With gas prices over $4 per gallon across America now, one would think that telecommuting would be on a tremendous upswing. The fact of the matter is that telecommuting is still growing in America as it has over the past 5 year, but it is showing only a slightly higher growth these past few months than in the past 5 years. So the high price of gas has not sparked a spike in the telecommuting area. However, it remains a strong Information Technology Strategy for many organizations. “If a company was dead set against this a year ago, then the fact that employees now are paying $4 a gallon isn’t really enough to make them start doing telecommuting, unless they are at a point where they are losing employees for this reason. In that case, pain is a tremendous motivator to get employers to rethink this,” says Gil Gordon of Gordon Associates, a telecommuting and virtual office consultancy.
“Over the years there has been so much growth in telecommuting and mobile work in general, and so many people use laptops and cells, that it isn’t as huge a jump for more people to begin doing it, whether the [immediate] reason is gas prices, hurricanes or a bridge being out. Certainly, it is something that smart employers are looking at to ease some employees’ pain. But it is more a case of companies expanding what they already are doing rather than starting from scratch” adds Gordon.
Telecommuting is increasingly becoming an option for IT staffing, just as it is for their business peers. A new survey from Robert Half Technology shows that 21% of 1,400 CIOs in companies with more than 100 employees say there is more telecommuting among IT staff than there was five years ago.
"That's pretty significant," says John Estes, VP at the Information Technology staffing firm. "People resisted it for so long - there were issues of control, productivity, security and all that. But more companies are trying to think of creative ways to attract and retain staff." Providing workers the option to work at home one day a week or more is one way to do that, because it helps workers in an employee-driven market enjoy a better work-life balance, he says.
So if you wish to convince your boss that telecommuting is a good IT strategy for your work environment, remember the company wants to know the benefits telecommuting can provide the company, not the employee. Those will be the best selling points on which you need to base your proposal:
- Cost savings – office overhead is the main cost savings. Less office
space needed, means future office expansions can be delayed and fewer
lights will be used.
- Increased productivity – increases of 10% - 40% have been reported from
telecommuting workers and their managers. Less commuting time, less
office distractions and favorable response from workers for the
company’s signal of trust are reasons cited for this productivity
increase.
- Improved motivation – again from the company’s signal of trust and the adoption of a flexible work environment.
- Skills retention – employees less likely to leave for jobs that do not
offer telecommuting when they already have this benefit. Also workers
may stay with the company when the family moves because another family
member changes jobs and does not have telecommuting available.
- Organizational flexibility – in the event of restructuring or
reorganization workers can continue to work with less disruption into
their personal lives. Workers work in disperse teams that can be
assembled and reassembled as the organizational needs change. Working
time can be adjusted to match peaks and valleys in workload.
- Enhanced customer service – customer service can be extended beyond
normal work day hours or the work week without the cost of overtime or
the staff to work or travel at unsocial hours.
- Green is the word – As Michael noted as one of IT Management Challenges
for ’08, less cars on the road, less pollution, less energy to light
offices, possibly less server capacity needed means less climate
control facilities required.
Telecommuting provides the employee benefits of cost and time savings of travel, less disruption of family life, better work-family life balance, greater employer loyalty, participation in local community and flexible hours.
Telecommuting or telework may not be an effective IT strategy for every organization. Some jobs are better suited than others to be carried out at home, as well. Sorry, network administrators and network engineers. IT staffers who might have better luck getting the boss to let them work at home include those with titles such as documentation specialist, programmers, and in some cases help and support desk personnel. If your organization has never looked at this IT strategy, it is worth a look.