I'm Kind of Amazed This Is News

This is a real life article from a Minnesota news source. While I applaud the news -- worker works from a sunny climate and no one is any worse for the wear -- I'm thinking to myself, "Slow news day at the old MinnPost."

But I'll expand on this idea: telecommuting can help you both retain people who must move (retirement, can't stand seven months of snow without killing the family, spouse job changes) and attract people who might not otherwise consider you as an employer (seven months of snowfall, anyone?). In a real estate market where people are having an incredibly hard time selling their houses, the employer who is able to say, "Start now. If you sell your house, great, move closer. Or not. We have the technology and the management where-with-all to handle you whether you're here or there," is an employer who has a distinct advantage over the traditional "relocate to our location or you can't work here" kind of place.

Which is a long sentence to say that embracing telecommuting means you can hire worldwide, and retain your stars even if they want to move somewhere where you aren't. And it doesn't cost you a thing, really.