A Look at Teleworking

Photo: Paige Cody/Unsplash

There are few workforce strategies that prompt as much debate as teleworking.

Discussions of whether to allow employers to work remotely often highlight the differences in the way work is viewed, the changing nature of work itself, and if and how it can be implemented so employers and employees both benefit.

What is not debated is that teleworking has long been popular with employees and is now increasing with employers as they figure out how they can offer it as an option.

A recent study by Global Workforce Analytics showed that a whopping 80 to 90 percent of the U.S. workforce said they would like to work from home at least part-time.

"Employees want the ability to telecommute for various reasons — for some, it's flexibility in their schedule, for others it's about saving time and money,” said Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half. “Companies that promote these options are more likely to attract top candidates in a competitive employment market."

Employers are also recognizing the benefit of implementing telework programs. The promise of attracting and retaining top talent — while also decreasing real estate costs and local traffic and congestion levels — are driving more and more companies to add the benefit to their portfolio of engagement tools.

At the national level, 69 percent of organizations allowed employees to work from home at least some of the time in 2019, and 27 percent offered full-time telecommuting arrangements, according to a report from the Society for Human Resources Management.

Locally, the practice is gaining steam as well. A recent survey of some of the Legacy area’s largest employers revealed that a majority offer some form of teleworking option to employees.

In greater Dallas, the share of telecommuters increased from 3.5 percent in 2007 to 4.9 percent in 2016, according to a report by the Brookings Institute.

While the idea of teleworking is enticing, it also tends to generate concerns. Management teams often express worries ranging from tactical issues such as information security and the costs of implementing and administering such programs to the less tangible outcomes like teleworking’s impact on teamwork, productivity, and the fear of a decrease in discoveries and insights that often can result from in-person meetings and collaboration.

Addressing these concerns and gaining leadership buy-in is a key element to a program’s success. According to a representative of one Legacy-area tech company where around 13 percent of the workforce teleworks: “Management buy-in is critical and can make or break a program. When we first started the program, we ran into a buzzsaw due to leadership's feelings about the importance of in-person meetings for project management and product development.”

However, as more research is conducted and more real-world experience is gained, best practices are emerging that increase the likelihood of a teleworking program’s success for both the company and its employees:

• Find the sweet spot. Studies show that employees that are allowed to work away from the office some of the time are, in fact, more engaged and productive. However, feelings of isolation and loneliness are often reported by those that work remotely the majority of the time. Although there isn’t a consensus on an exact balance, policies that allow working from home 20-40 percent of the time tend to have the best chance of achieving desired results.

• Formalize it. Without clear goals and a framework to support them, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of telework. Procedures, policies, and training should be developed to address who works remotely, what types of work are suitable for the program, and how that work is managed and evaluated.

• Communication is key. Recent technology gains in messaging and collaboration tools now allow for unprecedented levels of coordination and connectedness. Give them to your people, and train them on their use.

Starting and running a telework program is like starting any other business endeavor: it involves planning, budgeting, management, reporting, and evaluations. But as the evidence continues to pile up showing that well-constructed programs lead to measurable benefits for companies, quality of life gains for their employees, and decreases in traffic and congestion in their surrounding communities, we should expect their prevalence to grow.

Interested in setting up a telework program at your business? Learn more at LegacyConnect or contact us directly.