Is your organization trying to figure out if a telecommuting program will be worth the time and trouble? There’s a free tool that can help.

The folks at ITBusinessEdge.com are offering a free calculator — really a few Excel spreadsheets with built-in formulas — that can help you figure out if a program’s worthwhile.

Well, it’s sort of free. You have to be willing to give up some basic info to get a site membership and download the calculator.

The tool’s based on a  business model where employees who previously worked at your facility now work at home on a full-time basis, with only occasional visits to the office.

The big savings: Space. This kicks in only if you have eight to 12 offsite workers, which will save about 2,000 square feet of space, the smallest parcel that can be sublet.

But as noted in previous posts here at FinanceTechNews, the big advantage is retention, recruitment, morale and productivity — all of which get a big boost by offering flexible work arrangements.

And in this day and age of wage freezes and layoffs, all of those things can add up to big savings for the bottom line.

Tags: calculator, formula, morale, recruitment, retention, savings, telecommuting, tool