• Social Media policies for your company- What should they be? Check out http://bit.ly/8XxrEs #
• I'm working on putting together an online Job board posting function on http://www.HR-4U.com what do you think? #

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• Snow blankets DC again, Federal Gov't shut down- Teleworkers… still able to work- what would your company do without them? #
• Rocked an incredible open house today at our BNI group- despite the weather- 60 visitors- and a lot of intro's to business owners #
• Google is looking to build Ultra High Speed Broadband Networks in communities- check out http://bit.ly/bwSmvP #
• attending an Entreprenurial Organization event today- great material! #
• Just landed another speaking engagment on How to put Telecommuting into Business Continuity Plans #

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• meeting with clients and prospects in Raleigh, NC- making a big impact in Research Triangle Park #
• Off to give a presentation to the Edwardsville Chamber on Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery- hope to make some great connections! #

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• Sitting in a terrorism workshop in St. Louis working with Business leaders in a terrorist attack scenario. #
• Terrorist Attack Mock-Scenario is looking at an Attack on the Federal Reserve. it's interesting listening how leaders expect to respond #
• Now the scenario is looking at a Shelter in Place declaration due to radioactive issues- that means stay where you are– not likely… #
• So FBI and Homeland security would go into investigative mode and let media inform public- some discrepancy in how they get the info though #
• Just learned that Potassium Iodide (KI) is often times used to treat victims of radiation exposure- great conference so far #
• scenario is wrapping up- we're lookign at the facts on dirty bombs- very interesting seminar- great info gathered to pass along to clients #
• Busy day of conf. calls- going to Raleigh, NC for a workshop and meet with a company to look at transitioning them to a remote workforce #

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• 744 letters just went out for my networking Group's Open house on Feb 7- that's going to be a lot of networking #
• Just back from KC Conducting a Business Impact Analysis for a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan- I love my work! #
• been building a 2 page Business Continuity Plan all morning- following the KISS principle for immediate action steps #

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Every week it seems as though I am reminding Remote Managers about the importance of praise and recognition for their Remote Workers. Praise and recognition is vital to the success of any remote work arrangement and probably one of the key elements to successful remote management. Put simply Praise and Recognition:

1. Affirms Employees of proper actions.
2. Keeps Employees connected to office culture.
3. Promotes a sense of team when done publicly.
4. Increases and employee’s productivity.
5. Engages employee in developing themselves professionally.

Done right, praise solves many of the issues that plague remote managers. With the proper use of praise employees feel they are still connected as part of the team and when done in a form that shows them off in front of office workers, can help break down the office vs. work-from-home tensions that sometimes arise.

For more tips/tricks email me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com

• HR 4348 just introduced-not law yet- $1,000 tax credit for people who work from home to cover additional expenses- http://bit.ly/7htQW5 #

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• 5 telecommuting distractions to avoid http://tinyurl.com/yz2qq6r #
• Have a remote workforce and need a full functioning phone system with Music, transfer, conf, forward to cell? http://bit.ly/4U2gZI #
• Snow Day! Are you working from home today? If your company has a Telecommuting Program you should be, if not… let's talk! #
• Great article: Employees willing to pay for Smartphones and Service to work from Anywhere, http://bit.ly/5Mzmx7 #

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The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article discussing new trends in mobile work: For-Profit Coworking facilities. This new trend highlights an essential point to Remote Work. It’s never all or nothing.

Working in public locations such as coffee shops, bookstores, and cafes has largely been the life for those who work for themselves. Choosing to eliminate the costs of real estate, the self-employed are largely turning to these spaces for a due to a lack of office amenities the biggest one being- meeting space. However, with more and more people turning to self-employment and more companies allowing Remote Work, demand is growing for a more professional atmosphere; one that gives privacy and has a few more amenities similar to an office. Similar to the government subsidized Telework Centers in Washington DC, private companies are now launching “Coworking” facilities that offer cubicles, desks, private offices, conference rooms, phones, copiers, and even coffee machines and water coolers!

This article shows that people need a balance when working remotely. Too many organizations see Remote Work as an all or nothing scenario where employees are either working in their office or they are working from home in their pajamas and don’t need any support from the company. Nothing could be farther from the truth, employees still need access to many of the functions that an office performs. For this reason SuiteCommute has always advocated Part-Time remote work.

With Part-Time remote work employees still maintain an office or share an office with someone at the company’s location (a situation often referred to as hotelling). The employees report to an office 1-2 days a week to conduct meetings or utilize the office equipment and work remotely the rest. This provides the best of both worlds and truly is the best scenario for remote workers. Just because someone is remote doesn’t mean they don’t ever need an office, they just don’t need it as much or all of the space.

When setting up your remote work program consider the office needs people may have.

1. Don’t assume that since the employees are working remotely that they won’t ever need an office. Make sure that conference rooms, cubicles, and office equipment can still be accessible if employees have been used to using it.
2. Make sure employees understand it is “OK” to come back into the office. Some employees are hesitant to come into the office when working remotely, because they fear it will show that they can’t work remotely. Employees need to understand that the a formal office is still available to them should they need it.
3. Analyze what equipment can be purchased cheaply for employees to have at their home. A $50 printer makes a lot more sense than having an employee come into the office every time they need to print something. Consider what function the employee performs and what equipment could be supplied to them.
4. Set up a scheduling mechanism for employees. Remote Workers need some way to inform office staff that they will be in the office or reserving conference rooms. Some sort of scheduling tool should be used.
5. Stay focused on results of your workers and not just the time the y spend in locations. It’s vital that managers focus on the results of their remote employees and not just the time they spend in any one place.

For more information on how to set up or improve your Telecommuting or Remote Work program please feel free to contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com

• Snow shuts down Federal Agencies in DC today. Teleworkers maintain operations as part of Emergency Preparedness http://bit.ly/7hcVEH #
• Who says this time of year is slow! I'm helping new clients and meeting with great people like http://ping.fm/Lbm13! watch out 2010 #
• Telework Tax Credit legislation introduced this week for $1000 to people who work from home http://bit.ly/59ptq8 #

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