Telecommuting… I was reading this blog post by Mike Patton about finding an office space and getting his computer running and reminded me of telecommuting. In his post Mike Patton mentions leasing office space from Executive Suites as his starting office. He also says:

Maybe not where I’ll be in five years—I have a grand vision of my ultimate office—but it’s more than adequate and certainly better than my original plan of a home office

I think this is a pretty common way of thinking, I want an office with 5-10 staff people all running around busily and handling my business. This is a pretty costly way of thinking and is somewhat outmoded.

If you look at some of the bigger companies telecommuting not only works, its saving them big dollars. Sun Microsystems Inc now has 55% of their staff telecommuting and has saved 68 million, IBM is at 25% and saving 700 Million. AT&T has saved 500 Million, PAC Bell saved 20 Million, the list goes on and on. Telecommuting saves the employer money, increases retention and increases employee productivity.

According to an EKOS Research study 33% of workers would rather telecommute than have a raise, 43% would quit their current job for a job that allows telecommuting. According to a study by Berkeley there a lot of social impacts as well, lowered emissions, reduced power consumption and increased neighborhood safety. These are the reasons Sun moved to telecommuting, its a green decision.

The same study lists the benefits for employers, space savings, recruitment (you can get the best from anywhere in the country), improved retention, less absenteeism, less sick leave, longer work hours, fewer distractions, better customer service etc… These are all tangible benefits to any size company.

I of course do all my work at home, I surf the net and write articles for blogs for a living. Every day, I get up at 6 AM, walk my dogs for an hour and start working at 7 AM. Around noon, I go to the kitchen and eat lunch with my kids. Generally actively work until 5 PM. If I decide to do some research and work late, I take my laptop upstairs and work from my living room. I am very happy with this arrangement, it has made me a happier person and that is reflected in my work and my efforts.

Mike Patton is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana so his staff costs are quite reasonable. I did a salary report from hot jobs for accountant I and the median is about 40,000 a year. But lets say he finds a backoffice person in Great Falls, Montana that will telecommute. Now the median salary is about 35,000 a year. He also does not have to pay the extra amount for office space for that person.

Telecommute Connecticut has some great resources if you still don’t think telecommuting is a good idea. You get benefits like fewer sick days on average, more productive time while employees are working (no water cooler talk) hours back from commuting (employees don’t have to leave to catch a bus) etc…

When I hear employers talk against telecommuting they usually have control arguments. They say things like, we won’t get the right collaboration or it’s important that people can stick their head in someone else’s office. These are false arguments, with Internet phones you can easily dial someone and get them on camera and you can even dial a conference call. If I am thinking of something I hit my speed dial and talk to someone it’s no more complex than walking down the hall.

What employers usually mean is, I don’t trust that someone will work if I can’t see them doing it. Let’s face it most entrepreneurs are A types, they want to have their hands in everything. The trust issue is easy, you still set regular office hours and you can call and check on your staff. It’s no different than walking by your bullpen and seeing your staff working.

Does telecommuting work for everyone? Probably not. Mike Patton for instance will always have to have an office, but he can basically cap his costs there. Included in his monthly lease is a secretary to answer phones and schedule appointments. If he has a decent deal, it includes the fax and phone system. Basically, he should just pay his rent and show up all the rest is provided.

With some creative scheduling Mike Patton could probably be out of the office half the year or more. I know some financial planners that live in one state and work in another. They do a lot of client contact by phone and email. They schedule their client meetings in clusters after quarter end. Mike Patton could reduce his costs more and have an on-demand office, he could in Hawaii if he wanted (once his practice is fully established).

So, I have told you how great this all is now for the downside.

It is difficult to trust people to do their work, there are people who do not have the self discipline to work at home. For those people telecommuting will never work. They have to come to the office to change their mindset and work. Generally, these are the people who only call in sick on Fridays or Mondays. You have to root these people out quick. I would argue that these are probably people you don’t want even if they are at the office. You only want self-motivated and self-disciplined people in any environment.

You don’t get the same social mix without the office. People don’t feel as bonded with their co-workers as they would if they are in the office together. If you have a person that needs this social connection with their office it won’t work either.

It’s difficult not to forget the telecommuter if everyone on the team does not telecommute. When it comes time for raises or promotions you have to remember that the telecommuter worked just as hard as everyone in the office and that can be difficult. You may also find that people will turn down a promotion if it means they have to come to the office. Your para-planner may want to remain a para-planner if it means they can continue working from home.

Spontaneous collaboration is more difficult. If a problem pops up and you can’t just gather everyone in a room and white board the problem. You have to conference everyone and share a virtual white board.

Obviously, I am a big telecommuting advocate. I have managed teams that were spread around the world with no problems. I have had almost entirely virtual teams with less than 5% of the team actually in the office. I have personally seen the productivity increase that comes from telecommuting and being able to hire talent from anywhere and can see no real reason for an actual office that everyone comes to (except retail of course).

Telecommuting is a win for everyone but does take some adjusting to for the A type personalities. If you want to save about 10-20% per employee then you should write down your list of objections and think them through. How will you solve each problem that you listed? There are a lot of resources for telecommuting employers, from state resources and federal resources to telecommuting non-profit organizations. Seek these resources out and leverage them, your issues have probably already been solved by someone else.