I attended a webinar today hosted by FierceCIO. It was pretty basic, Telecommuting is good for these reasons… Managers are afraid for these reasons… A lot of the same stuff that I consider to be common knowledge in the Remote Work and Telecommuting arena. For this post I’m going to take some time to properly explain what was presented and then challenge the industry.

What I did find interesting, though, where some new statistics provided by Chris Neal, a knowledgeable telecom and high-tech industry analyst and consultant. During his part of the presentation he discussed a recent survey his firm conducted with 144 IT decision makers from companies with more than 1000 employees. What he found was that the most common fear of IT decision makers – network security. There seemed to be a lot of fear concerning how remote users access the internal network. In addition, his research found that the most common reasons companies were looking to Remote Work were to “Increase Worker Productivity (42%)”, “Enhanced Employee Availability (23%)”, and “Increased Collaboration (16%)”.

Chris then finished with some additional stats that pretty much equally supported the fact that Remote Work is growing and IT professionals are constantly looking for ways to increase network security both on-site and now in people’s homes.

Next to present was the General Manager of Telework Exchange, Cindy Auten. She gave another basic presentation on Telework, citing government and a few private company examples. Good information, but basic nonetheless.

It seems that every seminar, webinar, presentation, etc. I attend about Remote Work or Telecommuting just covers the REASONS why people should do it. They all seem to miss the “How.” It is my belief that enough people now know about Telecommuting and its benefits, but what they want to know is HOW to make it successful in their organization. It is important to note that I do not believe in any one way of managing or working remotely, but I do support a combination of best practices.

I think it is critically important for companies considering Remote Work or Telecommuting programs to consider how a work model like this will fit into their own work processes and culture. Without successful integration, I believe your program is doomed to fail. Even if it succeeds at first, without the proper documented and trained support, your Remote Work program will eventually fail as the knowledge of work processes is lost in the second or third generation of Remote Workers.

Interested in a presentation that outlines the “How-to” of creating a Remote Work or Telecommuting Program? Email me below and I’ll send you a copy of one of my latest presentations on this topic. This presentation will serve as a Diagnostic Tool of sorts that will help you either evaluate your current program or assess what needs to be done to create a new one.

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

10. Determine strategic reasons- (Internal and External Drivers)
9. Research statistics and examples of similar organizations
8. Solicit senior leadership support and “Champion”
7. Set specific and measurable goals for initiative
6. Explore what business functions are capable
5. Assess current technology infrastructure
4. Conduct manager and employee focus groups
3. Create formal policies, procedures, and training
2. Train a group of managers and employees for Pilot Program
1. Launch Pilot program- monitor and address problems

10. Determining Strategic Reasons

When evaluating your program you first need to look at what overall strategic initiatives you are looking to meet with the formation of a formal program. These strategic initiatives are often referred to as Internal and External Factors.  For more on this read my post on Internal and External Factors.

9. Research statistics and examples of similar organizations

Take a look at our Telecommuting Statistics page and do some online research to see what other companies similar to yours are reporting with their Telecommuting and Remote Work Programs. Use this information to build a business case for your program. This will also help your organization to determine what additional factors you may want to consider.

8. Solicit senior leadership support and “Champion”

Organizations often times overlook this critical step. Telecommuting and Remote Work plans that don’t have the support of someone seen as “Senior Leadership” in the company are often times thus not supported by the employees. Employees often see this lack of support as a black mark for them and their role in the company if they support the initiative. Announcing this support will go a long way to employees supporting and succeeding with the new initiative.

7. Set specific and measurable goals for initiative

This is where you take the Internal and External Factors from above and draft your own goals and measurements of success. Using examples from other companies in your industry and information on how your company operates, set some goals for what you would like your Telecommuting or Remote Work program to achieve. These goals will then become the measures of success for the program. For instance, let’s say you want to improve your ability to retain Top Talent. Looking at statistics you will see that Telecommuting programs often times reduce turnover by 15-55% collectively. Using this information you set a goal of reducing overhead by 30%. Use your industries standards for what it takes to replace employees and do the math. For one 800 person highly technological company here in St. Louis, we calculated these savings at $7.2 million per year alone!

6. Explore what business functions are capable

Not all functions within your organization are going to be great for Remote Work. Security clearances, manual labor of some sort, or Technology barriers may prevent employees from working remotely. It is CRITICAL that the organization set clear standards for what positions are eligible. This will prevent many of the unfair labor treatment claims currently circulating in our legal system. From there, specific guidelines can be created for managers to follow on who is eligible.

5. Assess current technology infrastructure

DON’T just tell your IT Department to go out and get what you need! Often times, current technology is more than capable of supporting remote employees. What needs to be assessed is the technology they ACTUALLY use and “how” they use it. For a lot of employees, they may not need the latest communication tools and software available. They may only need access to email. What’s important, is that the business functions, employee needs, and technology all meet the same requirements. This can avoid many “over-investments” that companies make.

4. Conduct manager and employee focus groups

In order for you to truly know what employees and managers are going to need in the form of policies, procedures, training, and guidance; we often suggest a few focus groups. During these guided discussions employers are able to uncover and avert potential problems with implementation. It is in these groups that you can learn the “front-line culture” and “front-line” tactics employees are currently using to complete work. This valuable knowledge will help your company create a more robust program.

