by Robert Moskowitz

Some of the loudest objections to introducing telecommuting into an organization are the mid-level managers' complaints about the potential problems such a policy will create. More than one manager becomes uncomfortable when he or she cannot see employees busy at their desks. Many managers react badly when they realize they cannot call impromptu meetings or drop in for a chat with a certain employee at any old time. Some fear problem employees will malinger when not in the office, while others worry about the added administrative burden of managing this new breed of telecommuting employee.

Each of these complaints is a clue to serious problem areas that a successful telecommuting program must address and overcome. But while the picture looks bleak from a theoretical point of view, actual experience demonstrates that all of these potential problems--and many others--can be prevented from causing a breakdown in the company's production, service, and profitability.

Here are some ideas and techniques that managers have found to be effective in making sure that a new telecommuting program does not disrupt established company operations or productivity patterns:

To Manage Workers Who "Aren't There"

Some managers have grown used to seeing ranks of desk chairs occupied by warm bodies, and enjoy equating this sight with a productive employee team. But even for the best managers, there may be little if any correlation between the presence of a warm body and that body's production of useful work. The most effective managers tend to supervise their employees not by chaining them to their desks, but by getting them to accept fair work goals and then by evaluating each employees' actual results against the agreed-upon goals.

One of the hidden benefits of telecommuting is that this "management-by-objectives" style works very well not only for employees who telecommute one or more days per week, but also for employees who work full-time in the office.

The best managers' approach is to schedule a regular series of individual meetings with each employee--perhaps weekly, monthly, or quarterly--and agree on an itemized set of goals for the coming period. If employees work in teams, it's often possible to hold one meeting with an entire team and develop goals for everyone at once. Effective managers know that these goals should be expressed in writing and signed by all parties.

For employees who do data entry or word processing, managers can easily set quantitative goals for the days they work at home. But most employees do at least some work that requires qualitative assessment and evaluation. Here the savvy manager must work with the employee to get agreement on exactly what final product the company requires, when it is needed, and how it will be measured. Managers new to "management-by-objectives" often make the mistake of unilaterally imposing a set of goals on each employee. But experience shows that employees are far more enthusiastic about, and committed to, meeting goals which they have helped set--even when these goals are more demanding.

At the conclusion of each evaluation period, there's another meeting. The twin topics of discussion are how well the employee (or team) met the goals for the previous period, and what the new goals for the coming period ought to be.

But the best managers recognize that telecommuters may require some interim meetings to discuss progress, problems, and anticipated completion dates. Depending on circumstances, they may check with a particular employee once a month, or even every week or two, to review preliminary work and sometimes even to lend a hand with a difficult aspect of a project. They recognize that staying closely involved improves the telecommuter's chances of completing the project satisfactorily and on time.

To Avoid Worries About Employees Working Away From the Office

Another dimension of managing telecommuters successfully is identifying those best suited for the new arrangement. Many employees don't need close supervision to meet--or beat their work goals. In even the best-managed offices, however, there may be one or more employees the manager cannot comfortably trust to work hard without immediate, "hands on" supervision.

To solve this problem, it's easy--and advisable--for the organization to set up a telecommuting program in which certain employees are not likely to become eligible. A common rule is to require the manager's approval before an employee qualifies for telecommuting. This also has unintended good results, because the desire to begin telecommuting sometimes prompts a problem employee to make a serious effort toward becoming more productive and reliable.

Managers can learn to select the right employees for telecommuting programs by considering the following factors:

1) What does the employee do?

Before approving anyone for a telecommuting program, good managers tend to look at the employee's job responsibilities and analyze how much of this can be done away from the office. Responsibilities that are inappropriate for telecommuting include those that involve:

* meeting the public (receptionists)
* using equipment available only in the office (switchboard and other machine operators)
* supporting other employees who need immediate response (secretaries)
* working with confidential information that cannot leave the office.

A few employees do exclusively this kind of work. But most positions
involve work that can be done perfectly well outside the office, such as:

*thinking, reading, analysis, writing or editing, or similar work with images and graphics, with computer programming, engineering, architecture, and so forth
*contact work with customers, suppliers, and in-house departments for purposes of planning, coordination, expediting, problem solving, and so forth.

A good manager can reorganize a position for an employee who wants to telecommute so that appropriate work can be bunched to allow at least one day per week away from the office.

2) What kind of employee is this?

A second factor that good managers consider before approving an employee for a telecommuting program is their personality, character, work habits, and record on the job.

