Why Telework and Broadband Should Be In Your Playbook

Posted September 14th, 2010 by Chip Kohrman

Buckeyes are looking for work, but they aren’t finding it. July’s numbers show Ohio’s unemployment rate tailing behind national numbers. The economy still struggles and people are still out of work. That’s a dark outlook, but these tough conditions are teaching lessons.

One thing thousands of Ohioans are learning is that they can work from home by using a high-speed Internet connection at home to do the same type of work they might do from a desk in an office downtown.

Employers, wary and fearful of adding full-time staff and repeating the pain of layoffs, have found they can utilize the skill and knowledge of some of those folks who may have been performing tasks from order entry and tracking to copy writing and graphic design, all at a lower cost to the company but at nearly the same gross income for the employee-turned-contractor.

Teleworking has become a lifeline for people from Marietta to Toledo who can market their skills to multiple employers, thereby increasing their income and cutting down on commuting, parking, childcare and even meal expenses at the same time.

On the employers’ side, they can save on lighting, air conditioning and heating, printers, coffee, and all the other costs that go into keeping an office humming.

Teleworking provides another advantage: no relocation. Someone hired as a full-time employee could avoid packing up the family and moving across the state or country to do that job. With today’s inexpensive software and hardware, employees around the world can attend a virtual meeting without ever leaving their home office. That saves wear and tear on the attendees and thousands of dollars for the employer.

Hiring teleworkers and part-timers might not work for everyone. But, if it sounds like a real opportunity to you – either as an employer or as a contractor – huddle up, Buckeyes! Telework could be a winning play.

Chip Kohrman is the founder of Telesaur. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.