HR Telecommuting: Solutions for the Human Side of Remote Work

Archive for 2009

The worst snow storm in Washington DC in 70 years has just blanketed the Metorpolitan area with over 2 ft. of snow! This has forced all Federal Agencies to close http://bit.ly/7hcVEH
while the city digs out. And what about the Teleworkers? They are working hard to sustain operations.

A notice was sent out alerting Teleworkers that they are still expected to work and keep government functions operational. The last time the city was shut down do to weather was 2003, 6 years ago. No doubt, the explosion of home broadband access is allowing thousands of workers to access government networks securely and keep their vital tasks fully up and running.

The big question is, “How many more workers could be working if management was more supportive?” Telework has been a big battle in the Capitol City. There are many government mandates stating that a certain percentage of workers must be allowed to work remotely, largely for today’s example. But, many senior leaders are still mired in the work methods and measurements of the past, “I have to see you in order to know that you are working.” Today’s economy is demanding more than just face time, It’s demanding results. The more that organizations can focus on results and enabling employees to work their best from anywhere, the more productive they will be and prepared when disaster strikes.

I’m confident there are businesses losing revenue today in the DC area simply because they waited until today to test their Telework/Remote Work plan. The majority of organizations who test remote work in the middle of a crisis fail. Take time to create a formal Remote Work policy and test it on a regular basis. For more information on what it takes to test a Remote Work Policy, please contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com

This week’s United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen is certainly going to have global implications for many developed countries. While the debate on the validity of climate change continues, the trend for Greener IT is headed in only one direction, UP. What does this mean for Global IT departments? It means more emphasis on laptops, Virtual machines, cleaner power supplies, and increased remote access.

What type of reports and recommendations can IT departments expect from Copenhagen? Probably something similar to a report released by Denmark with recommendations to IT departments in the private sector: titled “Action Plan for Green IT in Denmark” In this report it outlines 2 Focus Areas and 8 Main initiatives:

1. Focus Area 1: Greener IT use
   1. Corporate IT use must become greener
   2. Green IT information Campaign
   3. Guidelines for Green IT for public authorities
   4. Knowledge base for energy and CO2 calculation
2. Focus Area 2: IT solutions for a sustainable Future
   1. Green IT research funding
   2. Export of Green IT know-how and technology
   3. International conference on Green IT
   4. Green IT in the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation

Throughout the report there is a good amount of discussion on remote access and Telework. This supports current trends in IT for increased mobility and secure Remote Access.

Employees are already demanding increased remote access as the proliferation of Blackberry’s and enterprise IPhone’s continues. In addition, more and more organizations are turning to Telecommuting and Remote Work to cut down on office space and CO2 emissions. This remote access further helps employee’s from having to come into the office to retrieve documents, make calls, and connect with their teams. Remote access increases efficiency and productivity by giving employees quicker access to the information they and their customers need.

As Remote Access grows, the perception of needing people in a building to complete work, changes. Organizations begin to see how having a Remote Workforce makes them more productive, efficient, Green, and prepared. For more information on how you can help your organization move toward increased Remote Access, please feel free to contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
President/ SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com

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:

1. 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?
2. 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?
3. 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

One question/issue that I am constantly asked is ,”How to handle the conference call BEAST.” Now I say BEAST for a reason, because it truly is a beast…. Let me explain. When holding a conference, you are generally involving 3+ participants, however only 1 person can ever be truly heard. So how do you get input from multiple people, achieve a certain level of information sharing, keep participants engaged, come out with ACTIONABLE items, and end the call without requiring a new one??? For most people, you don’t. Time is spent asking, “Who just joined?” and when questions are asked, common responses of, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that,” or my absolute favorite, “Oops I had you on mute let me start over!”

With the proliferation of Remote Workers and Telecommuters, conference calls are becoming a constant part of our daily routine. Annoying-yes, productive-sometimes, and Improvable- YES continue reading.

1. Name an Organizer or Leader: Organizer/Leader hops on call 5 min early.
2. Email Goals: Organizer should send out notes for meeting at least 60min in advance with Specific METRIC goals. I can’t tell you how often people I talk to don’t know the goal of the call they are on. Even weekly update calls could get an email such as, “30 min Update call: Discuss New Business Activity of prior week- Each participant 5 min; Discuss upcoming projects- Each Participant 3 min.”
3. Keep a Tally: I always recommend that the leader of a conference call keep a pen and paper handy to write down all the names of people on the call and keep a tally of
   1. How many times People Talk
   2. What Questions they have
   3. Action Items for each person
4. Use people’s names First when asking questions or verifying information: By putting someone’s name first, you give them a heads up to pay attention to what you are saying. This helps speed up the response to the question or statement, keeps them engaged, and generally prevents you from having to repeat the statement.
5. Short After-action Email: A short email listed everyone’s names and action items should be sent to all participants to verify they understood what is required of them and others.

For more tips, tricks, or best practices on how to hold a great conference call. Please contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com
1-888-878-4832

Obviously, if you aren’t paying rent you are saving money, but can you not pay rent and still run a company? Of course, allow your employees to telecommute and you can save a ton of money.

This belief has been around for years now, but for many reasons hasn’t been implemented in many companies, until now. The economy is forcing a lot of companies to reconsider every expense, from coffee in the office to leased corporate headquarters, many companies are looking for every way possible to save money. A recent article released by the Associated Press http://bit.ly/31bxmA highlights how many small businesses are using Telecommuting to help save money.

