NFIB

Managing Telecommuting Employees, Part II
03/ 28/ 2002


Thousands of companies today, in a wide variety of industries, are experiencing the benefits of allowing employees to work from their homes. Telecommuting situations vary widely; some employees work at home full time, some several days a week, others only occasionally. In almost every case, special management techniques are required for companies to monitor progress of telecommuters and keep them in sync with team projects, when applicable. In today's Workshop, Jeffrey Moses outlines essential management procedures for working with and supervising telecommuters who are involved in team projects. Many of the points discussed in last week's Workshop -- Managing Telecommuting Employees, Part I -- can be applied to today's Workshop.

Because of the complexity of many telecommuting projects -- and because of the need for close coordination between telecommuters and in-office staff and management, companies frequently offer special training for employees and managers who will be involved in such programs. Today's Workshop outlines basics only, but will help a company establish general guidelines.

Perhaps the overriding issue for telecommuters who work as part of a team is the maintenance of team integrity and efficiency. Before telecommuting programs are set up, team managers should meet with executive supervisors to establish working parameters for telecommuters. Such parameters include:

1. Project schedules and deadlines, including ongoing stage-by-stage development benchmarks.

2. Establishment of specific tasks to individuals within the team, including management, in-house employees and telecommuting employees.

3. Setting-up channels of communication between team members and management. Often, projects are complex, and coordination between team members is crucial. Coordination involves much more than simply setting up in-house contacts for telecommuters. It may require, for example, establishing channels for extensive information-sharing, assigning responsibility for setting task priorities, establishing authority for evaluation of tasks, and determining responsibility for reporting to management.

4. Setting-up schedules for reporting (daily, weekly, as-needed). Special management efforts are required to harmonize the work of telecommuters, in-house staff, and other telecommuters who may be on the team. This puts a unique burden on management, and requires conscientious attention from telecommuters to make sure that all updates and reports are timely.

5. Weekly or bi-weekly conference calls between team members should be considered. This helps maintain team cohesion, and gives individuals the chance to speak directly with all team members at the same time. These meetings should be carefully planned in advance to make maximum use of time. Although there are distinct differences between conference-call meetings and in-house meetings, there are general similarities -- and responsibility for success of meetings falls to the manager. A previous workshop, Tips for Running a Successful Meeting, outlined guidelines that will help managers organize and run effective meetings.

6. Since timeliness of information transfer is often key to team success, telecommuters must check E-mails and voice mail frequently throughout the day.

7. Managers need to establish performance guidelines for telecommuters and give regular evaluations of job performance. Because telecommuters are not in the office, the spontaneity of manager/employee relationships is absent throughout much of a project. This means that the personal relationship that often enables a manager to evaluate a project will be missing. As a result, frequent formal performance evaluations may need to be made.

8. Often, team projects involving telecommuters may arouse personal issues between in-house staff and telecommuters. Some staff may feel that telecommuters receive "special" treatment because they are allowed to work at home. And some managers may feel that their authority is jeopardized by off-site workers. Executives should be aware of the possibility of such issues arising, and deal with them prior to disruption of a project's progress.

There are numerous books on the subject of telecommuting, but only a handful on managing telecommunications programs. Three of the best are (all available through online or retail booksellers):

1. Going Virtual: Moving Your Organization Into the 21st Century, by Raymond Grenier and George Metes, about $25, August 1995, Prentice Hall

2. An Organizational Guide to Telecommuting, by George M. Piskurich, about$25, March 1998, American Society for Training & ; Development

3. Managing Telework: Strategies for Managing the Virtual Workforce, by Jack M. Nilles, about $30, August 1998, John Wiley & ; Sons
Also, a wealth of information about telecommuting is available through the Telecommuting Advisory Council, www.telecommute.org. Of special interest are discussion groups and training that is made available to companies using telecommuting workers.

workshops.microbusiness.fri
6.30.00

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