Save on Recruiting Costs Through Telecommuting

I know, I know: jobs are being lost at a staggering rate. It's really quite frightening. But there are still people hiring -- in fact some companies are hiring in key positions even as they lay people off in areas where there is redundancy. Stella has some advice for those companies that are still looking to hire stars:

Offer them telecommuting.

Seriously, friends, one of the best ways you can help attract key people to your operation is by making it easy for them to accept your offer and telecommuting sweetens the deal in a number of key ways:

1. It doesn't cost you a thing, but it's perceived as a really awesome perk. You already have all that VPN and remote desktop stuff installed as part of your disaster recovery/business continuity planning, right? So let people use it as part of their regular work arrangements and offer it up freely to sweeten your hiring package.

2. It can help an out-of-town candidate accept your offer more readily. Even if they ultimately have to move to your location, you can help ease that transition for them by giving them the flexibility to unload their house at a reasonable pace.

3. If they don't have to relocate at all, all the better. You can get the best possible talent and not have to put together the big relocation package, deal with an unhappy-in-transition employee, and risk losing that employee after six months because his or her spouse doesn't move and they all decide they'd rather be where they were.