What is Telecommuting?
Telecommuting is defined as a practice of working remotely, often from home, instead of at a traditional office location. It involves employees performing their job duties while connected to their workplace via electronic means like the Internet, email, and telephone. This work arrangement has become more prevalent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating social distancing and reduced face-to-face interactions.
- Telecommuting, also known as Telework, is an alternative work arrangement that allows employees to work remotely.
- It has gained popularity as businesses seek to adapt to changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the need for social distancing.
- Businesses are incorporating telecommuting to ensure their employees remain safe, engaged, and productive despite disruptions to traditional business operations.
- Telecommuting can offer benefits and may be suitable for businesses looking for flexible work arrangements.
Table of Content
Advantages of Telecommuting
Telecommuting can also bring several benefits to your business, in addition to the advantages it offers your employees,
1. Productivity Boost: The potential productivity loss employees might fear from telecommuting could be outweighed by the distractions present in the workplace. At home, employees can concentrate on their tasks without interruptions like lengthy meetings and other office distractions.
2. Reduced Expenses: By allowing employees to telecommute part-time or even offering full-time remote roles, organisations can cut down on office space and utility costs. These savings could amount to $11,000 per employee for U.S. companies and also promote a more environmentally friendly work culture.
3. Enhanced Employee Retention: Unforeseen life events or even a global pandemic could prevent top performers from coming to the office daily. By offering flexibility, organisations can ensure that employees continue working while accommodating changing circumstances.
4. Expanded Area of Employees: In addition to retaining the best employees, organisations can also attract highly skilled candidates for positions, regardless of their geographical location. This can also appeal to individuals who might not have considered the respective company previously.
Disadvantages of Telecommuting
While telework continues to rise and has allowed businesses to progress despite the ongoing health crisis, this work arrangement can pose challenges for any organisation. Here are some potential drawbacks your business may encounter if they offer telecommuting to their employees,
1. Weakened Company Culture: Enhancing and maintaining the company’s overall work culture can be difficult when most employees are working remotely, which can also diminish their sense of belonging to the organisation.
2. Difficulty in Performance Tracking: Direct supervision becomes nearly impossible with telecommuting. The productivity of telecommuting employees will largely depend on their self-discipline and capabilities, as they are no longer in a strictly professional work environment.
3. Reduced Security: Ensuring that the employees are accessing company data over secure personal WiFi connections can be challenging, especially if they are working from public spaces like coffee shops with shared networks. 90% of IT professionals believe that remote work poses risks to company data. Without proper safeguards, this could pose significant threats to your data.
4. Limited Communication: 17% of employees report that collaboration and communication are their biggest challenges when working remotely. Despite the availability of numerous tools that facilitate seamless telecommunication, face-to-face interactions offer benefits that virtual communications cannot replicate, such as brainstorming or collaborating with colleagues on various projects.
How to Use Telecommuting Effectively?
With the numerous pros and cons of telecommuting, it can be challenging to decide whether to allow your team to work remotely. However, proper preparation is the key to successful telecommuting. Equipping employees with the necessary tools, policies, and guidelines can enable them to perform as effectively as they would in the office, potentially even more so when telecommuting. Here are some best practices to ensure the success of the telecommuting team,
1. Establish a Clear Telecommuting Policy: Creating a comprehensive telecommuting policy can provide peace of mind, ensuring that the employees will deliver even without direct supervision. This policy should detail work hours and output expectations, eligibility requirements, security protocols, and potential consequences for policy violations. For instance, the City and County of San Francisco have published a detailed telecommute policy on their official webpage, outlining the steps and resources needed for employees to be eligible to telecommute.
2. Equip Employees with Necessary Tools: There are countless online tools available for various tasks, whether it is video conferencing with a large team, collaborating on a single document, or setting up virtual water coolers for employees to gather. Providing employees with tools to communicate, improve, and be productive will enable them to perform their jobs effectively. Tools like Time Doctor can help them monitor their progress and productivity, ensuring their success even when working from home. Time Doctor offers features like distraction alerts to keep them focused during work hours and addresses any performance monitoring issues with time tracking, app & website monitoring, and even offline time tracking.
3. Implement Communication Guidelines: Communication can be said as one of the major challenges of telecommuting. This can be mitigated by establishing communication standards. Here’s how,
- Specify which communication channels employees should use, such as which online tools to use for virtual conferencing or project collaboration.
- Define common availability hours, which could range from a few hours a day to a few hours a week, to facilitate efficient communication and collaboration.
- Set specific response times to eliminate guesswork. For example, specify that messages should be replied to by the end of the day or first thing the next morning.
3. Allocate Time for Socialising Among Employees: With limited face-to-face interaction, it is even more important to make an extra effort to boost employee morale and improve company culture. Encourage the team to socialise, even if it is virtual. Telecommuting can reduce work interruptions, but it can also make employees feel isolated. They may feel detached from the organisation and team members. Organisations can facilitate scheduled virtual activities like movie nights, where everyone can watch and discuss a film together from their homes.
Conclusion
With the advancement of information and communication technologies, it is an optimal time to transition to telecommuting, a viable option that most businesses can offer their employees. There is an abundance of online tools available for virtual communication and collaboration, enabling work to be conducted from any location and at any time. Despite the challenges of telecommuting, it provides flexibility that allows you, as a business owner, to retain your employees and minimise workflow disruptions. By preparing for telecommuting—evaluating your business and your employees, establishing policies and guidelines, and equipping your telecommuting employees with the necessary tools, there’s no reason why they can’t excel in their roles, even outside the office. In these times, businesses that are willing and quick to adapt are the ones that not only survive but also thrive, even in the face of a global crisis.