To Telework or Not

When Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer asked that all staff start working in the office, the negative reaction was swift. A number of blogs highlighted this as a tremendous ‘backward’ way of doing business. In fact, more and more Fortune 500 companies are offering telework solutions as a way for reducing real estate costs but also as a powerful recruitment tool.  The advantages for employees for teleworking are many including no commute and better work-life balance. But teleworking also has less exposure in the workplace and there is a mix of work life and home life that is hard to quantify as to real benefits for the corporation.  Do the advantages outweigh the negatives?

First, let’s put this in perspective. In reality, most people still work in a traditional office. In 2008, a Statistics Canada survey showed only 11.2 per cent of employees did some of their work at home and by 2011, the statistic remained unchanged. One reason that these numbers are low is that some companies worry about accurately gauging the productivity of workers who aren’t physically in the office. Another reason is acceptance by employees. Perception is a concern for many of the employees wanting to be thought of as a serious employee- “suiting up” and showing up at the office.  But some companies are charging ahead with teleworking. Telus starting teleworking for the 2010 Olympics and the response was so positive that the company is now working toward a goal of having 70 per cent of its work force telecommuting by 2015. At IBM, 40 per cent of IBM’s workplace is formally classified as mobile. There are many more examples highlighting the merits of teleworking.

 

And employees can telework with ease compared to even a few years ago.  There are great collaboration tools to work effectively at home including mobile phones as extensions of your office, instant messaging and video-conferencing tools. Our company’s forte is working with clients to deliver the optimum performance when mobile and implementing solutions that maximize productivity when working at home or out of the office (and even in the office). Our results show that performance and productivity do not suffer with telework.
 

It is true that some of the best business decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Unfortunately, mandating face time will not automatically lead to creativity and collaboration. And the most controversial aspect of the Yahoo decision so far is its perceived lack of flexibility. Most experts agree that telework does not need to be an all-or-nothing proposition.
 

The key here, regardless of where you physically work, is establishing a culture of innovation and aligning talent and performance. Telework should not have to be axed in the process. If management takes the time to implement telework effectively, giving employees the right tools and linking it to accountability, then telework benefits both the company and employees. To quantify results, remote workers should set clear performance goals and regular times for meetings and calls with core teams. With the proper implementation, your results can prove the benefits for your organization and your employees.
 

From a company productivity and performance perspective, to be most effective, management must have the courage to get rid of deadwood and fire telework abusers. Unproductive staff will be unproductive anywhere.  Employees commit to an organization because they buy into company goals and feel valued, not because they are ordered to sit at their desks.  Yahoo’s edict to have employees work in the office won’t resolve their personnel issues.

Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group,  quickly posted his objection to Yahoo's policy and summed it up best. He said a big part of successfully working with other people depends on "trusting people to get their work done wherever they are, without supervision." Finding a better way to work should be a company's priority and not telling people where they can work. Our team of experts can help you do this by assessing, recommending and implementing the best solutions for your work environment to deliver results- anywhere, anytime.