Dynamic Business

Another consideration is which job roles are suitable for remote work and which are not. For example, call centre reps and sales teams are typically well-suited to working remotely, while manufacturing, R&D and retail employees are usually required to work at designated locations.

To identify possible business benefits, you should look at current and future needs for:

• Talent that may not be available locally
• Staff increases beyond the capacity of existing facilities
• Geographic expansion requirements
• Enhanced customer relationships in dispersed markets
• Facilities cost reduction

Step 2: Go online and do some research

Many industry experts, as well as organisations that have adopted remote working, offer tips and advice on the best way to succeed. Useful resources might include:

• Not-for-profits that have studied this trend
• Consultants that help companies examine the viability of having some employees, and perhaps entire functions and departments, located off-site or altogether virtually
• Government agencies that can offer research and assistance
• Online resources such as www.teleworkaustralia.net.au
• Social networking sites such as www.linkedin.com have groups of people and experts that are willing to share their stories and offer suggestions
• Vendor web sites should not be overlooked as a good source of information.

Step 3: Evaluate the technologies

Using the best technologies is critical to effective remote work. Relying only on email and phone can limit productivity and inhibit interaction. Currently, there are many low-cost, simple-to-use technologies that offer greater functionality and, most importantly, closer collaboration. For example, web conferencing tools make it easy to hold online meetings where all participants can view and collaborate on documents, demos and other materials in real time. Other solutions ideal for virtual working include:

• Secure, remote access over the web to the employee’s company computer
• Remote technical support to resolve employee computer issues quickly
• Webinar solutions to conduct staff training or hold large meetings
• Smartphones such as BlackBerrys
• High quality, affordable audio conferencing services
• Online disks and file storage, to enable staff to share documents
• Web-based shares calendars, tasks lists, wikis and discussion groups.

Step 4: Set policies and guidelines

The virtual workplace, like any other work environment, requires guidelines and oversight to prevent abuses and protect both the company and the employee. Making this shift represents a new way–a web-enabled way–of approaching business operations, and it calls for a set of terms and conditions to be outlined between employees and their managers. Policies should cover the following topics:

• Eligibility to participate: consider job role, length of service, performance history, etc.
• Home office setup and security, including equipment, internet access and phone service
• Work schedule, including how many days/week will be spent working remotely
• Managerial oversight and evaluation
• Reimbursement for expenses.

Step 5: Set benchmarks and measure

A formal evaluation at the end of a given time period–six months or a year–is important to identify any issues, make adjustments and show management how the program is benefiting both the company and the participants. Evaluate the impact of your virtual workplace. A meaningful comparison requires benchmarks at the beginning of the program against which improvements can be measured. Criteria may include:

• Current costs of overheads, equipment, power and travel vs. subsequent savings
• Productivity (such as number of customer sales calls per month) before and after
• Recruitment and retention statistics before and after
• Employee satisfaction and morale as measured by initial and follow-up surveys
• Growth rate in revenue, sales, markets and geographies.

By following these steps to assess, implement, oversee and measure your program, you can optimise the benefits of remote work for your organisation and your employees.

–Joseph Sweeney is an analyst for IBRS and member of the Worldwide Workplace: Web Commuting Imperative Council.

People who read this, also liked:
Can smartphones help promote work/life balance?