HR Telecommuting: Solutions for the Human Side of Remote Work

The Federal Government sees the vital role Telework/Telecommuting will play in America’s future for both the public and private sector. Let’s look at the latest steps.

President-Elect Barack-Obama has pledged to expand Telework for federal employees. In a series of October letters written to John Gage, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Obama claimed he would, “support efforts to bring paid family leave, flexible work schedules and increased Teleworking to the federal government.” This latest development further supports recent moves by the federal government to increase the amount of Teleworkers and government support for the private sector.

The Energy Independence Act of 2007, signed by President Bush, specifically charged the Small Business Administration with developing a 4 year pilot program that encourages telecommuting for small businesses. Allocating $5 million in funds, the SBA is instructed to conduct presentations on the benefits of telecommuting and reach out to businesses considering telecommuting.

Lastly, The Telework Improvements Act of 2008 passed by the House on June 3, 2008, is a measure that would require agencies to develop Telework programs that let eligible employees Telework at least 20 percent of their working hours every two weeks. Under the legislation, passed June 3, agencies would have to designate a senior-level employee as a Telework managing officer and incorporate Teleworking into their continuity-of-operations planning. In addition, the bill would require the comptroller general, the head of the Government Accountability Office, to submit an annual report to Congress that would evaluate agencies’ progress on their Telework programs.

What does all this mean for government employees and businesses considering Telework/Telecommuting? It means that both the private and public sector are going to see increased support for Remote Work Options. Telecommuting is a cheaper more productive way for organizations to get their work done. Combine that with the Real-Estate savings, increased employee productivity, better ability to attract and retain top talent, better employee work life balances, and of course increased Business Continuity capabilities, and you have the new standard of work for the 21^st Century.

Ready to get started?

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@suitecommute.com

The St. Louis Business Journal had a great article this week outlining some of the key points when allowing your employees to work from home. (Click here to view the article) Since I helped with the article I felt it important to share a few additional points just on how to select those who are allowed to work remotely or Telecommute. We often refer to this as “Telecommuting Selection Criteria.” Alright here goes:

1. Determine the reasons for allowing Remote Work or Telecommuting. See below post on strategy to determine this.
2. Look at the Departments/Divisions that your company is considering to allow to work remotely.
3. Look at what job functions within those Departments/Divisions are capable of completing work off site.
4. Break up the job descriptions into what tasks can be performed on and off site.
5. Set standards for what employees must meet or comply with to be considered.
6. Look at the individual employee’s core competencies after they have met all the above criteria, to determine eligibility.

Looks like a lot, hunh? Well that’s because it is. Simply allowing managers to cherry pick who is allowed to Telecommute and who isn’t is a recipe for disaster or a lawsuit. As an employer it is your job to set the bar and then let manager’s follow the process. This protects the company and keeps selection as equal as possible. Telecommuting is not difficult, it just takes a little preplanning to ensure greater success. Check back soon for another update!

If you need assistance with this process, please feel free to call or contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@suitecommute.com

CIO.com just released a great article on “Telecommuting Support: Five Tips to Enhance Your Network” .

This is a great article for IT departments who are looking for ways to improve the network security of their telecommuters. In the article it lists these 5 steps:

1. Make sure your employees have strong home broadband connections.
2. Be sure to have a wireless backup option.
3. Understand that security goes beyond the VPN.
4. Know that strong software can be just as important as strong network design
5. Keep your wireless devices in line.

In addition to these steps I would challenge IT departments to truly understand what information is being accessed and by who. Many times employees may not have access to the information they need to complete their job, or may be given too much access to the company network. Either extreme may cause serious disruptions in the employee’s productivity or network vulnerability. It is important that the employee, manager, and IT department are on the same page for what needs to be accessed. This will help to ensure accessibility as well as security. You would be surprised how many company’s miss this mark, and pay for it in the long run.

