Flex, Remote Workers — Should Your Business Be Using Them

When JetBlue Airways Corporation first launched, many if not most of its reservation personnel operated from their own homes.

This highly successful approach reduced start-up costs and worked until more centralized operations were installed as it grew much larger.

For years the typical worker sat at a desk under the watchful eyes of a manager. But much like Jet Blue’s initial workforce, tomorrow’s employee may be miles away working in their home and/or not the standard Monday through Friday 9 am to 5 pm schedule.

While the jury is still out as to the overall effectiveness from such an approach, there are compelling reasons companies are considering flex and/or remote workers.

• Bigger, more diverse pool of talent for a larger geographic area to choose from
• No need to relocate employee
• Less time commuting leads to fuller work days
• Happier workers, reduces attrition and enhances quality of work
• Accommodating a worker’s schedule nurtures loyalty and increase productivity
• May not have to pay benefits, if not full-time jobs
• Provides ability to adapt to seasonal, cyclical, and growth needs of the business
• Workers spend more time working, less time commuting
• Save money: real estate, parking, capital to run the business, etc.

Employees benefit in some of the following ways:

• Flexible schedule: not everyone is productive during the same time of day, this allows them to work the hours they prefer and/or what fits their lifestyle
• Saving money: commuting expenses, out-of-home meals, work wardrobe, child- and/or elder-care
• Feel more in control of work life
• Way to keep working while balancing other commitments
• Less exposure to others’ illnesses and sick days off
• Fewer days off for personal reasons such as errands, deliveries, appointments
• Fewer office politics to deal with
• Limiting in-person contact causes employees to make the most of their time on conference calls and in meetings
• Inspiration to others seeking work

No matter how one feels about these matters, some clear trends are emerging that should be considered by leaders of all sizes.  They include:

• Job sharing and telecommuting is on the rise
• At-home employees continue to rise
• Most organizations are not monitoring their ROI when it comes to flexible work
• Moving full-time positions to non-full-time workers (contingent workers)
• Online communities developing to support these types of workers
• Millennials are the largest generation in the work force; they prefer to telecommute ad flexible work options
• Flexible work positively impacts health, providing more time to exercise

Mitigating against these trends are:

• Not all employees adjust well to remote or flexible work
• It is harder to mentor and train remote and flexible workers
• Company culture may weaken because personal relationships and contact between staff members is limited
• Harder to schedule in-person meetings with a group
• Communication becomes primarily digital, losing the body language communication can lead to communication being strained and miss-communications via email and text
• Workers may feel more isolated
• People who tend to overwork may struggle with work/life balance if working at home
• Need for worker to have at-home dedicated work space suitable for their personal productivity
• Technological issues are more detrimental and can isolate remote employees
• Workers’ comp and other liability issues can be associate with remote work
• Remote work can also be a way to avoid third-party child- or elder-care costs, causing less productivity
• Lack of interactive feedback may lead to less creative ideas and brainstorming

 

Company leaders should consider all of these factors when thinking about future employment practices for their organizations.

There may be different answers for different companies. Find the best answer for your company.

Small- and Medium-Business Employee Healthcare Insurance: Yes Or No

Shock waves are hitting a majority of smaller businesses receiving notices about the premiums due for employee healthcare insurance policies in 2016.
The new rates exceed 20% for many enterprises based on surveys done by Information Strategies, Inc. and other organizations.
An average 23% increases were reported in ISI’s survey of 233 randomly selected businesses under 50 employees. Other soundings surfaced similar increases ranging from 19% to 24%. One respondent reported a 49% increase.
Many companies are pondering alternatives such as providing stipends in lieu of benefits, increasing deductibles, reducing coverage to the minimums required by the Accountable Care Act (ACA), or doing away with any coverage.
For companies with under 50 employees, this last alternative does not involve government sanctions.
Organizations with 100 or more employees have weighty penalties for abandoning employee healthcare insurance.
Perhaps hardest hit are enterprises with 51-99 employees who are seeing massive increases in healthcare insurance premiums.
During the past two years, companies have held down premium costs by shifting the burden to employees either through higher deductibles, increasing the percentage paid by employees, or trimming benefits.
Most of these savings have been wrung out and there are few other alternatives.
While last year, only 6% of respondents said they were considering eliminating healthcare insurance benefits (believed important for employee recruiting and retention), in 2015 the number more than doubled to 13% in ISI’s survey and two other surveys reviewed.
Here are two ways small businesses can attack the cost hurdle.
The first involves a government program offering subsidies to smaller enterprises. This program is complicated and less than 100,000 companies have attempted to use it. The program is called the Small Business Healthcare Options.
The second involves setting up a private exchange enabling employees to purchase individual policies and obtain government subsidies under the ACA.
It has been reported that such programs can save companies significant dollars while providing individually tailored healthcare insurance. To learn more about this approach small business leaders can go to HealthMarkets.com.
If you know of other alternatives, please share them.
No matter what course of action is taken for 2016, small- and medium-businesses can expect 2017 premium rates will be higher.

Warning Signals Abound; Are Small Business Leaders Listening?

When Staples opened its first store, stationary establishments were amongst the most profitable retail operations in America.

Within 15 years they were losing money and have almost disappeared from most shopping areas.

For those owners who did not heed the warnings blared at them by their fellow owners and trade press at the time they lost everything.

It is no different in today’s rapidly changing world.

As consumers and business purchasers change their buying habits, many small-and medium-size businesses are getting left behind.

Therefore it is important that even the most successful small business leader should take lessons from birds.

A recent study of wild birds found that different species learn the warning calls of other forest creatures.

Moreover, they learn what the calls mean and if the predator can be targeting them.

The landscape is evolving quickly and even the most mundane small business will be affected.

There are many venues preaching the need for change.

They are the distant drumbeats warning of danger to profits that can’t be ignored.

However, for many managers buried in day-to-day activities these warning signals are not being heard.

Only when the threat of a new technology approach becomes immediate is action taken.

By then it may be too late.

Warning calls are all about us, it is important to hear, heed them.

In business there is a need to be familiar not only with one’s industry and competitors but other sectors.

Then too, economic, social, and financial trends also affect any small businesses.

When the economy shrinks, some small businesses are affected to a greater extent than others.

Likewise, as the economy expands, some small businesses are negatively impacted.

For an individual small business the first warnings signs come when customers stop reordering; phone calls are ignored; products are returned; store traffic slows; etc.

When this happens, it is important to listen to:

* Customers

* Suppliers

* Employees

* Other industry participants

* Trade press

* Family/friends

What is heard may shock, but it is the key to learning.

Today, small business leaders need to learn quickly or get left behind.