Business boss backs working from home

Northland companies could reward staff with more flexible work arrangements including letting employees work from home, a local business chief says.

New Zealand employees would be more productive if their pay was tied to performance and they could work more from home, a new survey has found.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index surveyed more than 120,000 employees in 31 countries - including over 3500 Kiwis - and found we had one of the lowest levels of performance-based pay in the Asia Pacific region.

Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tony Collins said said there was scope for greater workplace flexibility to reward local workers.

"If you look at the profile of Northland businesses being generally SME's [small to medium enterprises], they're often not in a position to pay more, but some of the ways they can reward their staff is by making their work life easier."

With the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband in Whangarei, and the rural broadband initiative throughout Northland, there were opportunities for more businesses to look at remote workplace options.

"It's a way that small businesses can sometimes reward their staff when they can't do it financially."

While many businesses needed their staff on premises at all times, some administration and account staff did not need to be at work every day, Mr Collins said.

Often people travelled 30 to 40km daily to get to get to and from work in Northland, so saving them travelling that distance once a week was a reward in time and money.

Mr Collins said while he couldn't name which Northland businesses currently employed a performance pay scheme, they would most likely be sales-based businesses with easy to measure results. The latest Statistics NZ figures show the median weekly income for those in paid employment in Northland was $693 a week - below the national median of $800.

The survey found just over a third (36 per cent) of Kiwi workers had a portion of their pay tied to individual performance or productivity targets.

Half of Kiwi employees not currently receiving performance pay said they would lift their performance if their earnings were linked to achievement or productivity.

The survey also found while only a quarter of the workforce spent at least one day a week working from home, those who did believed they were more productive.

Respondents said key benefits included minimising the time and expense of commuting and working with fewer interruptions - resulting in greater focus and productivity, and more flexibility to deal with unexpected personal requirements.