According to a recent World at Work survey, telework has increased from being offered by 30% of employers in 2007 to 42% in 2008. Whether you have telecommuting employees or plan on transitioning workers to telecommuting positions to take advantage of the cost savings, many companies find managing off-site workers can be a challenge. As many of my clients have found, incentive programs can really help bridge the gap from the office to employees’ homes in terms of motivation and communication.
Recently, a client of mine in the insurance industry extended its online incentive program to part time and telecommuting employees. Each associate was given a username and password to their personal online incentive award account. At the end of every week incentive points are awarded to employees who reach job specific goals ranging from sales and customer service metrics to personal health and wellness objectives. At the beginning of the next work week each employee who earned points is sent an email with their current point balance and a link to the incentive award website.
Since each employee has their own personal online award account, employees at all levels of the organization are able to access information about the incentive program regardless if they are on-site or not. By utilizing job specific goals, the company is able to target specific metrics for improvement whether the employee is telecommuting or not. The incentive website functions as a hub for the award program and keeps employees involved and motivated in their work.
As the incentive program matures and certain objectives are met, other goals have been introduced to keep the award program relevant and fresh to both on and off-site workers. The company has had a lot of success this year with short term incentive contests that team up on-site and telecommuting employees to increase teamwork and bottom line results. 12 member incentive teams pool their job-specific goals so that they can earn more points if all members reach their goals. At the end of three months the team with the highest points is given bonus points and an on-site luncheon so team members can share in their success.
Programs such as telecommuting incentive awards and flexible work/life balance solutions are becoming common as American employers are focusing on cost and energy use reductions. By coupling these flexible work situations with a relevant incentive website, employers can maximize telecommuting employee motivation.