| Managing Your Business: Telecommuting as a Retention and Productivity Tool
If your business is like many, your most valuable assets are your employees. To guide your business through an uncertain economy, it is critical to maintain employee flexibility and keep trained and experienced talent motivated in their jobs. Consider creating a formal telecommuting program to maximize employee retention and productivity. As many studies have shown, employee satisfaction is not always related to salary and monetary issues, but to quality of life issues. And that’s where telecommuting becomes a smart business decision for today’s employers. Telecommuting is a flexible arrangement that enables qualifying employees to work from home for some portion of the workweek. Telecommuting utilizes today’s communication technologies to bring the work to the worker, rather than the other way around. Why would a formal telecommuting program be beneficial for qualifying employees? Qualifying employees could manage their work schedules within parameters that you both establish that meet the needs of your business at the same time create a better work/life balance to meet the employees’ needs. Telecommuting can maximize employee productivity by allowing more focused, uninterrupted work time as well as avoid a time-consuming, sometimes frustrating and often distracting commute. What’s the result of giving employees a greater sense of control over their work life? A more committed and productive staff. Increased employee retention also has a positive impact on bottom-line performance regardless of company size. By helping to reduce employee turnover, a telecommuting option enables businesses to lower basic hiring, orientation and training costs that can run thousands of dollars per employee. Interested but unsure where to begin? Telecommute Connecticut! can help assess your business needs and identify how telecommuting could be used as a smart work option. And if you decide telecommuting is the right fit for your business, this no-cost statewide program (sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and administered by Rideworks) can provide expert assistance in the development and implementation of a telecommuting program with human resources and technology/telephony consultants standing by if needed. For additional information about telecommuting or Telecommute Connecticut!’s no-cost services, visit www.telecommuteCT.com or call Rideworks at 1-800-255-7433. |
