Teleworkers 

Is your business located in a remote area that limits your ability to recruit top-notch employees? Perhaps you want to keep overhead costs down by reducing your office space? If so, you might consider hiring teleworkers — employees who work outside your office, usually from home.

Some of the benefits teleworkers can bring to your organization are:

• Increased recruitment pool — Your ability to hire is not limited to a specific region.

• Employee productivity and morale — Giving your employees the flexibility to work outside of regular office hours and to avoid a daily commute helps reduce absenteeism. Having fewer workplace interruptions allows your employees to produce more.

• Reduced costs — You may spend less on things like office space, parking, utilities and relocation.

While the advantages are many, you'll want to carefully consider how you can implement and manage teleworkers within your organization. Keep these things in mind:

• Management — As you are unable to monitor a teleworker on site, you may need to pay extra attention to things like workload and results, rather than processes.

• Set-up costs — The home office of a teleworker must provide that employee with the ability to properly communicate with your office and access all necessary information technology networks.

• Liability — The home office of a teleworker must comply with the health and safety standards that you uphold in your place of business.

• Security — If your employee needs remote access to confidential information, you'll need to implement policies and technologies that provide you with full security.

 

• Telework in Canada

  Find out about the benefits and challenges of creating a successful telework program where your employees work outside of the office.

• Hiring and managing a homeworker in Ontario
  Applies only to: Ontario

  Learn what a homeworker (someone doing work for you out of his or her own home) is and understand your responsibilities as the employer.