Four Ways Telecommuting Helps Both Employers and Employees

In recent years, more and more companies have experimented with the idea of telecommuting; allowing employees to work from the comfort of home full time or part time. Wondering what benefits telecommuting can provide your company? Here are just a few of the biggest reasons businesses switch to telecommunication:

The point is not to make the subject sound more important than it is. The point is to make it easier to use. When a business understands the basics, it can make better decisions without getting pulled into noise, jargon, or a feature list that does not solve the real problem.

Increase Productivity

The practical value is communication. When the phone system is clear, customers and employees can reach the right person without extra effort. That sounds simple because it is, but it is also where many businesses lose time. The problem is rarely one dramatic failure. It is usually missed calls, repeated messages, and small delays showing up often enough that people start treating it as normal.

What to notice

According to a Stanford University study performed over a nine month period in 2013, employees that work from home do much more than match their in-office counterparts, they outperform them by quite a lot. Not only did telecommuting employees make 13.5 percent more calls than in-office employees, but they also quit at half the rate that in-office staff did.

This increase in productivity is due to a variety of factors, including a quieter work environment, a reduction in sick days and an opportunity for more flexibility.

This is why the details matter. A business does not need more complexity just to look prepared. It needs a setup that matches how people actually work, how customers actually ask for help, and how the team responds on an ordinary day. Good systems tend to feel quiet. Bad systems make themselves known.

The best version of this is not loud. It is a process that is easy to explain and easy to use. People should not need to understand every setting behind the scenes to get the benefit. They should only notice that the next step is obvious and the experience feels less difficult than it used to.

Limit Absences

The practical value is coordination. When the work process is clear, teams and customers can keep work moving without making people chase updates. That sounds simple because it is, but it is also where many businesses lose time. The problem is rarely one dramatic failure. It is usually confusion, duplicate work, and slow responses showing up often enough that people start treating it as normal.

Why it matters

One of the biggest employer benefits of allowing your employees to work at home – at least part time – is the reduction of absences. Telecommuting gives employees the ability to work from their couch when they are feeling too ill to make it to the office, preventing the spread of germs and keeping individuals from going over their sick day allowances.

This is why the details matter. A business does not need more complexity just to look prepared. It needs a setup that matches how people actually work, how customers actually ask for help, and how the team responds on an ordinary day. Good systems tend to feel quiet. Bad systems make themselves known.

The best version of this is not loud. It is a process that is easy to explain and easy to use. People should not need to understand every setting behind the scenes to get the benefit. They should only notice that the next step is obvious and the experience feels less difficult than it used to.

For small and growing businesses, that kind of consistency matters. A weak process can hide for a while because people compensate for it. Someone remembers the workaround, someone checks twice, someone answers the message that should have been routed correctly the first time. Eventually those workarounds become the work.

Promote Positive Work Relationships

The practical value is communication. When the phone system is clear, customers and employees can reach the right person without extra effort. That sounds simple because it is, but it is also where many businesses lose time. The problem is rarely one dramatic failure. It is usually missed calls, repeated messages, and small delays showing up often enough that people start treating it as normal.

What to notice

Instead of having a negative effect on workplace relationships, working from home has been shown to improve work relationships, according to a Penn State study

. With proper communication guidelines in place, management and employees can work in unison from separate location, relying on email and phone for daily contacts.

This is why the details matter. A business does not need more complexity just to look prepared. It needs a setup that matches how people actually work, how customers actually ask for help, and how the team responds on an ordinary day. Good systems tend to feel quiet. Bad systems make themselves known.

The best version of this is not loud. It is a process that is easy to explain and easy to use. People should not need to understand every setting behind the scenes to get the benefit. They should only notice that the next step is obvious and the experience feels less difficult than it used to.

For small and growing businesses, that kind of consistency matters. A weak process can hide for a while because people compensate for it. Someone remembers the workaround, someone checks twice, someone answers the message that should have been routed correctly the first time. Eventually those workarounds become the work.

Improve Employee Satisfaction

The practical value is communication. When the phone system is clear, customers and employees can reach the right person without extra effort. That sounds simple because it is, but it is also where many businesses lose time. The problem is rarely one dramatic failure. It is usually missed calls, repeated messages, and small delays showing up often enough that people start treating it as normal.

Why it matters

On top of the benefits that telecommunication can provide employers it can also lead to an increase in employee satisfaction. Cutting out a busy commute and reducing familial conflicts over work schedules are two key reasons that working from home can be beneficial to your staff. Telecommunication provides the flexibility that many employees crave, while also reducing distractions, as well as reducing fuel and food costs.

Like any big change, this new environment has both positives and negatives, and one of the biggest hurdles that employers are facing is how to ensure everyone is able to continue operating as a team when working from separate locations.

Vaspian’s remote and home office telephone solutions provide flexible solutions for teleworkers, as well as individuals working from the road to ensure that your team can work from any and every location. With SoftPhone (a feature that allows you to make calls from your laptop, desktop or smartphone), Multi Desking (which lets you log into up to ten devices on the same extension) and a phone directory, your employees will be able to keep in touch with each other, office staff and their clients regardless of where they are working from.

For more information about our VoIP phone services, visit us online or contact our Buffalo, New York office by phone at 1-855-827-7426.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/27/work-from-home-health_n_6546838.html , http://business.salary.com/5-reasons-to-let-employees-work-from-home/

, http://www.monster.com/technology/a/The-Benefits-of-Working-From-Home

This is why the details matter. A business does not need more complexity just to look prepared. It needs a setup that matches how people actually work, how customers actually ask for help, and how the team responds on an ordinary day. Good systems tend to feel quiet. Bad systems make themselves known.

The best version of this is not loud. It is a process that is easy to explain and easy to use. People should not need to understand every setting behind the scenes to get the benefit. They should only notice that the next step is obvious and the experience feels less difficult than it used to.

When the next step is a conversation, it helps to make that step easy. Teams that want a clearer setup can contact Vaspian and talk through what needs to work better.

FAQ

Here are a few common questions about four ways telecommuting helps both employers and employees and what it means in day-to-day business.

Why does four ways telecommuting helps both employers and employees matter for a business?

It matters because it affects how customers and employees move through everyday work. When the process is clear, people spend less time dealing with missed calls, repeated messages, and small delays.

What is the most important thing to get right?

The most important thing is making the next step clear. A business does not need a complicated setup if a simpler one helps people reach the right person without extra effort.

How do you know when the current approach is not working?

You usually see it in repeated friction: delays, confusion, missed handoffs, or people creating workarounds. Those are signs the process needs attention.

Does every business need the same solution?

No. The right setup depends on how the business works, who needs to respond, and what customers expect when they reach out.

Where should a business start?

Start with the places where people already get stuck. Fixing the obvious friction first is usually more useful than chasing a long list of features.