For many employees they may not even need access to the company’s network. If their work output is producing reports, reviewing documents or information, or submitting electronic information via word or excel documents, then they may be able to get by with just email access. Talk to your employees and see what they feel they need to have access to in order to complete their job, many times employees may not need all that you have granted to them or need more, and are just afraid to ask because they don’t want to lose the privilege of working remotely.

Too many companies are thrust into telecommuting and remote work arrangements before they even have the chance to determine why they are allowing such work arrangements!  This can be highly destructive and problematic for the organization because a company’s strategy dictates all aspects of the Telecommuting arrangement. 

For instance; if a company is using Telecommuting as a means to become more environmentally friendly, then those policies, procedures, selection criteria, and training will look completely different than a company who engages in Telecommuting practices because they have run out of room at their office and do not want to invest in more real estate.

This has been the root cause for many companies’ Telecommuting programs failing.  No strategy leaves the responsibility of administering the Telecommuting policy up to individual managers and employees.  This is a HUGE LEGAL LIABILITY for companies!  I often ask companies we speak with, “What would happen if all your managers had a different idea of what your sexual harassment policy was?”  This is always an eye opener for companies and leads us to the strategy question.

Ok, now let’s talk about setting your strategy.  First, are you embarking on a Telecommuting work arrangement for Internal or External reasons?  Let’s explore:

Internal Drivers/Factors:

• Attract and Retain Top Talent
• Reduce Overhead Expenses
• Increase Employee Productivity
• Enhance Employee Morale
• Become an Employer of Choice
• Improve Employee Work/Life Balance
• Reduce Absenteeism
• Strengthen Overall Competitiveness

External Factors

• Green Initiatives
• Pandemic planning
• Terrorist Strike
• Inclement Weather
• Road-way Construction
• Rising Gas Prices
• Power Outages
• Flood
• Earthquake

Determining your strategy starts with looking at the above reasons.  From there, look at your timeline for implementation.  Are you 30, 90, or 364 days out from implementation.  Next consider what departments, such as Human Resources, IT, and learning and development, with whom you are going to need to seek assistance.

I have just returned from a training seminar on Establishing and Managing a Remote Workforce held at CAI, in Raleigh, NC. The seminar was a huge success with 30 senior professionals representing over 20 companies in attendance to learn about what it takes to successfully create and then run a Remote Work or Telecommuting program. We discussed the main reasons companies need to consider Telecommuting, but also what other benefits such as Green Intiatives, increased productivity, and increased employee loyalty they would realize. Our discussion went from strategic to tactical as we dove into many manager’s and employee’s concerns about Telecommuting. 

To see some of the articles written for the event click on any of the below links.

ManagementIssues.com

Employee Benefit News

WorldatWork.com

Benefitsnews.com

Well, the recent gas price now has Atlantans being forced to Telecommute, simply because they can’t buy gas!

I am down in Atlanta, visiting with clients and attending a large employment law conference this week and have spoke with numerous business people who are telling me that even after driving to over 14 gas stations, they still can’t buy gas! They say that the gas shortage has other employees in there offices being forced to Telecommute simply because they don’t have the gas to drive to and from the office.

This is amazing to me, because for the first time employers are faced with the challenge that no matter what, their employees really can’t get to work. It seems as though an almost miny-pandemic exercise is taking place here in Atlanta, where employers are now charged with the task of getting the work to their employees instead of vice-versa. From what I understand, from the people I spoke with, this poses a problem for some of their colleagues.

Colleagues main fears are that employees don’t always have the same access to information and work resources, as they do in the offfice. And because of this employees are rather limited in what they can do. In addition, many employees are logging into work networks through home computers and other means, simplpy as a last resort. This poses a lot of problems for employers if they aren’t careful.

I hope Atlanta employers are starting to see the need for formal Telecommuting programs. A city this large, notorious for bad traffic, has been needing wide scale implementation for a long time. Hopefully now, employees have another reason to bolster their cause. But for many, I’m sure the arguement will be “no gas = less traffic”.

