Why your business could benefit from having off-site employees?

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the New Zealand economy. Many of these SMEs have grown into successful national companies and many more will make that transition in the future.

Growing a business can be challenging if the costs of expanding outweigh the benefits. When taking on extra staff means moving to bigger premises, or having to provide extra car parking, the costs can simply be too high.

There’s one proven way of reducing operating costs without sacrificing staff. It can even result in your staff being happier and more productive! Off-site employees are a popular global trend with businesses trying to expand without their overheads spiraling out of control.

Off-site employees are simply staff that work somewhere other than in your businesses main office premises. Many businesses already have off-site employees, such as on-the-road sales reps, product servicing agents and bookkeeping staff.

Off-site employee programmes (OSEPs) identify staff who potentially could work from home, thereby saving employers and business owners the costs associated with providing workspaces (offices, furniture, lighting, heating, air conditioning, telephones, car parking, toilets etc).

OSEPs can also make your staff happier, if they prefer to work at home to be closer to their families, or avoid spending time caught in traffic going to and from work. Some people work better when they’re left to get on with the job, without the interruptions that occur in shared office spaces.

Every extra person working from their home, means one fewer person driving to work, which in turn reduces traffic congestion and pollution from vehicles. The whole community can benefit from just one business implementing an OSEP.

Will OSEP work for your business?

Simply complete this short checklist to see if your business is suitable for an OSEP.

Q. Can (and do) your staff take work home?
Yes      No

Q. Do any of your staff spend more than 50% of their time out of the office (e.g. visiting clients and suppliers, delivering products, servicing products etc)?
Yes      No

Q. If your staff had access to technology (e.g. phone lines for telesales, or email) would they be able to work outside your business premises?
Yes      No

Q. Can your staff perform some or all of their work without being located in the same space as other staff?
Yes      No

Q. Does your business involve any of these tasks: telesales and/or sales representatives, marketing, research, legal services, accounting and bookkeeping, IT and computer related work, public relations, writing, deliveries and transport?
Yes      No

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your business could be suitable for OSEP. Even if you weren’t able to answer yes to any of these questions, there are a range of things you can do to reduce your business transport costs and improve the health and well-being of your staff. Take a look around the goSmarter website for ideas and more information.

Starting an OSEP | Good Ideas for Reducing Travel Costs