Calling from her home office, Candace delivers her update via conference call from her kitchen table. Interestingly, the concept of working on-line with no central office is increasingly becoming the norm. With the advent of the Internet and cheap but powerful home computers, having some staff working from home, at least part of the time, is an option more and more companies are implementing.
But the technology has been here for some time; why are the roads still so congested? Is there a down side of having your staff work from home? The number one concern – people who work from home will not get as much work done as they do in the office – turns out to be mostly false.
Considerations to think about:
• A stressful commute negatively affects concentration and lowers productivity.
• Time wasted on unnecessary or overly long meetings that are so easily scheduled in an office environment.
• The number of “sick” days taken by employees whose kids are the ones who are sick.
• Illnesses or injuries, that prevent a commute, may not stop work from home.
• Spending less on clothing, meals and transportation, home- based employees can accept less pay and still maintain their standard of living.
Some of the best employees are people who would have difficulty accommodating a full time “office” job. The devoted mother who codes HTML, in spurts, between the needs of her children. A pastor of a church finds a necessary extra income working 30 hours per week editing web sites. The young man whose wheelchair fits easily under his desk in the morning as he logs on for work. Are all prime examples.
The need to work collaboratively is often cited as a reason to impose an office environment. However, with the right software, equipment, access to e-mail and a phone, collaboration is easy and effective. Back2Front – The Website People, is an example of a company that is run completely online. Staff meet physically only once per month. But working together online they manage hundreds of business clients’ requests each month – and dropped balls are rare.
Sharing among staff members can be an economical and practical necessity for companies that use expensive specialized equipment or facilities. But there can be cost savings, for instance, expenses for lunch-rooms, washrooms, office furniture and cubicles, will be eliminated or reduced when staff work from home.
Security is an issue not easily dealt with in a working from home environment and may preclude some of the staff. However, the vast majority of companies do not have inhibiting security requirements.
Perhaps it is our traditional business culture and a lack of visible working examples, that account for the continued resistance to the working online option. If you are considering the work from home option for some of your employees, here are some recommendations and warnings.
1) You will find less turnover and more willingness to please than you might have expected. Your employees will love you for the opportunity to make their working life fit more comfortably into their real life.
2) It’s important to choose your employees with working from home in mind. These people must be independent, self-motivated, able to make decisions on their own and be able to prioritize effectively. But above all they must meet a very high level of responsiveness and reliability.
3) You will need to have a good tech person available to respond to the inevitable connectivity and computer maintenance and repair problems.
4) You will need a good method of tracking work tasks and hours. This enables collaboration on projects, as well as payroll and billing automation. You can buy similar software. Although this software is not cheap, it usually comes in modular components that you can select according to your particular needs. Alternatively, there are now “software as a service” online subscription options that you pay for on a monthly per user basis.
5) Periodic physical meetings are necessary for training, team building and to avoid feelings of isolation that working strictly from home may foster.
Candace Carter is the owner of Back2Front – the Website People. Candace is an artist, web designer, computer programmer, writer and public speaker. For more information visit www.back2front.ca.
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