This is guest post by Jaimy Ford, business writer and editor.
With bad weather right around the corner here on the east coast coupled with the still high cost of gas, I am reminded about the best perk of working from home: I don’t have to drive to work.
Before we moved and my husband also became a telecommuter, he worked roughly 16 miles from our home, spent close to $60 per week and nearly two hours in the car each day fighting I-95 traffic. Where we use to live, public transportation wasn’t an option, and while his car gets good fuel mileage, we spent on average $3100 a year just to get him to the office.
Luckily, we both work from home now and reap the benefits of saving $6000+ a year in gas. Many people—especially those with child care costs—are forced to take jobs closer to home or quit work to become stay-at-home parents. The salary or job isn’t worth the cost of going to work.
The good news is that many organizations have already begun offering the telecommuting option as a way to keep their best employees on board. Many organizations offer flexible work hours or telecommuting options in order to attract and retain good employees.
If you are considering allowing employees to telecommute, ask yourself these questions to make sure it’s the right choice for your team:
- Will my boss approve of the arrangement? First and foremost, gain approval from your boss and HR department.
- Can the employee’s work be performed from anywhere without affecting the performance of the team? In some cases, the person simply needs to be in the office.
- Can I trust this employee? Employees will need to meet their objectives largely unsupervised, even as the TV, sunny backyard and bed beckon them away from their PCs. If you question a person’s work ethic, don’t offer the telecommute option to him or her.
- Can we support the virtual arrangement? You’ll need to provide computer and phone equipment and access to restricted or secure files. Ensure that you have that ability and the IT support for the job.
- What ground rules must we set? Spell out what your expectations are for remote employees. Do you want them to check in daily? How should they do that? How accessible do you want them to be? How will you conduct meetings, performance reviews and so on? If you set ground rules, you increase your chances that the arrangement succeeds.
Does your organization offer telecommuting options? If so, what tips can you share for making it a win-win situation for the employee and the organization?
[Photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos.]
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