Gas prices are driving companies to adjust their reimbursement policy for outside salespeople. We have seen a handful of salespeople who have taken a real hit due to the fact they are on a monthly car allowance and not mileage reimbursement.
Telecommuting is already grabbing a larger foothold in the work world which is a trend that predated the gas price increase. Our local Pioneer Planet quotes a recent SHRM report regarding telecommuting:
(The SHRM study) found 18 percent of employers are allowing workers to telecommute, up from 4 percent in a survey a year ago.
That doesn’t sound like much, but a 4% increase in 1 year is remarkable. We have seen a recent trend amongst our customers to go with remote salespeople located in the territory. The centralized sales force may become a fossil as companies move to a distributed sales force.