Winter’s Coming – Time To Telecommute

With winter approaching faster than we may like it is time for business owners to think about the impact winter may have on their fleet operations. We at Sokolis help our fleet companies get ready for the winter months by assisting them in ordering fuel additive to keep their diesel fuel from gelling and their fleet drivers safe on the road. Other business owners have found different ways to keep their employees safe during the winter months, such as allowing them to telecommute. Instead of employees having to battle with the snow, sleet, and ice they can work from home and stay out of harms way.

Telecommuting employees fall into two categories. Employees can either telecommute periodically, such as during bad weather or when their children are sick; or employees can telecommute full time or almost full time. Business owner’s attitudes about telecommuting tend to be; love it or hate it. Some companies have embraced it so much they have been able to downsize to smaller offices. Yet other companies are still uneasy about not having their workers in the office full time. The great fear among business owners is that telecommuting employees may spend more work time doing non work related tasks such as, chores around the house, watching TV, and surfing the web. Owners worry they won’t be able to control workers if they don’t have face to face contact every day. Even owners who are ok with telecommuting may have those employees put some face time in at the office. This can help telecommuters from feeling isolated from the company and help ensure that they keep up with everything that is going on at the office and with the company. Some owners may shy away from telecommuting because they fear it will mean a big investment in technology. But there are many secure Web-based services to help small businesses with telecommuting. Companies can download software that essentially will create a network between an employees PC at home and the company’s system.

With the winter just around the corner it is time for business owners to take a look at their operations and find ways to improve. Sokolis is a fleet management company that can help your fleet do just that. Contact Sokolis today at 267-482-6155!