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Tools for
SUCCESSFUL TELECOMMUTING
Congratulations!
Either by choice, by chance or by corporate
decision, you’re now a telecommuter or teleworker (the two terms are
synonymous). Or, perhaps you’re thinking about becoming a telecommuter and want
to do some research first. In either case, congratulations are in order because
you are moving toward a life that allows you to:
- Be more productive
- Have more time with your
family
- Be free from the grind
of a daily commute
These are just a few of the
benefits of telecommuting. For more information about the growth in telework,
visit the Telecommuting Trend page in our Telecommuting
Resource Center:
For more data on
productivity studies in connection with telework, visit:
Telecommuting is typically
a positive experience and just about everyone who does it reports that they are
more productive and effective when telecommuting.
However…
There can be pitfalls on
the road to successful telecommuting. And, that’s what this site is about—it is
designed to give you the tools and resources you need to maximize your
effectiveness as a telecommuter and to make your experience an enjoyable,
fruitful one for you, your family, your co-workers, and your boss.
Therefore…
We have created the
following pages with material and links enabling you to find a complete source
of information to ensure your success as a telecommuter. You’ll find critical
information on the following topics:
·
Do I have the
aptitude to be a successful teleworker?
·
The keys to
working well from your home office
·
Working well
with tools and technology
·
Working well
with external partners
·
Working well
with your family
·
Working well
with your team
If you want to begin
teleworking while continuing your current job, check out the wealth of
guidelines and resources available on other pages in this site:
Looking for a Telecommuting Job?
Do I have the aptitude to be a successful
teleworker?
While telework is wonderful
for many people and the number of telecommuters is steadily increasing,
telework is not for everyone.
To learn more, check out
the USAToday article:
By the very nature of telework, it is clear that you will be working on your
own, potentially cut off from co-workers and working with minimal supervision
from your boss or manager. While some people will jump up-and-down shouting
“Yes!” at this description, others may well be saying “whoa!”
Successful telework does
require a specific combination of skills and motivations. Skills, because you’ll
be working by yourself, that may be different from those you need for a job in a
“traditional” workplace. Typically, these skills and traits include:
-
Planning & organizing abilities
-
Time management skills
-
Self-motivated
-
Strong communication skills (written & verbal)
-
Supportive family/home environment
-
Independence (works successfully without close
supervision)
-
Self-disciplined
-
Strong performance record
-
Technical ability/high job knowledge
-
Strong work ethic
-
Computer proficiency (hardware, software,
peripherals)
-
Low affiliation needs
Just as there are necessary skills, there are required motivations. You should
be leery of becoming a telecommuter if you:
-
Have high affiliation needs
-
Must be in an “office” to be motivated to work
-
Are easily distracted by household demands
(tasks, family, etc.)
-
Do not have a supportive/cooperative family
situation
-
Do not have reliable child care arrangements
during work hours
VirtualWorks! offers
quick and inexpensive solutions for assessing
your skills and motivation before you take the plunge into telecommuting.
Some people aren’t given a choice and their employer tells them they will
telework. If you’re in this category, these tools can help you identify where
you may experience some difficulties.
If you’re reasonably sure
that telework is for you, then the Telecommuter Self-Assessment is where you
should start. For a quick, self-scored and free self-assessment, download our:
If you have some doubts about your ability to succeed as a telecommuter
or you want a detailed analysis of your strengths and weaknesses as a
telecommuter, then you will want to purchase the Telecommuter Assessment
Profile (TAP). The TAP offers detailed feedback on twelve criteria that
are critical to success as a telecommuter, and, more important, provides
recommendations to you for improving your telecommuting skills and
abilities. For an inexpensive assessment and detailed feedback, order
the TAP:
Once you’ve completed an
assessment, secured a telework agreement, and are ready to become a
telecommuter, your next step is to begin developing your telecommuting success
plan. Developing an action plan is important—teleworking successfully does not
happen by magic!
The keys to working well from your home office
Working
at home is different,
particularly if you’ve never done it before. Think for a moment about your
current “traditional” job or a job you’ve held in the past. Consider:
·
All the resources
you had
·
The equipment and
technology you used
·
Your co-workers
·
The direction you
received
When you telework you have to,
in effect, recreate that office environment in your home. Initial questions are
planning begins include:
“Where do I put my
office?” or
“What equipment will I
need?” These are both important questions. Having the basic equipment,
phone lines, high-speed access, and a productive office setting are crucial to
your long-term success.
VirtualWorks! offers a
series of resources to help you cut through the clutter and streamline your
decision making process about such matters. To access information to assist in
your planning and telework start-up, visit our free:
We also offer a series of
mini-books and booklets that are designed to answer specific questions you may
have with practical, concrete answers that you can put into place today.
To help you determine which
resources will best meet your particular needs, consider these options:
These consist of a series of detailed tips on a specific topic and are drawn
from Debra Dinnocenzo’s highly praised book,
"101 Tips for Telecommuters."
These mini-books are available only from
VirtualWorks! (sponsor of JobsTelecommuting.com) as electronic
downloads. If you like detailed answers and thought provoking comments then
mini-books will be best for you.
These are much shorter and consist of a series of short, pithy “tips.” Booklets
are available in both printed form and as electronic downloads. If you like
sound bites, short quotes or something you can glance at quickly and get some
easy-to-implement ideas, then
booklets are for you.