This was the title of a recent presentation I gave at a large Benefits and Compensation conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.  This conference attracted an impressive array of Directors and Vice President’s of HR from worldwide companies.  I say this, because the questions they asked were some of the best questions I’ve ever had asked during a presentation.  Questions that I felt many people have, but don’t ever get a chance or sometimes think to ask.  I will outline several of these questions below, and invite those reading this post to post their questions as well.  Here goes:

1. How do you handle exempt vs. non-exempt Telecommuting employees?  This was a great question and one that doesn’t have a clearly defined answer, but a myriad of answers for various situations.  For some companies that have the technology to, systems need to be put in place that “dang near” keeps an employee from completing more work than agreed upon.  By this, I mean a system where an employee logs in to complete their work and after so much time isn’t allowed back in, until a new week as been set.  In the instance that you don’t have access to this technology, you should  consider some Policies and Procedures that offer consequences for working past the preset amount.  These could include reduced hours the following week or possible termination for repeated offen”ses.  It’s important to know that the employer is responsible for all over-time whether the employee signs the policies and procedures or not, so be careful and choose your words and employees carefully.  We believe that if the Telecommuting Program is set up in the right way, with the proper training, than most of these problems can be avoided.

2. How do you handle employees who are can’t Telecommute?  This was another great question because it got at the heart of what so many “stuck back in the office” feel.  When some are allowed to Telecommmute and others aren’t it can create a bit of resentment.  First, I suggest reconsidering those jobs that are “stuck back in the office,” and looking if a part of those jobs can be done remotely.  If so, allow those people to complete those tasks remotely and their other responsibilites in the office. 

3. What if a person is injured at home?  This question is best answered by telling people to be proactive.  If someone is injured while working at home, according the OSHA, the employer is responsible.  We work with clients to mitigate as many of these situations as possible.  By this I mean create a standards of safety and security.  We suggest creating a safety “checklist” that encompasses such things as surge protectors, fire extinguishers, escape plans, clear stairs, and other ergonomic issues.  Employees should be required to complete this checklist on a regular basis and employers should consider yearly inspections.  There is no way to completely protect oneself from liability, but employers must take steps to mitigate as many of these instances as possible.

4. What is the biggest issue/fear for  employees when working from home?  By far the biggest issue I encounter is “Isolationism.”  Employee’s get to work from home, but once there fear they may be passed up for promotions, special projects, and overall recognition.  Employee’s fear that those who are in the office will be advanced along their careers simply because they are the one’s in the office.  Many of these fears can be reduced, if managers are trained in the proper techniques and methods of remote management.  More on this to come as this blog develops. 

Thank you for reading and post a comment!

I thought that the first post for this blog, should be one that sets a tone.  The “Tone” that I’d like to set is one that looks at the other side of Telecommuting, the Human Side.

All too often it seems as though companies are only interested in investing in technology for their Remote Workers.  However; that’s only half of the equation.  It seems as though everyone says that “People” are their greatest assest, however; when it comes to the bottom line, “People,” often get short changed.  By short changed I mean that training and development is often one of the first items cut and last item to be included.  When you have Remote Workers though, this only exaccerbates the problem!

Managers are clamoring for information, techniques, tips, and best practices to help them better manage their remote workforces, so let’s give it to them.  Many employees, once working remotely, often feel isolated and not part of the corporate culture, so let’s include them.  How do we accomplish this great task?

We invest in our people, we invest in our training and development.  We build solid policies and procedures for managers to assist them with their management practices and provide a better sense of direction.  I would challenge you to also consider investing in a short training for your employees to aquaint them with the demands of Remote Work.  Consider some of the challenges they may be facing: isolation, professional development, tracking of time, setting up of their home office, safety and security measures, performance metrics, and communication metrics.

I hope you find the above information helpful.  There will be a lot more coming as I plan to continue to post on various articles I come across and situations I encounter on a professional note.  Thank you for reading!