I would think with the recent high gas prices and stumbling economy, more companies would be offering the option for employees to telecommute. If done right, it could save quite a bit of money on office overhead, increase productivity, and make your employee happier in the process. But at what price? How difficult is it to setup and manage? With today’s technology it is fairly easy to implement the tools so the challenges come with the people and the process of it all.
There is not a one size fits all approach to telecommuting. Waident takes more of a hybrid approach, with no one being a full time telecommuter (face time with the team is an important to keep the culture in tune). Everyone on the team has the opportunity to take advantage of telecommuting. Some people work from home specific days each week while others will work from home the days they have personal commitments rather than spend the commute time to go to the office. We do have the necessary technology and procedures in place to allow for telecommuting. Without the proper tools, and maybe more importantly, policies in place, you will be destined to fail.
The articles in CIO.com below give you some good perspective of the telecommuting world from the employer and the employees perspectives. Worth a read if you are considering the telecommuting adventure.
Telecommuting: A Simple Plan for Managing Employees Who Work at Home
http://www.cio.com/article/471768/Telecommuting_A_Simple_Plan_for_Managing_Employees_Who_Work_at_Home?source=nlt_ciohowto
17 Telecommuting Pet Peeves
http://www.cio.com/article/473164/_Telecommuting_Pet_Peeves?page=1
Enjoy!
