Non-Profit Tools

(Originally Posted 5/24/2007)

With the technology that is available nowadays allowing workers to telecommute is a very viable option for non-profits. However, there are both costs and benefits to making this option available to your employees. Overall I believe that the benefits do outweigh the costs but there are many things to take in to consideration before making this a policy of your company.

Benefits:

• Cost Savings for Employer and Employees

1. Space Cost Savings
If some of your works are full-time telecommuters then it may be possible to have a small office which has a few desks, a meeting room, and a server room.

2. Transportation Cost Savings
Employees can save money on transportation to and from the office. With the price of gas going up this can be a real incentive for those who are able to work from home.

3. Employee Retention Savings
In the past an employee who was moving locations would need to look for a new job and the company would need to spend the money to hire and train a new employee. With the option of telecommuting it is possible for the employee to continue their current work from their new location. The University of Minnesota Research and Training Center on Community Living has developed a nice worksheet which gives you an idea of the costs associated with hiring a new employee. This can also apply to employees who might be starting a family and will require more time at home.

• Time Saving

1. Time Associated with Travel
According to the US Census Americans spend an average of 100 hours commuting per year. Having an employee telecommute allows them to cut down on this time and put the time in to either additional work or other activities at home. This can be a great incentive for employees.

• Worker Satisfaction

1. Time Spent with Family
Telecommuting can allow an employee to spend more time with their family after working hours rather than spending that time commuting to/from work.

2. Time for other Commitments
If an employee has a doctors appointment during the day and needs to leave work for that time then the amount of time spent not working can be cut down if the employee can just leave from home for an hour to visit their doctor rather then going all the way home (assuming that the doctor is near their residence) and then coming back in to the office.

3. Flexible Schedules
An employee can work the hours which are convenient for them rather than fitting in to the rigid 9-5 schedule that most offices have.

• Provide an incentive to attract highly qualified individuals

There are also some potential drawbacks to telecommuting and they are as follows:
1. Less collaboration between employees
2. Telecommuting requires employees to be highly self-motivated
3. A higher investment in technology might be required in order to allow access to e-mail and files while an individual is not in the office

While there are other benefits and drawbacks to telecommuting these are some of the major ones. While this is not an option for some companies if it is a possible option then it is worth considering for the benefits which it can bring.

CIO.com has a nice article on the Seven Things the CIO Should Know About Telecommuting.