If your business is still among those wondering if you should allow telecommuting by your workers, you might want to start thinking more about when you will do it. And, more to the point, how soon you can.
Telecommuting and other remote work arrangements are already the norm at some companies. In a recent Robert Half survey of senior managers, more than half of respondents (56%) said their organization has expanded remote work opportunities for employees in the past three years.
And as Robert Half’s report, Jobs and AI Anxiety, explains, we can expect to see the emergence of robust new communication and collaboration technology, including artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools, making it even easier for employees to work from home — or anywhere — seamlessly and productively.
Keep in mind this isn’t a trend that will unfold in the far-off future, but over the next five to 10 years, our report suggests. Internet connectivity, mobility and collaborative applications already support remote work quite effectively today. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for most employers to use the “our technology at the office works better” argument with would-be telecommuters today — so just imagine the challenge tomorrow.
You’ll likely find many of your employees, especially those with long commutes, are ready for your business to give the green light to telecommuting. The ability to work from home can have a positive impact on their work-life balance. Also, it’s a good bet that job candidates will continue asking whether your firm has a telecommuting policy.
So, from both a retention and recruiting perspective, telecommuting programs make good business sense. Right now, they can provide businesses with a competitive advantage. But tomorrow, as the Jobs and AI Anxiety report suggests, telecommuting programs will likely be a business necessity for many employers.
It’s important to get your telecommuting policy right from the start. Doing so requires careful planning and implementation. Consider these six tips for creating effective telecommuting programs:
1. Contact your legal experts
Before you begin offering employees the chance to work from home, make sure your telecommuting program won’t become a legal minefield.
Legal counsel should review any telecommuting programs to make sure the company stays in compliance with employment laws. Issues to consider include complications with workers’ compensation matters and state overtime regulations, as well as the matter of individual responsibility for company property used off-site.
2. Invite managers to share their input
While general approval of a telecommuting plan for your company must come from business owners or upper management, individual supervisors should be invited to play a role in designing the specifics.
Managers know which job functions are most suitable for telecommuting, and therefore, are in the best position to customize the program for their teams. Questions they might consider when evaluating roles include: Is this position really suited to independent work? Does the job require a lot of face time that videoconferencing alone can’t support effectively? And what impact, if any, would there be on our teamwork, and even our organizational culture, if several employees telecommuted regularly?
