleworking. Telecommuting. Remote Work. Office-less working. Working from home.
It has many names, and it works well for many companies. It also doesn’t work well for certain companies. An example? Take the case of Yahoo!. In February 2013, after the businesses operating profit fell by a dramatic 30% - CEO Marissa Mayer determined that telecommuting was the culprit and revoked the company’s longstanding at-home work option, requiring that all remote employees relocate to the Yahoo! offices.
So like Marissa, how do you decide if telecommuting makes sense for your business? While it didn’t work for Yahoo!, your small business could be a different story. Either way, you don’t want to wait around until you’re hit with a giant profit loss.
If you’re considering turning your business into a fully remote workforce – or just allowing a few select employees to telecommute on a trial basis – use these guidelines to help evaluate if telecommuting is right for your small business before implementing the program.
Assess the potential benefits and drawbacks
With any big decision, first you consider the pros and cons.
Potential Pros:
- Competitive edge
- Environmental friendliness
- Cost-effectiveness through less electricity used, consolidation of office space, less office supplies and furniture needed
- Studies have found that telecommuting creates less stressed and happier employees
- Higher retention rates for employees due to a better work/life balance for employees
- Increased productivity can come from having less distractions and the fact that employees often work more hours when they don’t have to commute
- The best talent regardless of geography
- Employees may take fewer sick days
Potential Cons:
- Employers often fear their employees will waste time or overreport their hours when there is no one to actively supervise them
- Employers face a higher data security burden when work is being done at multiple locations
- Employers may face up-front costs to provide equipment to work from home
- Fear of loss of synergies from in-person interactions
- Extra effort will be required for teambuilding and keeping all employees on the same page with projects
- There may be a perception of unfairness or even risk of discrimination claims if telecommuting is not an option for everyone
- Lower productivity can come if employees are not well suited for at-home work and are unable to limit distractions when not being supervised
It’ll be different for every business. Do the pros outweigh the cons? Or vice versa?
Understand what kind of work is conducive to telecommuting
Do your employees require special equipment to work from home? Is collaboration essential for your employees to perform their jobs? Are frequent face-to-face meetings with team members, clients and customers necessary?
If you have the proper resources to provide your employees with everything they need to successfully do their job from home, just as they would in the office, excellent! But remember that even if you can provide them with video conferencing apps and web technology, some jobs are just not conducive for remote work.
Evaluate on a case-to-case basis
Telecommuting should not be implemented broadly across the board. It should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Some employees may jump into the telecommuting program and you’ll see their productivity rise through the roof. Others, maybe not so much. Every case is different. Set clear expectations for availability, output, communication, and have a way to measure their progress and results. Everything you need is right here in the Teleworking Policy & Agreement template.
Consider how to build a healthy work culture
You can’t rely on just emails and project management tools to keep your team connected. Your employees will quickly start to feel isolated if you don’t promote teamwork. Keep employees connected through a variety of communication tools that result in easy and frequent online collaborative work.
There are so many options out there. Skype. Microsoft Teams. Slack. Search the internet and find what will work best for your team!
To office, or not to office?
After considering these guidelines, will your company dip it’s toes into the world of telecommuting?
Whether you dive in head-first or with a trial run of a few select employees the first and most fundamental step is to implement a Teleworking Policy & Agreement.
Teleworking Policy & Agreement