WHEN Sting first sang, “If you love somebody, set them free,” he probably wasn’t thinking about deskbound employees. But the theory works for managers as well as the lovelorn, according to Conor Brennan, deputy chief executive of Chambers Ireland.

“If I had to insist people come to Dublin to work for us, I’d lose valuable people,” said Brennan, who introduced teleworking to his office two years ago. Today, three of his 20 staff work from home in Waterford, Ballina and Limerick.

“All I had to do was kit them out with a broadband connection and a BlackBerry for when they are on the road. It was a no-brainer,” he said.

The benefits are significant. “As a national organisation, it makes sense for us to have people gathering information in the regions, but there is also the fact that the productivity I get from those people is amazing,” said Brennan.

“They appreciate the opportunity to work from home and the flexibility that it gives them in terms of working time.”

Allowing staff to telecommute can give small firms a valuable competitive advantage when it comes to staff recruitment and retention.

“Small firms can’t afford to compete by offering big salaries, but they can offer flexibility, of which telecommuting is a key part,” said Brennan. “It’s how small firms are holding on to people.”

Almost one third of senior executives in Irish small firms regularly work from home, according to a survey by mobile phone operator O2 this month.

Of those, 37% say they do it to increase productivity by avoiding office-based interruptions. About 27% telecommute for convenience and 14% because it provides a better work/life balance. Some 11% telecommute to avoid traffic — up 4% on the same survey a year ago.

Kieran Moore, managing director of The Firm, a recruitment company for catering and hotel managers, says e-working has boosted productivity significantly — not least his own.

“I travel a lot conducting interviews and I found I needed access to my own files when I was away,” he said. “So Eircom came up with a solution whereby, wherever I am in the world, it’s as if I were sitting at my office desk.”

The system, which gives his five staff remote access to the server in the Dublin office, cost about €7,000 to introduce.

“The productivity benefits are enormous,” said Moore. “My personal assistant tells me I generate more work for her when I’m abroad than I do when I’m in the office. It also means I don’t have to trawl through 200 e-mails when I get back. The new system is easier, quicker and better.”