Telecommuting can be a boon to employers

In this increasingly wired and technological age, more and more workers are telecommuting. Once an aberration primarily used to help parents of young children, telecommuting has become more commonplace in the 21st century.

Most offices boast at least one, if not several, full-time employees who telecommute.

Though those who still do their commuting via their cars, public transportation or their own two feet tend to look at telecommuters as living the so-called “Life of Riley,” employers tend to benefit more from telecommuting than the actual employees. Several benefits apply to companies that are open to the notion of employees telecommuting.

“More applicants. Companies that embrace telecommuting often find richer applicant pools once positions open up. That’s because, rather than limiting an applicant search to one city, telecommuting allows companies to find candidates from all over the country. For example, a company based in Philadelphia might have a handful of qualified candidates, but the perfect candidate might live in Boston. Telecommuting allows the company to hire this ideal candidate without missing a beat.

“Saves money. Telecommuting allows companies to save money in a number of ways. First and foremost, if half of a company’s employees telecommute, not as much office space is needed, potentially saving thousands of dollars in rent. The company also saves by needing less office furniture. Where even more money can be saved is cost of living. Companies based in cities with traditionally high costs of living, such as New York or Los Angeles, need to spend more on salaries to ensure their employees can afford to pay their bills. However, those same companies don’t need to offer as much salary to telecommuters who reside in cities with much smaller costs of living.

“More productivity. While it’s common to assume telecommuters are less productive because they’re not around for the boss to see, oftentimes telecommuters can get more done in a smaller period of time. That’s because there aren’t as many distractions. Telecommuters don’t stand around the office water cooler discussing the news of the day, and their homes are much quieter and more conducive to work than the typical office environment.

“Happier employees. Employees who are allowed to telecommute generally feel as though they’re trusted more. Rather than having an office manager hover around making sure they’re hard at work, telecommuters generally feel more trusted by being allowed, in essence, to be their own office manager.

This trust makes employees more likely to stay for the long run and less likely to jump ship when the going gets rough.

If your company is just now allowing employees to telecommute, one valuable tool is instant messaging. Be it America Online (AOL), Yahoo! Messenger or a Microsoft Office application, instant messaging enables those in the office to communicate with telecommuters as if they’re right down the hallway.

In addition, such technology allows telecommuters to stay connected to fellow employees, fostering the notion that they’re still a part of the team, even if they happen to be outside the office.