3. Create formal policies, procedures, and training

After all the above information has been collected you are ready to start putting your program together. Using the information from the strategic assessment, technology audits, focus groups, and work requirements, you can now put together a robust set of policies, procedures, and training for your employees. Be sure to refer to our Sample Policies and Procedures to further make sure you have met all the requirements. If you are interested we can put your program through our Assessment Tool and provide you with a report card and recommendations on your program.

2. Train a group of managers and employees for a Pilot Program

Every Telecommuting or Remote Work program should run a pilot program of some sort. This is the best way to determine what will and won’t work. Employees need to be trained in the companies policies and procedures, as well as the Best Practices for Remote Work. This will expose your program and training to the real demands of your workforce. It is critical that any issues brought forth are addressed and dealt with, documenting all changes. Focus groups and regular check-ups should be conducted after the Pilot Program to assess necessary changes.

1. Launch program and track results

Launch your program and track the results based off your goals and strategic initiatives you want met. Train employees before deployment and assist managers as they begin to manage their remote workers. Watch for the pitfalls often associated with Telecommuting and be sure to report on the status of the program to senior leadership.

For more information or help with any of these steps, please feel free to contact me directly:

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

There’s a great article in the Washington Post this week on advice for people working from home. It outlines some of the many disciplines people need to adopt when working out of a home office. I think the best advice was to make sure to schedule regular meetings with people outside of your home office. Often times, home workers get so ingrained in working that they forget to get out and socialize a bit. This is a common mistake. The simple act of getting up to go someplace for lunch will do a number of good things for your mind, in fact I try to make sure I’m not cooped up in my office just working for more than 2 days straight. I find that anything over 2 days of solidarity and silence starts to play with my mind a little bit. I find I am more antsy and fidgety and that it is harder to concentrate on the projects I am working on.

The other main point that I thought spoke volumes was to be sure and “assert your presence.” This is critical if you are working with a team. Just because you are out of the office doesn’t mean you are any less productive or reachable. Make sure to schedule regular conference calls and meetings. We always tell people to have an “office-buddy” of sorts to bounce information off. For many telecommuters the responsibility to stay in-sight and in-mind is yours. You have the freedom and flexibility, but with those benefits come some unique requirements that probably aren’t in your job description.

For more information on this please feel free to contact me directly.

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

The St. Louis Business Journal had a great article this week outlining some of the key points when allowing your employees to work from home. (Click here to view the article) Since I helped with the article I felt it important to share a few additional points just on how to select those who are allowed to work remotely or Telecommute. We often refer to this as “Telecommuting Selection Criteria.” Alright here goes:

1. Determine the reasons for allowing Remote Work or Telecommuting. See below post on strategy to determine this.
2. Look at the Departments/Divisions that your company is considering to allow to work remotely.
3. Look at what job functions within those Departments/Divisions are capable of completing work off site.
4. Break up the job descriptions into what tasks can be performed on and off site.
5. Set standards for what employees must meet or comply with to be considered.
6. Look at the individual employee’s core competencies after they have met all the above criteria, to determine eligibility.

Looks like a lot, hunh? Well that’s because it is. Simply allowing managers to cherry pick who is allowed to Telecommute and who isn’t is a recipe for disaster or a lawsuit. As an employer it is your job to set the bar and then let manager’s follow the process. This protects the company and keeps selection as equal as possible. Telecommuting is not difficult, it just takes a little preplanning to ensure greater success. Check back soon for another update!

If you need assistance with this process, please feel free to call or contact me directly.

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

I have just returned from a training seminar on Establishing and Managing a Remote Workforce held at CAI, in Raleigh, NC. The seminar was a huge success with 30 senior professionals representing over 20 companies in attendance to learn about what it takes to successfully create and then run a Remote Work or Telecommuting program. We discussed the main reasons companies need to consider Telecommuting, but also what other benefits such as Green Intiatives, increased productivity, and increased employee loyalty they would realize. Our discussion went from strategic to tactical as we dove into many manager’s and employee’s concerns about Telecommuting. 

To see some of the articles written for the event click on any of the below links.

ManagementIssues.com

Employee Benefit News

WorldatWork.com

Benefitsnews.com

I thought that the first post for this blog, should be one that sets a tone.  The “Tone” that I’d like to set is one that looks at the other side of Telecommuting, the Human Side.

All too often it seems as though companies are only interested in investing in technology for their Remote Workers.  However; that’s only half of the equation.  It seems as though everyone says that “People” are their greatest assest, however; when it comes to the bottom line, “People,” often get short changed.  By short changed I mean that training and development is often one of the first items cut and last item to be included.  When you have Remote Workers though, this only exaccerbates the problem!

Managers are clamoring for information, techniques, tips, and best practices to help them better manage their remote workforces, so let’s give it to them.  Many employees, once working remotely, often feel isolated and not part of the corporate culture, so let’s include them.  How do we accomplish this great task?

We invest in our people, we invest in our training and development.  We build solid policies and procedures for managers to assist them with their management practices and provide a better sense of direction.  I would challenge you to also consider investing in a short training for your employees to aquaint them with the demands of Remote Work.  Consider some of the challenges they may be facing: isolation, professional development, tracking of time, setting up of their home office, safety and security measures, performance metrics, and communication metrics.

I hope you find the above information helpful.  There will be a lot more coming as I plan to continue to post on various articles I come across and situations I encounter on a professional note.  Thank you for reading!