What’s your dream job? Does it entail having a flexible schedule and ability to work WHEREVER? That dream is not uncommon which is nudging more and more organizations towards allowing employees to work remotely.
Recent statistics show 50% of the United States workforce holds a job that is compatible with at least partial telework and approximately 20-25% of the workforce teleworks at some frequency. However, 80% to 90% of the workforce says they would like to
telework at least part time.
At Transform Consulting Group, our team gets the best of both worlds. Staff can work remotely or at the office. Since a lot of our work is meeting on-site with clients, we already found ourselves working outside the office. Staff enjoy collaborating when necessary, but also love the freedom of working at home. We see many benefits in this structure and we’re not the only ones!
Benefits of working remotely:
- Employees who can choose to work remotely are more satisfied.
- 2/3 of people report that they WANT to work from home.
- 36 percent would choose the opportunity to work remote over a pay raise.
- Working remotely increases employee productivity.
- 30 percent of employees accomplish more in less time when working remotely.
- 23 percent are willing to work longer hours than they normally would on-site to accomplish more.
- 52 percent are less likely to take time off when working remotely.
- Working remotely saves money.
- If a typical business allowed their employees to work remotely just half the time, they would save an average of $11,000 annually in reduced overhead.
- When your employees are happier, they stay in their positions longer. An average company loses $10,000-$30,000 for each employee who quits.
- Employees can also save money in reduced transportation and wardrobe costs.
Working remotely isn’t realistic for everyone. However, for those of you who think you may be interested in jumping on this bandwagon, here are some resources our team recommends. There are many resources 
available to support teleworking. These tools and resources have been effective for our team:
- Reliable computer, high speed internet services and mobile phone
- Online Email Communication Platform
- We use Google at TCG, so employees can access their email anywhere.
- Our team also utilizes Google Hangout – an internal chat platform – to quickly connect with colleagues and not clutter up our Inbox.
- Online file share and access for team collaboration
- There are many “cloud” storage systems. Our team uses Google Drive, and we highly recommend you have an external hard drive or server to regularly back-up files.
- Project Management System
- We use Asana to assign tasks, track our team’s work and manage projects. This keeps everyone on the same page.
- Phone System
- We use RingCentral for internal and external communications.
- Time Tracking Software
- At TCG, we utilize Harvest which is especially useful when allocating staff time for projects and billing purposes.
- Video Conferencing
- Our team regularly utilizes a variety of resources available such as Zoom, RingCentral, Go To Meeting; WebEx, Google Hangouts, etc. when corresponding with clients. We use these platforms to share our screens and talk through projects, documents and presentations.
- Clear Communication and Expectations
- Clear understanding of work schedules and when staff is “on” and “off” the clock, so the team knows when everyone is available.
- Have regular check-in calls and in-person meetings to review tasks and projects.
- Team Bonding
- While employees do enjoy the flexibility and freedom of working independently, they still want to feel connected to each other and the organization. Therefore, it is helpful to schedule in-person group activities whether it is annual, quarterly or monthly. At TCG, we have a video team check in on Monday mornings to kick off our week. This serves two purposes. First, it allows our team to see each other and feel connected. Second, it helps us level set our priorities for the week and bring any issues to the team.
At Transform Consulting Group, we want to accelerate your impact and that often starts by creating an empowering work environment for OUR team so that we are better equipped to serve yours. For a full list of our services click here and let us know your thoughts or recommendations regarding working remotely!
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. We were not asked to highlight any of the listed resources and only share our own opinions.
