Rona Carr

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Monica is a manager with an excellent record of managing her customer service representatives, effectively managing costs and maintaining morale. Below she talks about the challenges of administering employees who want to work from home.

Four years ago, our company conducted a survey of our employees to find out what they felt we could do better. It was very interesting to read the results. All the managers met with leadership to find out which of the hundreds of suggestions were doable. The idea that came up most often was the desire to work from home. It wasn’t an option for most of the divisions of our business, but we agreed that we should sponsor a pilot program, and my area seemed like a good place to start.

(See CultureStrategyFit to learn more about the advantages of employee surveys)

The pilot program team involved every part of the business, from the human resources and benefits departments, to the Risk Management VP, lawyers from the legal department, the systems and technology folks, labor relations, and the business and operations managers.

The prevailing consideration that shaped the policies and procedures the team developed, was that to work from home was a direct positive influence on the quality of an employee’s work-life, could be used to motivate, reduce absenteeism, tardiness, and commuting time, enable greater access to a geographically diverse labor pool, retain employees when consolidating facilities, more easily include disabled who might have difficulties with the traditional office environment, increase overall productivity. In other words, it could be a major win-win for all involved.

(For sample telecommuting policies & procedures, go to: http://www.suitecommute.com/dempsey/sample-policies-and-procedures/ )

BUT there are concerns that demand diligent and prudent risk management.

* Administering telecommuters can be demanding, requiring clearly defined reporting and documentation of policies and procedures, such as signed agreements from non-exempt employees about when and who will authorize over-time hours, monitoring the actual work being done (e.g., implementing a clocking-in process either on-line or via the telephone, etc.), how, when and frequency of home inspection of the security of equipment and the employee, and the requisite written permission forms for such inspections, to name just a few.
* Developing, maintaining and delivering formalized communications programs are critical to conveying the policies and procedures related to telecommuting, including which positions qualify, related health & safety policies and procedures and their application, and liability requirements for both employers and employees.
* Supervising virtual team members is complicated and difficult, and not having the ‘face-time’ often makes communication very impersonal
* Determining how and when an injury will be investigated requires sensitivity and diplomacy. Especially when there are often no witnesses to the on-the-job injury that occurs at home.
* Privacy issues for the organization and employee are complex and represent high risk. Not only how and when the physical security of equipment and employees will be monitored, but trade secrets and confidential information, and the monitoring of employee access and tracking of where they go on-line and via telephone, require prudent oversight, frequent, and strict compliance with nondisclosure and/or confidentiality agreements.
* There can be communication issues with employees, who sometimes feel ‘out-of-the-loop’ when it comes to opportunities for special assignments, transfers and promotions.

Telecommuting at its worst is an imperfect tool. It puts an unreasonable amount of responsibility on the individual, to find ways to communicate and engage with managers and colleagues, and not become alienated. Managers have the burden of effectively managing the risk involved with employees working from home, an environment they have no control over, and bridging the distance, personalizing communications, to make everyone feel like they’re a part of the team.

(See Managing Telecommuters for suggestions about effectively managing employees who telecommute)

SUMMARY
Making telecommuting a viable and attractive option for both parties means a mutual commitment to maintaining open and frequent communications, and a collaborative approach to the development and implementation of the policies and procedures used in its administration, and how they will be applied. Driven by technology the world has become smaller and its boundaries less significant and, the option of working in space not unimaginable. Working virtually is no longer the future it is the way we work.

See the following articles on the future workplace:
“The Workplace of the Future”
http://www.smartmanager.com.au/web/au/smartmanager/en/pages/115_future.html

“Envision the Future Workplace”
http://www.checkpoint-elearning.com/article/1651.html

“Future Workforce Future Work”
http://www.flexibility.co.uk/flexwork/general/future-workforce.htm

Rona Carr

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Offering the option of working from home to an employee is not always perceived, by the employee, as something positive, and can, sometimes, create a feeling of mistrust and suspicion. Following, is an experience from an employee named Marla, a 40-year old married mother with two children who are 10 and 14 years old. She lives in the Northeast US.

I’ve been a senior customer service associate for a company that sells auto parts for 15-years. It’s not a particularly fun job, but I’ve always liked the company, mostly because of the people. We’ve worked together for a long time, and we see each other around town, go to the same baseball games, our kids are in school together.

Two years ago the company started talking about moving because of the economy and the cost of heating the office. They wanted to move to the South, where it would be warmer and not as expensive to do business. I was worried. My family wouldn’t want to move. My husband has a good job that he likes a lot, and the kids are in good schools and doing well. We don’t have any family in the South.

Last year, my supervisor asked me if I would think about working from home. I was surprised, and my first reaction was that it would be nice to be home when the kids got in from school. And when I told my husband that night, we both thought this could be a good opportunity. But when I spoke to a couple of my friends, they weren’t as excited about the idea. One said she’d tried it at another company, and hated it. She said she’d never felt so lonely, there was no one to talk to or have lunch with. The other one wanted to know if I would have to take a pay cut, and what would happen if I wanted to apply for a promotion. I hadn’t thought about that aspect of working from home, but I was meeting with my supervisor again later that week to give her my answer, and would ask a few more questions.

(See Out of Pocket: Financial Questions for Telecommuters and Managers, and Telecommuters Need To Develop Special Skills)

My supervisor thought working from home was a ‘no-brainer’, that I would say ‘yes’ right away. And when I started asking her about the equipment (the company would provide it), my pay (I wouldn’t lose any money or benefits), attending staff meetings (I’d have to call in to participate), and promotions or transfers (I might have to move to the company’s new location, but we’d talk about that when or if it happened), she actually apologized! She said that she should have given me more information when she first asked me to think about the offer. (See The Top Ten Benefits Of Working From Home)

While I was thinking about what she had told me, she shared that the company was going to move, and that there would be an announcement that morning. The company, she said, would begin downsizing, because not everyone was going to move, but that some parts of the business, like customer service, would offer a limited number of opportunities to continue working, but from home.

When my husband and I talked about it that evening, we both agreed that it would be a good thing for me to work from home because:

* I could be there when our kids got home from school
* My schedule would be a little more flexible and I wouldn’t have to punch a clock
* My work space would be steps away, instead of driving half-an-hour each way,
* Less money would be needed for gas and repairs on my car
* I could have music while I worked and the dog would keep me company
* I wouldn’t lose any money or my benefits, and
* The customers wouldn’t have to deal with someone else, and
* The company wouldn’t have to train a new person to do my job!

SUMMARY
To make working from home attractive to employees, communicate the benefits up-front. Honesty about the company’s reasons for making the opportunity available, and to whom, as well as the negatives, is critical in maintaining credibility and trust among employees, ensuring a smooth transition.

See the following articles for perspectives telecommuting:

“Getting Clueful: Seven Things The CIO Should Know About Telecommuting”
http://www.cio.com/article/108501/Getting_Clueful_Seven_Things_the_CIO_Should_Know_About_Telecommuting

“17 Telecommuting Pet Peeves”
http://www.cio.com/article/473164/_Telecommuting_Pet_Peeves?source=artrel_top