Telecommuting is the dream. You get to work where you want and when you want. For many businesses, telecommuters can work great. They maintain happy and productive employees with a low turnover rate. Other businesses do not have the flexibility for telecommuters.

As a specialty recruiter for Regulatory and Quality professionals, I have seen when telecommuting works in extremely professional settings. Regulatory employees have more success telecommuting. The majority of their work is research and document generation and review which can be completed at home with the proper tools. On the other hand, Quality employees need to be onsite more to support manufacturing and product development. Each employee has their part to ensure that products meet FDA standards but the different tasks assigned to their profession prevents telecommuting for many of the employees.

When Is Telecommuting Appropriate for Companies?

Research Positions

If your employee’s research project requires only a computer and internet connection then they can probably work remotely. In the industries I represent, this applies to Regulatory employees but can, to a more limited extent, apply to some Quality professionals as well. You may choose to start your employees in the office to prove that they are responsible. With time, give them the telecommuting option to improve employee happiness.

Little Interaction with Coworkers

If your employee’s job requires a physical presence then a telecommuting job is not efficient for your company. For example, office manager, product testing, or supervisor. However, telecommuting works well for project-based, data analysis or computer programming work.

Already Working Considerable Amount from Home

Does your employee bring their work home? Employees that bring their work home are usually stressed and overwhelmed, which could lead to their resignation. This can also be true if their commute into your office is a difficult one. If your employee can work remotely half of the time or even full time, let them. The best remote workers depict responsible work ethic. You may want to call your employee into the office for an occasional meeting, but if the work is getting done when they are remote, allow the option.

When Is Telecommuting Not Feasible for Your Company

• Position requires high amount of supervision
• Position requires a lot of live interaction with co-workers
• Employee deals with sensitive or confidential information
• Employees must attend meetings

A large part of building a great company is making your employees happy. Now, more companies allow employees to work remotely. You can increase productivity and avoid high turnover. If your employee is asking to work remotely, evaluate their position and whether it would fit your company’s needs. A great employee can be hard to find. Do your best to make them happy and you will draw more forward-thinking workers.