Archive for the ‘Human Resources’ Category
Praise and Recognition for Remote Workers/Telecommuters
Every week it seems as though I am reminding Remote Managers about the importance of praise and recognition for their Remote Workers. Praise and recognition is vital to the success of any remote work arrangement and probably one of the key elements to successful remote management. Put simply Praise and Recognition:
- Affirms Employees of proper actions.
- Keeps Employees connected to office culture.
- Promotes a sense of team when done publicly.
- Increases and employee’s productivity.
- Engages employee in developing themselves professionally.
Done right, praise solves many of the issues that plague remote managers. With the proper use of praise employees feel they are still connected as part of the team and when done in a form that shows them off in front of office workers, can help break down the office vs. work-from-home tensions that sometimes arise.
For more tips/tricks email me directly.
Brandon Dempsey
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com
How to select the right people to Telecommute or Work Remotely
For many organizations looking to allow telecommuting, one of the biggest hurdles they have to overcome is, “How do we decide who gets to telecommute and who doesn’t?” Unfortunately, many organizations leave this up to the individual manager because they know the employees the best, BUT that could be the biggest mistake of all!
Let me explain. When selecting telecommuters one shouldn’t start with WHO but with WHAT. What job functions are appropriate for telecommuting, what job tasks are appropriate, what performance criteria should be considered, what costs are going to be incurred and what responsibilities will be assumed? By starting with the “What” of telecommuting as opposed to the “Who”, makes it easier to build the Telecommuter requirements, as well as create an equal selection criteria that can prevent possible discrimination lawsuits.
Looking further into the “What” we can find three main sections:
- Business Function: what business functions are appropriate- does the job require a lot of face to face time? Are there sensitive documents that should only be accessed on site? What other business units regularly depend on this business unit and in what context?
- Job Responsibilities: what job responsibilities can be done remotely and what will need to be done on site? What resources need to be accessed and utilized to complete the work and can they be accessed remotely? Is there any special equipment or data sources that need to accessed? Are there any services that have to be covered such as internet or phone and who is going to pay for these services?
- Performance standards: what are the performance and/or tenure standards that must be met to qualify for consideration and maintain the arrangement? What increases in performance are expected? What performance standards are going to be tracked and what is the employees’ responsibility in tracking these standards?
By looking at the what organizations provide managers with a solid selection tool for deciding who in a more subjective manner. This helps to curb employee “favoritism” and reduce the liability on the organization. Additionally, organizations can get a better sense of what needs to be included in their telecommuting policy (policies) and procedures.
If you would like more information on How to select the right people for Telecommuting please feel free to contact me directly:
Brandon Dempsey
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com
Motivating Employees in an Un-motivating Time
Well it can be tough in these times of mass layoffs, shrinking budgets, non-existent pay raises, and stressful work environments, but look to what you can offer your employees. Look to extra perks to get employees energized. Obviously the perk I’d like to talk about is Telecommuting.
When you offer this for your employees, you allow them to get out of the office stress and into a comfortable environment of their choice. This is often times refreshing for employees and gives them time to get caught up on large projects or initiatives. Additionally, it helps employees to save the costs of driving into work and hassle of fighting traffic.
Many employers are even allowing employees to Telecommute on a regular basis instead of giving them a raise. This concept has been tried before and can prove quite profitable. Consider this, if you have an employee who drives 20 miles to work, their car gets 20 miles to the gallon, and they don’t fight any traffic. Then they can save $2,000 a year on gas and maintenance costs alone. That’s like a $4,000 raise! Add if you add in traffic time, that number goes up considerably.
Have you recently had to lay people off? If so, most likely you now need your employees to do more with less. Consider this fact, a telecommuting employee who works from home 1-2 days a week is up to 20-45% more productive than their office counterparts. If you are faced with doing more with less, then you may consider allowing some more flexible work arrangements. Cut the stress and let your employees be more productive. Take a look at our sample free telecommuting policy for some ideas, or shoot me an Email and let’s talk about how to get this great work arrangement integrated into your company.
For some more ideas, check out this article.
Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@suitecommute.com
Communication Metrics for Telecommuting Managers and Employees
One of the most surprising unfortunate circumstances that we often uncover while conducting our Remote Manager and Employee Training classes, is managers’ and employees’ surprisingly different assumptions of their communication expectations and metrics.
The exercise we do challenges managers and employees to chart out their communication with their manager or direct report. In a graph we map out the timeframe vs. Who, What, When, Where, and How. This graph is meant to provide a visual example of what employees expect from their manager and themselves. For managers, it’s a tool that graph’s their communication with their employee. For employees, it is a tool that clearly states the expectations for their position as well as what to expect from their manager. What’s interesting however; is that we have never seen the two models look the same!
That means that in the classes we have done, we have never had managers and employee’s communication graphs mirror one another. What does this tell us? It tells us that not only are expectations not being set, but critical information is often times slipping through the cracks of corporate communication breakdown. While most would probably agree this is not an uncommon phenomenon, it is something that MUST be addressed when you have remote employees. Basic breakdowns in communication are often exacerbated in remote environments.
To battle this, we work with managers and employees to develop a communication graph that both parties understand. This works to hold the employee and manager more accountable to one another, and gives the manager a solid tool with which to build a communication metric. In addition, if management changes, this ensures continuity of expectations for employees. Employees feel more comfortable having their expectations clearly defined and managers have an easier way to measure employees’ communication frequencies.
For a copy of this tool or more information on Remote Work/Telecommuting training, please contact me below.
Brandon Dempsey
Brandon@suitecommute.com
1-888-878-4832
Telecommuting: A Look at the Human Resources (HR) Side
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!
New Perspective on Telecommuting and Remote Work
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!