Much has been written over the past several months about the pending death of telecommuting. Companies and their management have been taking steps to reduce if not totally curtail telecommuting by employees across the USA. The move is not limited to any one market, sector or industry. At the same time, employees fear more and more that being "out of sight" will also lead to their being prime candidates for lay-offs as the economy continues to flounder. Is this the death of telecommuting or should companies and employees continue to promote it and why?
History
Three big reasons drove telecommuting going back to the early 1990s. The first was to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. In many cases this was a mandate by state, county and local governments to the largest employers. One of my former companies, AT&T, was in the vanguard for this very reason. Secondly, companies were looking to reduce overhead. Telecommuting mean less office space, lower overheads...and a healthier bottom line. Finally, in the battle for the best and the brightest, companies used telecommuting as benefit to new and younger employees - just like "casual Fridays" and eventually casual working environments.
A New Supervisory Dilemma
Most executives, middle management and supervisors learned their craft under the watchful gaze of their bosses over the years. They managed, to a large degree as they had been managed. Perhaps with the exception of sales people and service people "in the field" (with customers), most employees sat in offices for company locations near their supervisors. Meetings and daily face-to-face interaction were a way of life. With telecommuting, all of this changed - much to the discomfort of most bosses at all levels. All of a sudden their employees were working from home rather than the office. Meetings became conference calls. Team meetings were often quarterly, if that often. Globalization and remote or virtual "teams" added to the complexity of the situation.
Benefits
In addition to reducing pollution, reducing overheads and improving employee satisfaction, most studies about telecommuting found that employees working from home actually worked MORE than when they worked from an office. Additionally, they had fewer "sick days" and they had higher satisfaction levels with the companies. Higher satisfaction often translated into lower turnover - further reducing costs (hiring and training).
The "Bad Apples"
As with any benefit or privilege, some employees took advantage of telecommuting. They used it as an opportunity to avoid daycare for children (often against company policy). They used telecommuting as a chance to run a home business in addition to their regular job - and on company time if not resources. Employees spend hours shopping on-line, looking at porn or just doing as little as possible until they had a "deliverable" to the boss. Finally, some employees used telecommuting as an excuse to withdraw from their company culture - not meeting co-workers, only communicating with their boss as required and rarely showing up in the office.
The Answer
The ideal answer for any company is to not "throw out the baby with the bathwater". They can continue to reduce pollution, keep overheads low and maintain high levels of satisfaction. It is up to bosses to be clear about telecommuting rules and responsibilities. These are sometimes called "telecommuting agreements". One example is coming into the office one day per week and to participate in essential meetings and conference calls. Employees too have responsibilities. Maintaining "face time" with their supervisors, delivering on all performance objectives and building a professional network within and beyond the company environment are all essential. Additionally, many employees schedule weekly or monthly updates with their supervisors to review roles, responsibilities, project status, quality of deliverables and priorities. These meetings produce dividends for both the supervisor - at any level - and the employee.
Telecommuting is not yet dead. But unless companies and employees step up to the challenges and needs created by telecommuting, it may soon go the way of manual typing pools and company defined benefit pensions.
George F. Franks, III is the President of Franks Consulting Group, a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting and leadership coaching practice. He has over twenty-five years of experience working with businesses of all sizes plus not-for-profit organizations and individual leaders.
Franks Consulting Group is on the web at: http://franksconsultinggroup.com
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