Experienced managers recognize that working at home successfully requires self-discipline and a desire to perform well on the job. It may also require a measure of self-sufficiency, because those who telecommute are going to be more isolated from their co-workers than those who continue to come to the office every day.

To Rein In A Telecommuter Who Isn't Producing

Although managers often fear that most telecommuters won't work out well, it's only a few employees who seem never to adapt to this new way of working. To deal with this danger, managers in the best telecommuting programs consider participation to be an option and a privilege, not a requirement. This allows leeway so employees who fail to adjust well or experience insurmountable problems with telecommuting can be brought back into the office full-time.

As soon as a telecommuter begins missing his or her performance objectives, it's appropriate for his or her immediate supervisor to open a discussion about the reasons for the unsatisfactory situation. Sometimes, helping the employee with additional training or to develop a better work environment outside the office will greatly boost the lagging productivity. Other times, there's just a mismatch between the employee and the requirements for successful telecommuting. Rather than reflecting poorly on the manager, this situation can prove a manager's skill, particularly if he or she is quick to identify and remedy the situation. Such experiences also help build his or her competence to manage all employees more successfully.

To Improve A Telecommuter's Level of Output

A good manager can also look into the reasons a previously successful employee has productivity problems when telecommuting. Often a frank discussion can pinpoint the problem and offer a viable remedy. For example, some of the most common reasons a telecommuter's work suffers stem from a failure to establish a solid "work environment" comparable to the one at the regular office. This environment should include:

*adhering to specific work times and break times during the day.
*adhering to standards for attire and behavior. If at home, these can obviously be somewhat more relaxed than those for the office.
*a good setting for doing the work. If at home, it should be separated from living areas and distractions like kitchens and TV sets.
*sufficient resources and tools needed to accomplish the work.

To Maintain Good Coordination and Teamwork Among Co-Workers

A good manager will also oversee the level of contact between telecommuters and others in the office. Telecommuters may require a certain level of contact to accomplish their work goals away from the office. This can be accomplished with regular access by telephone, by frequent meetings which telecommuters attend via the speakerphone, and by adding technology such as voice mail and computer networks. Those who need to contact the telecommuter should have a phone number where they can make contact or at least leave a message. Telecommuters must be trained to check for messages at least twice a day, and more often when a situation demands it. A manager can also eliminate some communications difficulties by making sure everyone comes into the office the same one or two days per week, thus making it easier to schedule meetings where everyone in a particular group ought to attend.

But even if the information required to accomplish their work is transmitted well enough, telecommuters may suffer a productivity letdown for emotional reasons. Many people require frequent contact with coworkers to avoid feeling isolated and depressed. A good manager will identify this problem, too, and encourage the telecommuter to make scheduling adjustments to avoid these feelings. For example, by spending fewer days telecommuting, or by taking lunch with the entire work group on a day when everyone comes in, a lonely telecommuter may begin to feel a part of the work group once again.

Many managers of telecommuters avoid these communication problems by limiting the number of days any employee can telecommute.

Despite fears to the contrary, quite a few telecommuting programs actually result in improved teamwork and productivity. This is usually because the managers involved make special efforts to keep everyone informed and up to speed.

To Maintain Employee Loyalty To The Organization

Managers often fear that employees who telecommute will feel less a part of the organization than those who commute to the office every day. But managers who maintain channels of communication, provide mutually agreed upon work goals, and see that telecommuters remain part of the team generally find this not to be a problem. Many successful managers tend to "go to bat" for their telecommuters, keeping them involved in company affairs and making sure that telecommuters are recognized--and rewarded--for their efforts as much as they would be if they worked in the office every day.

But in many cases loyalty takes care of itself, because employees who want to telecommute generally see it as a benefit, and feel more loyalty to a company that allows and encourages this flexible mode of working than they would if the company rigidly prevented them.

To Minimize the Extra Demands of Supervising Telecommuters

There's no doubt that shifting to telecommuting for the first time places an extra burden on managers. They must select and help train each telecommuter, and provide back-up and assistance in overcoming any individual problems--some of which are bound to crop up. They must adjust to the new demands for increased communications, and to fewer impromptu meetings and hallway discussions.

But experience shows that managing telecommuters need not be any more demanding or time-consuming than conventional managerial requirements. Effective managers quickly learn to schedule their time with employees and to stick to this schedule. They learn to pick up the telephone for necessary conversations--which can actually be quicker than walking down the hall to an employee's desk. And they discover that successful telecommuters are happier and more productive than they were in previous days. This alone makes supervising telecommuters easier and more rewarding than most managers anticipate.

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This complimentary resource is (c) Robert Moskowitz