Teleworking can be a win-win proposition

Teleworking can be a win-win proposition Send your workers home so that your company can save some money.

No, don't fire them. Let them telework. It's a win-win arrangement.

As Virginia recognizes Telework Day today, state Department of Taxation Commis sioner Janie E. Bowen explains the benefits of the work-from-home trend:

It can save money. You will need less office space, so you'll pay less rent and associated costs. By home-basing workers, the tax department cut its real estate needs to two floors instead of 2½ floors, Commissioner Bowen said. The savings amount to about $130,000 annually in rent, utilities and other costs.

There is an initial outlay of money. Your company will have to outfit teleworkers with whatever is needed to perform their job at home, for example:

A personal computer, a laptop and docking station, a business phone line, shredder, fax, printer, copier, Internet service and office supplies. Also, it has to assure that its computer system has "layer after layer" of security and the ability to apply patches to protect from viruses, Bowen said.

The tax department will overnight a new laptop if a teleworker's machine goes kaput.

Employees benefit. They may get more work done because they're not constantly interrupted by co-workers. They can, if practical, set their own work schedule. Also, their pay is the same as if they work in the office. Yet, they don't have commuting expenses or have to keep up an office wardrobe, Bowen said.

Your business will attract and retain workers better. Teleworking boosts employee morale, Bowen said. "Employees love it." They regard it as a perk, though it's not. It is a business arrangement.

It's a win-win arrangement, Bowen said. Productivity of the tax department's teleworkers outpaced by about 12 percent that of in-house workers, she said. Turnover among employees who talk to the public dropped to 21 percent in 2008 from 57 percent in 2007. Turnover is down to 4.8 percent so far this year, although other factors may contribute, Bowen said.

The tax department started its telework program "in earnest" two years ago, she said. Today, it home bases 644 workers, 294 of them once a week, the rest for the entire workweek. Twenty-one workers are part time.

Your company can keep operating if a disaster strikes. "The odds that we could continue in business would be almost 100 percent," Bowen said. "We've got people all over the place."

But not all positions are suitable for telework. The tax department initially excluded its customer contact group from teleworking. But after making technology and security enhancements, it sent those workers home, too. It cannot home base workers who handle sensitive federal data, or its mailroom personnel, though.

Not all employees are suited to working at home. A couple of employees tried working at home but felt they were not suited for that environment, Bowen said. They came back into the office.

You must coach your management. "It's a harder sell for some managers than others," she said. Initially, "managers were worried about managing people when they can't see them." But the department put in place software that lets them shadow teleworkers, know when they're on a call, and shoot messages to their screen.

Managers do not have to physically watch employees as they work, Bowen said. "That does not guarantee productivity."

Step one to starting a telework program is to thoroughly think it through. Sit down and evaluate what your business is, Bowen urged. Figure out what you think your company can get out of teleworking and if it will be worthwhile. Count the costs. Unless there's a good business reason to send workers home, it's not money well-spent, she said.

Use available resources. Get help getting started. Call (866) 469-1010, the state's Telework!VA program, which also offers financial assistance; or the Telework Exchange in Alexandria at (703) 489-1185. Read WorldatWork's "Telework Trendlines 2009" study linked below.

Contact Iris Taylor at (804) 649-6349 or