It's Time To Review — And Renew — Your Telecommuting Policy

Sourcing and vendor management teams should work with IT and human resources (HR) to regularly review the company's telecommuting policy. The current economic situation is pushing many companies to look for new ways to: 1) increase employee productivity; and 2) reduce operational costs. Over the past few months, we've had a growing number of client inquiries about telecommuting best practices. Some firms are trying to build a business case for expanding their telecommuting program. Others are standardizing their support for telecommuting with the aim of lowering costs. Most companies will save money by formalizing their telecommuting policies and standardizing support practices. Informal policies and ad hoc support result in inconsistencies about who can telecommute and what costs the company covers. Additionally, absent a formal policy, IT support costs will be higher when nonstandard and personal devices are connecting to the network.