Telecommutiing Part 1

As the price of gas rises you see that measly 'cost of living' raise being pumped into your vehicle's gas tank. There's got to be another option.

Telecommuting - The Concept , Part 1

This article is the first in a series exploring the telecommuting concept. Part II - 'The Journey' talks about being a good telecommuter, approaching your boss about a telecommuting work arrangement, and how to set up your 'virtual office' space away from the office. Part III – 'The Lifestyle' discusses how to mange your work and personal life, structuring your environment, and staying productive.

In the past, information was transmitted via Pony Express and telegraph – now it travels as e-mail through modem lines. This information superhighway has created an opportunity for a new kind of mutually beneficial working partnership: telecommuting. Telecommuting is broadly defined as any method of working productively away from the office. According to the American Telecommuting Association (ATA), "telecommuting is second only to casual days as the fastest-growing shift in traditional working patterns".

Working at home sounds intriguing but do your job duties allow it and are you disciplined enough to work unsupervised? According to The Virtual Office Survival Handbook by Alice Bredin, you need to understand your working habits. You should consider your ability to: resist distractions, manage your time, set limits on work, and deal with challenges. Know what your virtual office skills are before you try to sell the concept to your employer.

If your work habits and telecommuting are a match, there are advantages to this arrangement for you, your employer, and society. If your lifestyle does allow for full- or part-time work outside of the home you will be productive. Working from home alleviates the need to overcome family/personal issues such as daycare, family illness, events such as a school concert or conferences, and physical or transportation barriers. You can feel better, work harder, save money (childcare, transportation, and parking), avoid commuting time and irritations, and feel motivated to achieve the high performance necessary to keep the position. When you work from home there may be set hours you need to be at your work station yet you have the flexibility to work within the parameters of that day. If the work does not get finished within those set hours you may have the option to come back and finish at a later time that day. Finishing the work with accuracy and professionalism is the goal to gain the feeling of satisfaction and shows your manager that you can and will be productive.

According to the Institute for the Study of Distributed Work, an employer saves over $2,000 per telecommuting employee per year on the cost of absenteeism and reduces business disruptions due to inclement weather, family emergencies, childcare, labor disputes, and so on. The telecommuting option also helps businesses hire and retain experienced workers. By offering a telework option organizations can attract qualified or specialist employees that do not reside near the place of business. Offering it as an option for existing employees helps retain employees, whom have been trained for a specific line of work, and gives the employee an option to continue working with the company instead of needing to quit due to personal reasons or moving out of the geographic area. Telecommuting also saves the employer costs related to office overhead and parking requirements. Society benefits from less pressure on the transportation infrastructure and, subsequently, less air pollution and gas consumption.


INTERESTING FACTS
Advantages For The Employee
Increased Flexibility: Telecommuters have more control over their time than those working in the office. When working at home they work at their peak energy times which adds flexibility to their overall day and schedules.

Three barriers may stand in the way of telecommuting being an attractive employment alternative to some employers: management difficulties, training issues, and needs of the position. Managers can be uncomfortable with employees they can't see. Therefore, telecommuting requires a shift to a management-by-objectives style. The manager and employee should agree on pre-established goals for the employee and manage the results versus the process. These performance standards are a guideline of what needs to be done and by what time. The Teleworder's performance is evaluated directly by how they meet the performance standards. The performance standards also help the company to keep a close eye on actual cost benefits, productivity, and morale of the telecommuting employee. The manager needs to make certain an appropriate means of evaluating productivity of the pre-established goals is in place to avoid misunderstandings down the road. An open line of communication by phone, fax, or modem allows the manager and telecommuting employee to work out issues that may arise but also keeps the employee in the office 'loop'. There is a good chance that the telecommuting employee becomes a forgotten part of the team since the other employees don't see or hear from them often enough.

Training is also essential for the success of a telecommuting program. Training should include online orientation and how to set-up a virtual office in the home. You must also determine who is responsible for what expenses (utilities, office supplies, travel expenses to meetings, and so on) and how you will interact with the main office to stay part of the team. Preparation for isolation, distractions, and technical pitfalls -- as well as how to stimulate ideas, creativity, and professionalism – should be considered.

Finally, as mentioned above, not all employees are good candidates for telecommuting. Besides employee personality, an assessment if the job function and a telecommuting job are a good match. Questions regarding the job such as - Does the employee need access to office files to perform the job function?; Are there meetings that the employee will need to attend in person?; Could all supplies be made available in a remote work location to accommodate a telecommuter for a particular job? - need to be answered and successfully evaluated. Furthermore, many employers like to have an employee work in the office from six months up to two years before telecommuting is offered as an option.

Telecommuting must be considered, first and foremost, as a tool for meeting business needs rather than a personal accommodation. That said persons requiring this accommodation can fulfill those business needs creating a mutually beneficial work arrangement. Beyond that, telecommuting can be an enviable lifestyle that adds balance to work and home life.
Subsequent articles will explore steps for selling telecommuting to management or working for yourself while marketing your telecommuting skills to others. There are also nuts and bolts to setting up your 'virtual office' and a new lifestyle that you should be prepared for. Advancements through technology have opened the door to this working partnership. It is not there for the taking but you can find your way to succeeding as a telecommuter.

