Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! Inc.’s chief executive officer, caused quite a stir when she banned telecommuting from home. All Yahoo! employees must report to their offices starting in June, or find a new company to work for. In a memo sent to internal employees, Mayer says that speed and quality are often sacrificed when work is done from home and in order to have the best communication and collaboration, employees need to be working side-by-side.
Since the ban came to light, many have weighed in on how this will affect Yahoo!’s performance and competitiveness. Because QPS works with thousands of employees each week, we understand what benefits job seekers are looking for. Many businesses see the benefit of using telecommuting as an opportunity to attract a wider pool of candidates and make their company stand out against other options.
Candidates today are looking for flexibility; the ability to have a work/life balance and telecommuting helps them achieve that. As the baby boomer generation heads towards retirement, the newest employees entering the workforce will be looking for more of these value-added benefits.
On the business side, companies find that having telecommuting options can be cost-effective for them. It’s important that employers identify the positions for which telecommuting is applicable and then review each instance on a case-by-case basis to make sure that telecommuting will work out best for the company and the employee. The ideal situation allows you to hold your employees accountable to make sure that you are getting a return on your investment.
If your company does decide that telecommuting works for you, QPS suggests that the participating employees sign a telecommuting agreement. This agreement should describe exactly what is expected of the employee, as well as any insurance or confidentiality requirements that will be needed in a work-at-home or remote-access arrangement.
Only time will tell how this decision will impact future recruiting at Yahoo! Inc., but if your company is looking to retain a competitive hiring edge, having options like telecommuting is bound to help you attract top talent.
Mark Immekus is chief sales officer at QPS Employment Group in Brookfield.