If you want the most information for the best value, you’ll want to read the
entire book. Order this valuable resource packed full of useful
information for teleworkers to begin your journey to successful telecommuting:
You’ll find a review of “101 Tips for Telecommuters” from Internet
Business Forum at:
IbizTips.com Review
Working well
with tools and technology
People
telecommute; computers and telephones are tools
that facilitate the telecommuting process. As we look beyond the maze of
computer equipment and high speed connections, a broad range of human factors impact the success of telecommuting.
Understanding these human
factors and learning how to effectively manage the non-technical aspects of
telecommuting, while competently handling the technical realm, is essential to
your success as a telecommuter.
We offer two sets of
mini-books and booklets to help you with both technology and the human issues.
You’ll find more information about these resources at:
However, there is more to successful telecommuting than having the right
computer in an office that is in the right place in your home. When you move
your office to your home, you encounter some new issues that you may not have
faced in the traditional office. Here are just a few:
·
Self-Motivation
When you’re home, there’s
no one looking over your shoulder.
You must
discipline yourself and force yourself to focus—no one else will. There
are many distractions that exist in a home office—from the refrigerator to the
washer and dryer—that do no exist in a traditional office setting. Managing
distractions while staying motivated is crucial to the ultimate success of any
telecommuter.
·
Out of sight need not
mean out of mind
One of the potential
risks involved with telework is the perception of your co-workers and manager
that you aren’t really working since they can’t see you. Another potential
risk—because you’re not in the on-site office, you are forgotten when it comes
to promotions and new opportunities.
Managing
your career and managing the perceptions of others are skills that you must
have or acquire if you’re going to be successful.
Learn more about this aspect of telecommuting by reviewing the article from
Best Practices in HR:
·
Isolation
If you’re not careful,
teleworking can be lonely. If you are
not being proactive in reaching out to others, there is an excellent chance that
they won’t reach out to you. The result of this can be an increased sense of
isolation and alienation. Simply because you’re at home surrounded by friends
and family does not mean you won’t feel isolated from work associates.
Working well
with your external partners
Remember all those resources and support you had when you worked in a
traditional office? If there was a computer problem, there was someone to call.
If you needed copies, there was a copy center. Or, if you had a large mailing to
go out, there was a mailroom and administrative support. None of that support
necessarily comes with you when you move home.
While your employer may still provide those services, you may need to find your
own resources to accomplish many of the tasks you previously acquired through
on-site corporate services.
Becoming your own
purchasing manager is another skill that is new for many teleworkers.
This skill becomes even more important when you’re dealing with the last minute
crises that inevitably arise in the course of your job.
VirtualWorks!
offers a number of tools designed to help you managing your outsourcing
relationships. You’ll find more information about these resources at:
Working well
with your family
Now
that you’ve moved home, probably in part to be closer to your family,
it’s imperative that your family be a
supportive factor in your telecommuting success. There are numerous ways
in which your family can create an obstacle to your effectiveness and
productivity.
Telework is not a substitute for childcare. Nor
is it a job without accountabilities and responsibilities. It is a job that you
just happen to be doing from your home office. You’ll find very quickly that you
may need to negotiate similar agreements with your family that you may have
previously had to negotiate with co-workers. Your family
needs to understand your office hours, when and how you can be interrupted, and
what household tasks you will not be completing during your workday.
Carefully negotiating agreements with family members before you begin to
telework will contribute significantly to your success. If you’ve already
started to telecommute and haven’t factored in your family, it’s never too late
to start.
Keep
these two things in mind with regard to your family. First, they may naturally
assume that when you’re home, you’re there for
them. Second, the definition of family in this context may include
family members who do not live in your home. Again, there a tendency on the part
of family members (and neighbors, in some cases) to
assume that because you’re home, you’re not
working. This can definitely have a detrimental
impact on your productivity and satisfaction as a teleworker.
VirtualWorks! offers
a number of tools designed to help you manage your family relationships. You’ll
find more information about these resources at:
Working well
with your team
Managing a relationship with your co-workers, team, or work associates will
become a different task when you telecommute. While you may still get together
for lunch occasionally (and we recommend it), you won’t have the spontaneous
lunches and impromptu meetings that you can have when you are co-located. Nor
will you have the advantage of non-verbal cues you’re accustomed to using to
help you assess someone’s feelings and/or reactions. Likewise, your ability to
talk with people face-to-face will be limited. The frequency and quality of
contact you have with your co-workers and internal partners can change
dramatically when you begin to telework, and you’ll want to pay special
attention to these critical relationships.
In
some cases, co-workers of teleworkers demonstrate feelings of resentment,
particularly if their jobs are not “telecommutable” or they are precluded from
teleworking for other reasons. To minimize this counter-productive dynamic
among your team members and internal partners, review the article from Home
Office Computing:
VirtualWorks! offers
a number of tools designed to help you managing your remote team. You’ll find
more information about these resources at:
For additional information
about telecommuting successfully, check out the following links, including
articles to which we’ve
contributed information or comments:
Home Office Computing - Dinnocenzo's Telework Tips
St. Petersburg Times - When home becomes office
Meridian (Midway Airlines) - Tips from a home office whiz
Pittsburgh Business Times - Key roles in telecommuting success
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