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Advantages of Running a Telecommute-Friendly SME

Posted: 13th January 2017 10:48
Telecommuting is a relatively new business development approach which was first studied and applied in the early 1990s but has only recently gained popularity among SMEs around the world. Telecommute working breaks the boundaries of the corporate lifestyle and brings in additional opportunities for employers to raise productivity and lower expenses within the company. Following the example of Dell, IBM, and many other large corporations, small businesses, and medium enterprises have already started adopting a more flexible managing system. One that benefits both the employer and the worker in a symbiotic way.

Even though history indicates the study of telecommuting more than two decades ago, the heavily industrialized capitalist era has created a challenging environment for further studies. Today more and more employers begin to see the advantages of providing a flexible work setting that favors freedom and trust instead of micromanagement.

Operating a telecommute-friendly SME is a demanding strategy that requires high communication skills and excellent organization within the company. Once, these two challenges are tackled, telecommuting can become one of the most powerful companies growth boosters. The busy schedule of a nine-to-five worker often creates a work-life disbalance that lowers motivation and increases employee turnover. Remote working perfectly handles this issue by offering trusted employees the freedom to perform their professional duties from the comfort of their own home. Researches indicate that teleworking employees are about 10% happier than traditional office workers and the numbers are constantly rising.

According to a study from Pennsylvania State University,  remote workers are generally less stressed and content with their current employer in comparison with office-bound workers.

Increased productivity is another side of telecommuting that’s directly related to the employees’ happiness level. While operating a telecommuting team might require an extra effort in establishing good communication with non-office based workers, the outweigh of providing employees with a flexible work environment can be much higher. While in-house workers might be available at the office for 40+ hours per week, the actual billable time they spend working is about 60% to 85% in some rare cases. This doesn’t mean all employees are slacking. Yet, activities such as office chatting, general calls, organizations and even sometimes extra meetings can cause a severe drop in productivity. In a relaxed work environment where workers are granted the freedom to work at home, those non-billable activities are sensibly decreased.

As an addition, telecommuting affects company expenses in an intriguing way. Employers are able to save thousands annually on software, equipment, office lunch, and employee transportation costs. But that’s not all.
Telecommute-friendly businesses also turn out to be extremely Eco oriented as well. An image that can increase brand awareness and aid the company’s PR campaigns. The American Consumer Electronics Association found that telecommuting saves enough energy to power up one million homes for an entire year. Being an incredibly cost-effective management strategy, telecommuting is gaining more and more popularity each year. It’s estimated that for each telecommuting employee, SMEs are able to save more than $10,000 annually.

Running a telecommute-friendly company has another beneficial side. It allows businesses to hire employees remotely on full-time or project-based contracts. Hiring freelancers has a whole new set of advantages for business management on its own. Newly rising startups and freelancer platforms like Workfast make remote hiring widely available and create a new on-demand human resource market that SMEs can benefit from. By choosing opening their doors to telecommuting, companies who hire freelancers can save on annual bonuses, payroll taxes, incentives, employee insurance and invest in developing its current company resource base.

Telecommuting is a management strategy that’s gaining more and more popularity thought the world. Running a telecommute-friendly SME provides many financial benefits. It also increases productivity and lowers the employee turnover rate significantly, thus creating an opportunity for growth for both newly started and well-established businesses.