By Mary E. Morrison

BOOSTING OUT-OF-THE-OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY
How easy is it for your employees to telecommute? If it's very easy, that's good. A recent CIO survey, conducted by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), finds companies that enable telecommuting often reap impressive benefits.

In fact, more than 65 percent of the 212 IT and other professionals from North America, Europe and Asia who responded to the survey say they enjoyed productivity gains as a result of letting employees telecommute full- or part-time. Nearly 60 percent also reported cost savings, with a median savings of $10,000 a year. Other benefits include access to more-qualified staff, better employee retention and improved employee health, the survey finds.

Telecommuting generated buzz a few years back, but never took off. Today, it's enjoying a comeback due to technical advances and the greater availability of broadband, Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony, virtual private networks (VPNs) and mobile technologies. "Companies have finally figured out that telecommuting is an option they can offer to attract and keep good people," says Steven Ostrowski, a CompTIA spokesman. And it may result in employees working longer than they might in a traditional office setting.

To be sure, telecommuting is not without its management challenges. But CIOs can overcome most by implementing a written corporate telecommuting policy and keeping up on the latest security tools and techniques, Ostrowski says.