Forget Yahoo! 5 Trends Companies Need to Know about Telecommuting in Today’s Workplace

Forget Yahoo!5 Trends Companies Need to Know about Telecommuting in

Today’s Workplace

Background

• As a leader in corporate relocation services, SIRVA, in conjunction with Allied HR, likes to keep its finger on the proverbial pulse of the mobility market in order to better serve its customers.

• Consequently, SIRVA and Allied HR conducted a Workforce Mobility Study in 2012 among Human Resources professionals in companies across the United States. This research examined HR professionals’ views on issues pertaining to the overall mobility environment, recruitment, relocation, onboarding and retention.

About the Survey

• Sponsored by Allied Van Lines, the 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey is intended as a service to HR professionals and is part of a larger ongoing initiative -- Allied HR IQ -- which will conduct additional research projects, host events and facilitate discussions in the HR community via the Allied HR IQ website.

• The topic areas and questions for the survey were determined through collaborative discussions involving Allied Van Lines, Allied’s independent research partners, and distinguished HR professionals.

Method and Sample• 208 online interviews were conducted in March 2013 with

Human Resources professionals from 39 states and the District of Columbia.

• All respondents to the survey were required to be familiar with all three critical aspects of the profession.• Recruitment • Relocation• Onboarding and Retention

Industries Represented

OtherRaw Materials

AgricultureReal Estate Development

ConstructionTransportation/LogisticsWholesale/Distribution

Energy/UtilitiesInformaton Technologies

Financial Services/BankingRetail

Service IndustriesNon-Profits

Professional ServicesGovernment

Manufacturing

16%1%1%1%

2%2%

4%4%

5%6%6%

10%10%

11%14%

21%

Source: 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey, AlliedHRIQ.com

Company Size (Annual Sales)

Less than $10 million

$10 million to $50 million

$51 million to $100 million

$101 million to $250 million

$251 million to $500 million

$501 million to $750 million

$751 million to $1 billion

$1.01 billion to $2 billion

More than $2 billion

22%

21%

11%

6%

5%

4%

6%

6%

21%

Source: 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey, AlliedHRIQ.com

Company Size (Number of Employees)

Small33%

Mid-Size31%

Large16%

Mega22%

Small (Fewer than 200 emploees)

Mid-Size (200 - 2,499 employees)

Large (2,500 - 10,000 employees)

Mega (More than 10,000 employees)

Source: 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey, AlliedHRIQ.com

Telecommuting Defined• Telecommuting is when employees do not travel to a central

place of work. • It’s sometimes referred to as telework or remote work.

• Flexible work (aka flextime) is when employees have the ability to adjust their work hours.

• There might be core hours when everyone is required to be in the office.

1. Telecommuting isn’t a popular benefit.

Telecommuting allowed in 50% of businesses surveyed

Telecommut-ing allowed

46%

Telecommut-ing not al-

lowed52%

Source: 2013 Workforce Mobility SurveyAlliedHRIQ.com

Only 25% of employees take advantage of telecommuting

Total Mega (Over 10,000

Large (2,500-10,000

Mid-Size (200-2,499)

Small (Under 200)

24% 23%

19%

26% 26%

Average percent of employees who telecommute in companies that allow telecommuting

Source: 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey AlliedHRIQ.com

2. Other benefits are more desirable than telecommuting.

Size Doesn’t Matter• Does the size of a company change the strength of

telecommuting policies? • “Mega” companies – those with more than 10,000

employees – are only somewhat more likely than companies with fewer than 10,000 employees to report having strong telecommuting policies.

• Mega firms’ telecommuting policies still take a distant backseat to other recruiting factors that an HR professional at these huge companies can use to entice a job candidate.

• Small, medium and large companies are comparable in the strength (or lack thereof) of their telecommuting.

Telecommuting policies are a little stronger at “mega” companies, but still quite weak in comparison to other recruiting enticements

Size of company: Number of Employees

% = 5 or 4 on a 5-point scale. Higher percents mean greater strength in that area.

Total Mega(Over 10,000)

Large(2,500 – 10,000)

Mid-Size(200-2,499)

Small(Fewer than 200)

Healthcare benefits 68% 81% 67% 78% 53%

Company culture/Atmosphere 59% 71% 51% 56% 60%

Quality of executives/Workforce 56% 74% 47% 55% 54%

Location of job/Company 54% 65% 56% 58% 46%

Retirement benefits 51% 65% 53% 58% 35%

Development learning opportunities 50% 71% 47% 48% 43%

Compensation 48% 58% 36% 53% 47%

Career advancement opportunities 45% 74% 47% 45% 31%

Flexible working arrangements 39% 45% 40% 34% 38%

Closing skills 34% 42% 42% 36% 24%

Negotiating skills 33% 39% 36% 33% 28%

Relocation package 33% 55% 38% 34% 19%

Telecommuting policy 24% 36% 24% 20% 22%

Lifestyle benefits 14% 29% 16% 14% 7%

Source: 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey AlliedHRIQ.com

Telecommuting Not a Factor• Telecommuting policies are not even much of a factor in

those companies which reportedly have “highly successful” recruiting programs.• Granted, highly successful companies have stronger

telecommuting policies than weaker ones do. However, to put things in sobering perspective, telecommuting is a weaker recruiting factor in highly successful companies than other recruiting factors are (e.g., health care benefits, company culture, company location) in companies that have unsuccessful recruiting programs or no recruiting programs at all!

3. Telecommuting doesn’t achieve results.

Restrained Enthusiasm• HR professionals whose companies allow

telecommuting are not necessarily wildly enthusiastic about how well it’s working.

• 3 out of 5 (60%) report that telecommuting

has been “somewhat successful”

• 1 in 3 (34%) say it has been “highly successful”

4. Communication is a problem.

Telecommuting Challenges• It’s possible that one reason for this restrained enthusiasm

is that telecommuting doesn’t always lead to desired outcomes.• The good news is that very few employees (9%) abuse their

telecommuting privileges.• However, one frequently mentioned problem with

telecommuting is employees’ tardy responses to communications. Other prominent problems are employees not connecting to the company’s network, lack of productivity and missed deadlines.

Lack of communication is the biggest problem

Slow re

sponsiv

eness to co

mmunication

Not logging in

to th

e VPN network

High activit

y of n

on-work

related pro

jects

Project

deadlines b

eing miss

ed

Low pro

ductivit

y

Poor perfo

rmance

73%

27% 27% 25%

4% 3%

Telecommuting Misuses

Source: 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey AlliedHRIQ.com

5. Companies do want to give employees flexibility.

Work-Life Balance is Crucial

• Clearly, the primary reason companies allow their employees to telecommute (whether they have a formal policy or not) is to help employees maintain balance between work life and personal life.• After that, companies embrace telecommuting because

they believe it increases employee productivity.

The driving force behind a company’s decision to let their employees telecommute is…

Reasons for allowing telecommuting

Importance Rank

Work-Life Balance

Increase Productivity

Cost Containment

Accommodate Maternity

Needs

1 (Most Important) 65% 21% 11% 3%

2 17% 46% 22% 15%

3 18% 26% 41% 15%

4 (Least Important) -- 6% 26% 67%

Source: 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey AlliedHRIQ.com

Workplace Flexibility Exists• Although HR professionals report that their companies’

telecommuting policies are weak, this does not mean that their companies have highly rigid work environments.• HR professionals believe their organizations are relatively strong

in providing “flexible working arrangements” (presumably including things like flex hours, personal time off, liberal vacation policies, etc.). And these flexible working arrangements are much stronger at companies than are their telecommuting policies alone.

• Companies which are “highly successful” in recruiting new employees have much greater workplace flexibility than do less successful ones. And within these highly successful companies, workplace flexibility policies are superior to telecommuting policies.

Flexibility Over Telecommuting?

1. Companies want to offer employees flexibility.2. The business cannot sacrifice good communication.3. Being in the office creates accountability and results.4. Employees value other benefits more than telework.5. It makes no sense to offer a benefit that won’t be well

received.

Thank You!Questions?

Connect:Website: www.alliedhriq.comFacebook: /alliedhriqTwitter: @alliedhriqLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/AlliedHR-IQ-4900645