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How best to make telework work?
Telework and telecommuting saves companies money, makes employees more productive and loyal, and can even reduce the traffic faced by traditional commuters, according to research from multiple sources. But some companies offer little to no formal support or encouragement for workers who could and want to work from home at least sometimes. And many operations decision-makers are ambivalent at best and skeptical and resistant at worst. What's your view on telecommuting and telework, pros and cons?
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6 Answers
I'll admit my bias up front...I've been in the web conferencing industry for years, and while I now teach virtual presentations full time, I've also got personal experience with telework (when I was at Microsoft).
Background: I'm in Portland, OR and my boss was in San Jose, CA. The good news is that he was very open to me telecommuting, because he had already figured out how to manage remotely. As an employee, the impact to personal life was HUGE. Most days I'd go into the office about 10 and leave about 3...so it was a blend. I got to skip rush hour traffic, but this didn't mean I only worked 5 hrs.
Upside: you've pointed out numerous benefits. The good news is that if you're already flexible enough to let your employees manage life around work (e.g., going to the gym, catching their kids' ballgame, et al), you're already on the right track.
Downside: Change. If you're a micromanager, it's not going to work. If you can't set goals and expectations and give someone the flexibility to get it done (and the accountability if it doesn't), teleworking employees will be a drag rather than an asset.
Consideration: One key question to ask is "In your organization, what is absolutely, critically dependent on face-to-face activity?" For some orgs it's a lot...over-the-cube-wall collaboration, informal learning, etc. may benefit from skipping the telework idea. Know, however, that more now than ever the web facilitates that (presence/instant messaging, conferencing, wikis/sharing technologies, intranet based/private social media). Which leads to the next question...
Are you willing to change, or do you have to do things the way you've always done them?
I too have to admit a bias. I'm a telework researcher and co-author of Undress For Success--The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home. But the reason I became a telework researcher was because of the research I did in writing the book. I was absolutely gobsmacked (I really like that word) by the numbers. Our research shows that half time telecommuting by those with compatible jobs and a desire to work from home, would reduce our Persian Oil Imports by 37%, reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road, save companies over $10,000 per employee per year, and save employees up to $6,800 a year (not including daycare or eldercare savings).
No, it's not right for everyone. Buy in from senior management, middle management, and employees is key to success. Having the right training and tools is essential. Those with attitudes born in the days of sweatshops and typing pools need not apply.
Tune into our free Citrix Online-sponsored webinar at 11a.m. Pacific on 6/22/10 for all the details: http://tinyurl.com/2frdvn5 or download our whitepaper: http://tinyurl.com/3ybga87
My view = supporter and advocate!
At hour 6, I’ve just about had it. My eyes are blurry; my back hurts; and my brain is a slow-moving mush. I need a change—I need to move and shift. Luckily, I have the ability to workshift (aka telecommute, telework, etc.). Thanks to my company, I can say goodbye to cubicle world and hello to the outside world, whether that be a coffee shop or my apartment. I think my company realizes employees get stuck when they are stuck, so the freedom and flexibility of having the right tools and software has been key for making this type of work style successful for us.
Some of the most compelling Pro stats I’ve seen are:
Productivity increased by 27% when workshifting. (Telework Research Network)
Workshifters save on average 6.3 hours a week by not commuting. (Stegmeier Consulting Group)
Workshifters are more engaged than office-based employees (34% vs. 28%). (AIM Leadership)
The only Con I can think of is not knowing how to start, or having a policy and not knowing how to properly monitor it. Here are some resources on how to set up and run a workshifting policy (these also include some of the research in the above stats):
The Business Case for Web Commuting: http://learn.gotomypc.com/forms/G2C-NA-WebCommuting-WP-L1
Leading Virtual Effectiveness: http://www.slideshare.net/CitrixOnline/leading-virtual-effectiveness-four-str...
Workshifting Benefits: The Bottom Line: http://www.workshifting.com/2010/05/workshifting-could-save-the-united-states...
Having been a member of global teams and a manager of global teams for the past 15+ years, there is no avoiding telework in today's business environment.
Rather than fret about how and why to make it work, arm your team with the best possible tools and the confidence to know that these tools are respected and will be properly utilized.
In each instance we have equipped people with mobile phones, laptops (now tablets and laptops) and IM accounts. We established a formal priority of communications (email to IM to SMS to phone calls - or whatever works best for you) wherein the entire team understands the escalation procedures and nature of each type of communication.
While there isn't a magic bullet answer to how to make it work 'best', I would highly recommend treating everyone as an adult (not checking in via IM or SMS incessantly) and using the tools to really make the operation work. The worst thing you can do is use these tools as a tether because you will lose the team member's trust almost overnight.
We did a white paper based on 22 interviews with teleworking organizations 2 years ago and I think some of the findings remain relevant for those wanting to get going. Agree, don't babysit people!
In this paper we discuss the business issues that make Telework increasingly attractive to enterprises today, the ways in which Telework is entering the DNA of organizations and solving major issues, the tools necessary to enable teleworkers and other distributed workers, and practical issues to consider from a programmatic perspective. Paper includes three case studies.
http://www.wrplatinum.com/Content.aspx?CID=8905
I like the timely, relevant question--and all the thoughtful answers provided. Good discussion!
I've worked from my home office (as a full-time employee of a company not owned by me) for 14 years. In that time, I've moved vertically through four different positions and at each one have been able to make the telecommuting work. Now I manage a team that is geographically all over the map--all of them work from home too.
The keys to success, I feel, are 1) accountability, and 2) emphasis on an end result. From the beginning, my manager set out deliverables. I had to meet the deadlines and achieve a high quality of work. As long as I did this, the location and hours of my work didn't matter.
The onus was on me to prove worthy of continued emplyment. The understanding was clear that if I didn't meet the deliverables/expecations, the telecommuting arrangement wouldn't work out.
This flexibility, along with the trust of my employer, have contributed greatly to the fact that I'm a loyal, happy, grateful, and dedicated employee. I believe the same is true of the others in my organization who telecommute.
I would also add that the self-discipline required to successfully manage my time and deliverables while working from home has carried over into my overall skill set--ultimately making me more valuable as an employee.
There's lots more I could say from a first-hand account of a telecommuter (and a telemanager) but I think you get the point.
http://bit.ly/brrCo7
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