Toni Grundstrom's expertise is in Marketing. Working for a professional association, government entity, and small business as a Telecommuter provides understanding of the concept and the issues surrounding this working option. She advocates for, informs and educates people who telecommute, work at home, or own a home based business. They are Professionals Working At Home.

This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as
this entire article, including links and this resource box are unchanged.

Copyright 2007 Toni Grundstrom All Rights Reserved.
TelecommutingPro
TelecommutingPro

WOW, Telecommuting approved and under fire!!!

This article talks about OSHA regulations employers must adhere to even if the employeeis working at home as well as a list of other topice. You should not miss reading this.

Your Success Is Our Success

Toni
TelecommutingPro.com

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Old law vs. the new economy

In August 1997, a certain Mr. T. Trahan of CSC Credit Service wanted to let his sales executives work out of their home offices. He was uncertain about his possible obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, so he wrote to OSHA, the agency that administers the act.

Telecommuting Can Half U.S. Gulf Oil Dependency

If this is really the case, why is there such a lag in businesses and governments to push for telecommuting. Are we willing to have dependency on oil because of the lack trust business has for its employees?

Your Success Is Our Success

Toni
Telecommuting Pro

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Telecommuting Can Half U.S. Gulf Oil Dependency

Thirty-three million American's could work from home. If they did, the U.S. could make major cuts in oil dependency and significantly reduce global warming.

Both Parents Work At Home

This is a great example of how to work at home successfully.



Your Success Is Our Success



Toni



TelecommutingPro.com



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Both parents work at home while advancing in high-pressure jobs



Life is good in the Mayville household, about as good as it gets for two full-time working parents with demanding careers.



Family life flows in and around an eat-in kitchen and two offices -- one near the kitchen, the other at the opposite end of the main floor.

Telecommuting - Managing a Virtual Staff

As more individuals want to do some of their work at home the issue of managing virtual workers become front and foremost. This article discusses some of the issues Managers and Telecommuters face and deal with. Good info!

Toni
TelecommutingPro


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Trend 2008: Telecommuting and Managing a Virtual Staff

Advances in technology and cultural responses to it mean that more people want to work from home and more companies want to outsource.

Telecommuting Information and Videos

Here are some great articles and information regarding Telecommuting. Please see my new RSS Feed from YouTube regarding Telecommuting.

Your Success Is Our Success

Toni
TelecommutingPro

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Flexibility can boost employee moraleNashua Telegraph - Nashua,NH,USA... it may be time to consider instituting family-friendly workplace policies such as flextime and telecommuting, say human resource experts.

Ecommerce saves the planetInquirer - Harrow,England,UKTop "carbon savers" are ecommerce, Telecommuting, Teleconferencing, ematerialization (that'sa new one!) and Telemedicine - ecommerce alone will save the US ...

Telecommuting top work choice for small business ownersTelecommunications Magazine - Norwood,MA,USAby Telecommunications staff, from news reports Small business owners in the US are more likely than employees to conduct business away from the traditional...

Flexible work life good for your health: studyReuters India - Mumbai,IndiaA flexible work life, including telecommuting and job shares, is good for your health, researchers said on Tuesday. They found that if people have the ...

Why Workforce Innovation Pays OffBroadcast Newsroom - Newport Beach,CA,USAEmployees get back time spent commuting and gain the flexibility telecommuting provides. Operators find they have more productive employees and also realize ...

Telecommuting Becomes Intriguing

This article is published in the Daily Herald. It covers many issues potential telecommuters will encounter. Quick read yet informative.

Your Sucess Is Our Success.
Toni Grundstrom
TelecommutingPro

Commute times, costs make telecommuting intriguing
By Jim Kendall Columnist

Published: 9/17/2007 6:01 AM


Increasingly long drive times, gasoline that hangs stubbornly around $3.00 a gallon, and a mass transit system that never was designed for suburban businesses and their employees make telecommuting an intriguing idea.

Yet relatively few businesses seem to have bought into the concept - which means, if you're interested, you'll likely have to carve your own way. That's not necessarily a bad thing.
The little experience that's available indicates that telecommuting may work best on a part-time basis, at least in the beginning.

"Especially at a small company," explains Karen Codere, "employees wear a number of hats. They may need to be available" in person. As a result, Codere continues, employees who do work from home "still usually have at-office time."

That's the case at Schaumburg's IntelliSuite Technologies, Inc., an IT consulting firm. "Some things can't be done off site," says Erin Teegan. "I can access the computer and get company files from home as if I were sitting at my (office) PC; but I also get the mail, so I have to come in at least two times a week."

Teegan is office coordinator at the 20-employee company. Four of IntelliSuite's employees work permanently off site, at branch offices in Michigan and Kentucky. That's more remote office than telecommuting, though the issues are similar.

Teegan says IntelliSuite has allowed telecommuting on an as needed basis so employees can "work around life commitments" since the company was born in 1998. "That's worked for us."
Still, she acknowledges, "Not everyone can work independently. It takes the right set of guidelines and the right personalities" for telecommuting to work.

Recordkeeping matters as well. What's needed, Teegan says, is a way to document time and work. "We know (technically) how telecommuting works, but we need a written set of guidelines."

Teegan has turned to Administaff for help.
"You have to look at the nature of the job," says Codere, a senior human resources specialist at Administaff's Rosemont office. Administaff is a Houston company that provides payroll and other HR-related support to smaller businesses. In addition to Rosemont, Administaff has a Loop office here.

"Obviously, a line job in manufacturing isn't suited to telecommuting. And sometimes (employees) simply have to interact with other people" which, Codere adds, perhaps can be done by phone or e-mail.

Key, Codere says, is "a really good performance management system." Among the pros and cons she says should be considered are company processes; whether there is sufficient IT support to allow off-site work; whether the company culture can adapt to a telecommuting lifestyle; whether employees are suited to the process; and the company's ability to help employees set up a home office.

Codere adds one more item to her list of telecommuting considerations: Disaster recovery. You're likely to be up and running again faster if provisions for at least temporary telecommuting are part of your disaster comeback planning.

E-mail questions, comments to Jim Kendall, JKendall@121MarketingResources.com.

New Study Shows Rise In Telecommuting

This is a study released on 9-11-2007. It reveals information about how there has been an increase in IT professionals working away from the office. They refer to this as the 'virtual office'.

Your Success Is Our Success

Toni

TELECOMMUTING GAINING GROUND
Study Shows More IT Employees Working Remotely Today Than Five Years Ago


MENLO PARK, CA -- The proliferation of wireless technologies and feature-rich Internet applications is making it easier for information technology (IT) professionals to work outside of the office. A new study by Robert Half Technology shows that telecommuting is becoming more commonplace among IT professionals. Nearly half (44 percent) of chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed said their companies’ IT workforce is telecommuting at a rate that is the same or higher than five years ago; only 3 percent said IT staff work remotely less frequently today than five years ago (see table 1). Improved retention and morale, and increased productivity were cited as the greatest benefits among firms that allow telecommuting.

The national poll includes responses from more than 1,400 CIOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees. It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology professionals on a project and full-time basis.

“Enhanced connectivity tools provide IT professionals greater flexibility and the option to work even when they are away from the office,” said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Consequently, working remotely is more commonplace today and more acceptable.”

Telecommuting Attitudes Explored

34 percent of CIOs whose companies allow telecommuting cited improved retention and morale through enhanced work/life balance as the greatest benefit. Increased productivity due to reduced commute time was cited by 28 percent of respondents (see table 2).

“For some, working from home on occasion can result in greater productivity because there are fewer interruptions than in the office,” Lee said. “Many IT professionals also appreciate not having to commute every day given today’s high gasoline prices.”

Companies may need to balance the desire of staff to work remotely against the expectation of accessibility, however. Indeed, survey respondents indicated that telecommuting programs can have drawbacks. Nearly half (44 percent) of all CIOs surveyed felt that quality of work suffers due to diminished in-person contact with colleagues (see table 3A). Furthermore, nearly one in three (30 percent) CIOs surveyed felt that telecommuting employees are not as productive because they have less oversight (see table 3B).

“Telecommuting isn’t a viable option for every type of employee in every scenario,” Lee commented. “Managers who need face-to-face interaction with staff, or individuals who meet frequently with clients, for example, may find that working from home hampers their ability to build strong business relationships.”

Implementing Telecommuting Programs

While telecommuting can benefit employers and employees alike, it’s important that companies have the appropriate infrastructure in place to facilitate staff working remotely. For example, nearly a third of CIOs (31 percent) surveyed felt that telecommuting employees generate too many security risks because they need to access elements such as corporate networks, systems and intellectual property off-site (see table 3C).

Clearly communicating guidelines about telecommuting also is necessary. Lee noted, “It’s important that employers set expectations up front about who can telecommute and how often they can do so, in order to avoid misunderstandings that might arise during a project.”

To help ensure a successful telecommuting program, Lee suggests employers consider the following questions:

What IT jobs are best suited for telecommuting? Alternative work arrangements are most suitable for individuals whose jobs can be performed with relative autonomy.
How frequently should IT employees be allowed to work remotely? Consider allowing employees to work from home one day a week, and try to schedule weekly meetings on days employees are on-site to provide project updates.

How will you ensure effective communication between team members? Keeping a schedule of workers’ on-site availability, and where and how they can be reached when off-site, can keep work flowing smoothly.

With more than 100 locations in North America, Europe and Asia, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at www.rht.com.

Toni Grundstrom is a freelance writer focusing on work from home work options. I have over 17 years of Marketing experience, 15 of those as a Telecommuter. I provide articles, research, and information on telecommuting, home based business, and work at home jobs. Visit her website at Telecommuting Pro


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