There are lots of ways that remote working can offer businesses cost savings. Many established businesses have already enjoyed savings due to telecommuting. Sun Microsystems identified savings of $68 million a year in its real estate costs, while Dow Chemical and Nortel have saved over 30% on non-real estate costs.
According to Global Workplace Organization, almost 6 out of 10 employers identify cost savings as a major benefit of telecommuting.
Rent and utilities: If most of your team is working from home, you won’t need to pay for larger premises, saving money on rent and utilities.
Cleaning services: With minimal staff onsite, your cleaning services bill is likely to significantly decline.
Food: Whether it is providing a cafeteria service or serving refreshments during meetings, if you have remote employees, you will eliminate this cost.
Taxes: There are three factors that determine a company’s tax burden: payroll, sales and property. Making changes to accommodate remote workers could also impact your tax burden.
While direct money savings are important, there are other benefits associated with telecommuting that can save money in the long term.
Improved employee retention
Recruitment can be one of the biggest headaches for businesses, and it can be even more frustrating when those carefully sought-out team members decide to leave.
Working from home can provide parents with childcare responsibilities flexibility, while other workers can enjoy an enhanced work-life balance that will help your business to see an improvement in employee retention.
Increased productivity
While it requires a certain degree of trust to allow employees to work from home, your business could benefit from increased productivity. A Stanford study found that remote workers are 13% more productive when compared to their in-office counterparts.
Remote workers are not in a loud environment and are not distracted by their co-workers. Additionally, remote workers don’t have the stress of commuting, which means that they can focus on the task ahead rather than needing time to calm down after tackling the morning rush hour.
Reduced payroll costs
While you’re not likely to have happy employees if you want to cut their salaries in exchange for a more flexible workplace, research shows that almost one-third of employees would choose to work from home over a pay raise.
This means that you can reward your employees for their good performance with the flexibility of working remotely rather than a pay increase. You can keep your payroll costs down without compromising productivity.
Reduction in absenteeism
Flexible scheduling allows your team members to fit their work around any personal obligations that would otherwise have, resulting in taking a day or two off.
However, studies have shown that a flexible work schedule also leads to healthier employees. Remote workers tend to be able to bounce back more quickly from illness, and there is no risk of one cough or cold traveling through your entire workforce, should someone fall ill.
Eliminate unnecessary meetings
Most business owners appreciate that meetings can be a time suck and waste precious resources. Even with the most stringent of agendas, it is still difficult to keep everyone on track and organized.
There are also delays that result from trying to coordinate people from multiple departments into one venue. With current technology, you can still collaborate, but your meetings are likely to be better planned and remain on message.
In the past, working from home was unfeasible for many companies, but today’s technology has made it easier to make this transition. Having remote workers offers businesses a number of benefits, including saving money, but some potential drawbacks need to be explored. Although working from home can save companies money, there are hidden costs that will need to be assessed.
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