If you are familiar with Teltek and our business practices, you probably know that we are big believers in telecommuting and it’s not just because we sell the equipment. The flexibility of working from multiple locations allows us to provide a benefit to our employees, remain open in times of severe weather and offer guidance to other companies considering this for their own workforce. I just blogged about the advantages of telecommuting earlier this week in my weekly Girl On Wire column, Office Space, The Final Frontier
The surprising announcement to ban telecommuting for all employees at Yahoo appeared in a memo authored by Jackie Reses, Yahoo’s human resources chief and authorized by Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo. Essentially, the company’s telecommuting practice will come to an end in June of this year. Several disgruntled Yahoo employees leaked the internal memo to the press.
Apparently, the online giant feels that there needs to be more physical unity within their brick and mortar walls. The memo was quoted as saying, “Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.”
Hundreds of their employees will be affected by this. Yahoo has a sizeable customer service force that works full-time from their homes and many more employees who telecommute 1-2 days per week.
Large and small companies worldwide, including the U.S. government, have embraced telecommuting as a way to save money and source top talent. While this practice is not ideal for everyone, it is something you may want to consider if you are looking for ways to attract and retain good people, create a flexible work environment and provide exceptional customer service.
Planning is key. A very clear policy, accountability measures and the proper equipment are absolutely necessary for a telecommuting program to succeed. If telecommuting has been implemented at your company, but you’re not seeing the results you desire, take a look at how you can improve it before making the decision to pull the plug. Working from home is considered a perk by most employees, so taking away something an employee enjoys will most likely result in repercussions.
Give us a call if you would like a consultation to discuss the benefits of telecommuting and what it would take to implement a program at your company.
Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, and Microsoft Partner with three locations in the Baltimore and DC Metropolitan areas. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania.