How Employers Can Reward Without Increasing Salaries

October 29, 2008

How Employers Can Reward Without Increasing Salaries

How Employers Can Reward Without Increasing Salaries

Survey shows that unified communications may hold the solution

 

teleworkersMitelunified communications

“High fuel costs are leading many companies to create teleworking programs that put more money in employees’ pockets without increasing their salaries,” said Doug Michaelides, vice president global marketing at Mitel, sponsor of the U.S. Unified Communications Trends Survey. “We believe this has been a big driver of the recent acceleration of customer interest in our unified communications solutions as employers seek to retain employees while holding the line on salary increases.” That pressure is demonstrated throughout the economy, according to human resources consultant Hewitt Associates, which just released a study that reveals virtually flat base pay raises across the U.S. (  www.hewitt.com).

The Mitel U.S. Unified Communications Trends Survey reveals that a surprising number of employees are inclined to join or remain with an employer that offers teleworking. 

  • 91 percent of respondents feel that teleworking is a “good” or “great” idea
  • 22 percent of teleworkers said they would re-evaluate their job if their employer did not have a teleworking program
  • 42 percent of survey respondents believe companies seeking to recruit talent should offer a teleworking program

Such sentiments have a direct impact on company’s financial performance. The Society for Human Resource Management reports that the average cost of replacing an employee – including advertising, relocation, travel, agency fees, and benefits – now exceeds $7,000. Moreover, 64 percent of teleworkers in the Mitel survey report they are more productive and generate higher quality work when working from a location other than the office.

“When you factor in productivity and the role of teleworking in recruitment and retention, it’s pretty easy to make a return-on-investment case,” said Michaelides. “Our unified communications solutions deliver the functionality of an in-office setting for off-site employees. As teleworking becomes standard corporate practice, it’s becoming a competitive tool to retain the best workforce.” According to a recent survey by WorldatWork, the percentage of American companies that offer teleworking jumped from 30 to 42 percent during the last 12 months. Rising gas prices, leading-edge technology, and the push for work-life flexibility were cited as the catalysts (  www.worldatwork.org).

Mitel’s customers have been among the early adopters of unified communications technology, and have benefited from the strong ROI of teleworkers, both in terms of financial impact and employee satisfaction. “Teleworking allowed us to change our business model by scaling back on the number of nationwide service centers to reduce overhead costs, without losing our knowledge workers. They are our keys to success,” said Lauren Johansson, manager of IP telephony services at   MedQuist, a leading provider of medical transcription software technology and services. “By placing them into a virtual workforce, we reduce costs, retain the employee, and allow them to work in their own environment with all the right tools necessary to perform their job.”

The U.S. Unified Communications Survey, sponsored by Mitel, was conducted online by Zoomerang Market Research in August 2008 among 812 American white collar workers.

About Mitel

A global market leader in business communications powering more than two billion business connections, Mitel helps businesses and service providers connect, collaborate and provide innovative services to their customers. Our innovation and communications experts serve business users in more than 100 countries. For more information, go to www.mitel.com and follow us on Twitter @Mitel.

Mitel is the registered trademark of Mitel Networks Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information

Sandrine Quinton, Mitel

Tel: +33 1 30 96 43 01

Email: [email protected]

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