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Two-thirds of SMEs win by utilising teleworking says MYOB Monitor research
THE rise in teleworking - often out of economic necessity - is having a positive impact on small-to-medium enterprises in Australia, according research by business management solutions provider, MYOB. 
Almost two in three SMEs - 64 percent - now have employees who telework to some extent, up from 57 percent in the March 2013 MYOB survey.
Released for last week's National Telework Week, the results of the MYOB Monitor survey of 1,022 Australian SMEs showed 27 percent have staff who work partly from home and partly from the business premises while 37 percent have staff who work mainly from a location other than on-premises. Staff of the remaining 38 percent work on-site only.
MYOB chief technology officer Simon Raik-Allen, who delivered the results to last week's Telework Congress, said teleworking and digital technologies were having a dramatic and mostly positive effect on the business sector.
"Teleworking is an increasingly attractive proposition as more business operators become comfortable with using advanced hardware, software and online services," Mr Raik-Allen said.
" They're more comfortable with how technology transforms the way we work and how we communicate with each other. A greater number of operators are realising the bottom line benefits, and a wider range of cost-effective telework-enabling technologies are entering the marketplace.
"Our research shows teleworking can play a vital role in business success, providing benefits including increased efficiencies and productivity, reduced overheads and happier employees," he said.
"It's about implementing the right technology and learning to make the most of it to maximise your and your team's effectiveness. A well-structured and tailored teleworking program can ensure more businesses reap the rewards and attract and retain the best staff who can deliver from anywhere."
The MYOB survey found, businesses with teleworkers felt less pressure from common SME pain points such as cash flow (30% versus 34% of non-teleworkers) and price margins and/or profitability (27% versus 37%), though they slightly felt more pressure from fuel prices (46% versus 45%).
Fuel cost was the top pressure point for SMEs overall, and has been since March 2011, while cash flow and price margins and/or profitability tied for second.
SMEs had a greater chance of more sales/work than usual in their short-term pipeline (30% versus 27%) and were slightly more likely to both expect annual revenue to increase (23% versus 22%) and be satisfied with their work/life balance (51% versus 49%).
Delving deeper into SMEs that take advantage of teleworking, MYOB asked about the locations their workers operated from. One in two respondents said ‘mainly on the road' while two in five (39%) said ‘mainly from home'.
The survey also asked SMEs without teleworkers why they did not leverage the now-commonplace practice.
Two in five (41%) said their business wasn't suited to it because employees needed to be onsite at all times, over one in five (21%) said they didn't know, one in five (20%) said they had other reasons, while close to one in 10 said it was too disruptive and another one in 10 said they haven't assessed and managed the risks associated (8% each).
Established in 2004, the MYOB Business Monitor is a national survey of small and medium business owners and managers, commissioned to independent market research firm Colmar Brunton. The most recent study ran in July and August 2013, surveying 1,022 operators from sole traders to mid-sized companies, representing the major industry sectors.
The Monitor researches business performance and attitudes around areas such as profitability, cash flow, pipeline work, technology usage and government. As part of the survey's methodology, it weights MYOB client and non-client respondents in a way that reflects overall market proportions.
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