It would be logical then, that if the need is there, then the resources would be widely available as well. An employer (especially one that is Web-based) wants to increase his staff productivity while cutting costs - which is exactly what telecommuting, or teleworking, does. Why then, does it seem that most online companies hire employees only to work out of their own offices?
For starters, telecommuting is by no means normal day-to-day operating procedure for most companies in the nineties. When something seems to be working, who really wants to change it?
As well, there is a risk involved with having employees stay at home to work. The current thought process seems to be that when the cat's away, the mice will play, and thus, the company's image will deteriorate accordingly. And few companies are willing to take such a risk, even if short term, with their beloved customer base. Too many dollars have been spent cultivating these same customers, and it costs three times (or more, depending on your sources) more to get a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.
Another deterrent for the employer to start a telecommuting program is the initial startup cost. Outfitting the telecommuter's home office can run in the thousands, especially when the employee does not already have access to the necessary business tools at home. Plus, a system to gather information will need to be created - whether it is done in person, by fax, phone, or e-mail. Whichever way you choose, there is usually an added step that needs to be implemented, as well as a company wide procedure that needs to be followed.
You would think, then, that companies would opt instead to be completely based on the Web - meaning that everything pertaining to the business is done through the Internet - payroll, communications, training, company meetings, customer contact, and work distribution. The long term savings would be astronomical - but if cost were the only issue, then we would all be telecommuting right now. And there were no statistics that I could find anywhere regarding the prevalence of these types of companies.
