once a company decides to allow
telecommuting, there are still some
hurdles. (for more detailed advice on setting up a telework plan,
check out joseph roitz's web site at
www.att.com/telework and gordon's
web site at
www.gilgordon.com.)
be discriminating not every employee is suited for telework,
and, more importantly, not every job is suitable, either.
set ground rules
should the telecommuter keep the firm's business hours? how often
should she travel to the office? what equipment will he need? these
issues have to be thought out.
manage by results
supervisors who micromanage telecommuters will drive themselves and
the employees crazy. the good news: telecommuting experts say trust
develops over time.
- g.
meet them halfway
your company wants to offer telecommuting, but managers are
suspicious of work-at-home programs. or you want to allow employees
to skip a too-lengthy commute without burdening them - or the
company - with the cost of setting up home offices. take a page
from sun microsystems' work-at-home handbook and set up remote
drop-in centers.
designed as traffic-relief offices, these satellites to sun's
silicon valley headquarters have been a hit since they were
introduced two years ago. sun's three drop-in centers in the bay
area are open 24/7, average 70-80 visits per day per center, and
save users as much as 90 minutes per commute.
brent daniel, a program manager in sun's workplace effectiveness
group - who himself saves an hour of commuting explains,
"generally, work is not about being supervised; it's about what you
deliver. combined with our relatively entrepreneurial culture, we
essentially give [employees] the tools and let them go."
the centers are available on a first-come, first-served basis, for
a maximum of twice a week. equipped with a telephone,
administrative support, and a workstation in each carrel, the
remote centers provide the same computer environment as any