How to optimize teleworkers

Flexible work schedules can help companies reduce costs and retain in-demand talent, but managers need to do more than set up remote access to enable telework to thrive

As telework initiatives spread, managers interested in adopting the flexible work model must set use policies, deploy enabling technologies and establish employee goals to guarantee their telework initiative is a success.

All indications point to the number of teleworkers increasing in U.S. companies. A recent survey of about 200 HR managers by talent and outsourcing provider Yoh found that 81% of companies have remote work policies in place and 67% of respondents said they expect telecommuting will increase in the next two years.

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As telework initiatives spread, managers interested in adopting the flexible work model must set use policies, deploy enabling technologies and establish employee goals to guarantee their telework initiative is a success.

All indications point to the number of teleworkers increasing in U.S. companies. A recent survey of about 200 HR managers by talent and outsourcing provider Yoh found that 81% of companies have remote work policies in place and 67% of respondents said they expect telecommuting will increase in the next two years.

Click to see: Your take on telework

According to WorldatWork, a Scottsdale, Ariz., nonprofit professional association focused on human resources issues, about 12.5 million of U.S. employees take advantage of telework today. The association defines employee teleworkers as full- or part-time employees who work from home at least one day per month. Contract teleworkers, those self-employed individuals who work from their homes, brought the total number of U.S. teleworkers in 2006 closer to 29 million, about a 10% increase from 2005. The number is expected to grow as more companies realize the benefits of telework.

“Telework programs typically start with one employee coming forward making a request to work out of the office for a day or two per month, and from there, telework can grow like a weed within an organization,” says Rose Stanley, the work-life practice leader at WorldatWork. “The workplace is not going to look the same; it's going to be vastly different. And managers need to start establishing policies to enable telework, because the new workforce is going to demand it.”