No organization will have all its employees as telecommuters, as the needs of employees vary. Most employees will indeed, unless the organization is very small, be daily commuters. Those for whom telecommuting facilities are necessary, may be of three types:-
The Full-time Telecommuter: This is an employee who works from home, even though she or he lives a commuting distance away. Such an employee might choose to work from home because of pressing, long-term domestic needs, such as taking care of children or the elderly, or be physically unfit to work. Generally, full-time telecommuting rights are granted only to those employees who prove to be trustworthy and efficient. Such an employee also reduces some operational cost, as there is no need to set aside office space and machines (telephones, PCs) for her or his use.
1. The Occasional Telecommuter: This is an employee who normally works from an office space, but on some days requires to telecommute. This may be because she or he is at another site for business-related work (such as meeting clients or customers), but still requires to connect to the office. Or the employee might be temporarily unable to attend office and wish to work from home. Occasional telecommuters are actually expensive, because both office space and dedicated communication facilities need to be reserved for them. Nevertheless, this may be a preferable arrangement rather than be off contact with the employee during critical times.
2. The Virtual Employee: This is an employee who may live in another city, and depends entirely on telecommunication services for interaction with other office staff. Such employees are often contractual staff, or employees hired to represent the firm in other countries. Such employees are hard to supervise, but managers may be confident that they can handle themselves.
There are common needs associated with all telecommuters. Firstly, a viable telecommunication infrastructure needs to be established, including email servers, telephone lines etc as well as accompanying networking and network security software. Telecommuting introduces a risk-cost tradeoff: some organizations may expect employees to use their own PCs and software, others, for the sake of security and data privacy, may prefer to instal their own hardware in telecommuters’ houses.
Nevertheless, reduced costs may make the effort worthwhile. With employees requiring about 150 square feet each, and real estate costing upto $100 per square foot, the savings on rentals are great, along with corresponding savings on electricity and furniture. Besides, telecommuting may enable the organization to hire better talent and reduce the number of days taken off from work. Finally, the spin-offs from reduction in fuel consumption and air pollution has meant that many states are allowing tax incentives to organizations promoting telecommuting.
However, there are some critical risks to keep in mind, topmost being data security. Also, monitoring employee performance and job satisfaction are rendered difficult, requiring the manager to develop additional skills in these departments.
Our IT Managers Telecommuting Resource Kit includes a number of policy templates, as well as other documents which can help you make your telecommuting project a success. Further details can be accessed in the Telecommuting Defined Template.