Let’s look at a few of the major reasons, companies save money when they utilize telecommuters:

1. Office space costs: For many companies leasing office space can be quite costly and while many companies can’t completely get rid of their office space, they can reduce their footprint and have employees rotate on who works in the office on given days.
2. Utility costs: Many employees are willing to pick up the tab on utility costs such as power, HVAC, and even Internet costs! Statistically, offices consume 7-8 times more energy to run equipment than corresponding homes. The trade off most employees make is, “I’m saving money by not driving, dry cleaning, eating out at lunch, etc; so therefore I’m willing to pick up the additional utility costs of working from home. (Note: special consideration needs to be paid when employees are using their own routers and internet connections. Many security protocols and help desks are not fully equipped for home user equipment.)
3. Parking/Maintenance expenses: Many employers either pay for parking lot usage, or subsidize employee parking costs, when located in urban settings. Having less people park reduces those expenses. Additionally, there is less for cleaning crews to clean and less building space to maintain.
4. Furniture Costs: Employees working from home can often supply their own furniture for working, this helps to reduce the companies costs of leasing or purchasing furniture.
5. Real Estate Taxes: Employers are NOT required to pay real estate taxes on employees’ home offices and with the Federal Government increasing Corporate Real Estate taxes, this is just one more way for businesses to reduce their overhead expenses.

For more Telecommuting Savings Statistics, click here.  If you are considering allowing employees to work Remotely or Telecommute and need help with where to start. Please feel free to contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
President: SuiteCommute
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com
888-878-4832

We at SuiteCommute apologize for falling off the “BLOG” wagon and not posting anything new for a while, but we wanted to take the time to announce something big.  As you may notice above we are now “A Part of HR4U”.  What does this mean?  It means we have been purshased by HR4U and are expanding in our scope and service offerings.  HR4U is a Human Resources Consulting company headquartered out of Chicago New York.  As part of the restructuring Brandon Dempsey is assuming the role of President overseeing SuiteCommute’s operations and Jill Adams has stepped into the role of CEO of HR4U.  SuiteCommute is a company on the move with clients now coast to coast.  Please explore our site to learn more!

For more information on HR4U please visit www.HR-4U.com .  More blog posts to come!

Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano has come out and just advised companies whose children’s schools have been affected to allow employees to work from home. It is generally recommended that any company whose employees have been near infected persons, traveled to infected countries, or feel they may be sick or have been exposed should have employees work from home for a minimum of 3 days. For instance, Monsanto a St. Louis based company, has advised its employees who have traveled to Mexico to work from home 5-7 days, before returning to work.

When allowing employees to work remotely consider what equipment, resources, and information they will need to complete their work. Managers should be informed immediately of the situation and advised in how to manage their remote employees. Employees should then be instructed in how they will obtain their work and/or submit it back to the office. Consider mapping out a process flow chart of how an employee’s work input and output flows through the organization. This will help if more become infected and critical positions need to be shifted to different workers.

Remote Work does not have to cost any additional money for the employer. Many employees are most likely willing to help defray the costs of them working remotely. Most corporate phone systems have the ability to forward calls to employee’s home lines, or cell phones. Additionally, employees could be asked to increase the bandwidth of their high speed internet connection or reformat their home computers to clean out all viruses and potential threats to work documents and information.

If you allow employees to work at home, you should have them complete a safety and security checklist to be certain that their workspace is compliant and not hazardous to their health. Additionally, employees should be taught how to avoid various technology invasions and breaches of security. A solid Human Resources’ policy accompanied with legal requirements and performance metrics will go a long way to ensure compliance and protect the company from frivolous lawsuits.

Got a unique question? Feel free to contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute, LLC.
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@suitecommute.com

Title: telework webcast
Location: webinar
Link out: Click here
Description: Webcast will focus on how Federal, state, and local government organizations can develop and maintain secure operations for agency telework programs.
Hear from public-sector professionals who are deploying and managing secure remote workforce initiatives as well as from industry experts on recommended technologies that enable trusted telework connectivity and operations.

Start Time: 12:00
Date: 2009-04-23

Title: Pandemic Preparedness Essentials Seminar
Location: Premier Knowledge Solutions
Link out: Click here
Description: Join us for a Seminar on how to prepare your company for the next pandemic. We will have a brief lecture followed by a simulation Exercise.
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2009-04-15

Last week, the House of Representatives and the Senate introduced the Telework Improvements Act of 2009 – a bill aimed at improving Telework in the Federal government. Representatives Sarbanes (D-MD), Connolly (D-VA), and Wolf (R-VA) introduced the Telework Improvements Act of 2009 in the House of Representatives. Senators Akaka (D-HI) and Voinovich (R-OH) introduced the companion bill in the Senate. This marks the first time that both the Senate and House have introduced simultaneous bills. This will be huge for those who work in the Federal Government and are looking to Telework.

Most interesting is that the legislation calls on agencies to create Telework programs that allow employees to telecommute at least 20% of their hours worked every 2 administrative work weeks. This further supports the overall mandate that allows for all inclusive measures regarding Telework instead of “exclusive” benefits.

Many within the Federal government understand the benefits and need for Telecommuting and Remote Work. It will be interesting to see how they go about developing and training on the program. That is going to be the key. If the bill goes through, but implementation fails, it is going to give Telework a very bad name. That can’t happen as there are already too many managers who feel, “Telework is just simply not for us.” I hope the decision makers work with Telecommuting Program Expert Consultants to determine the best course forward.

We’ll see what happens, but be certain to check back here for more updates!

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@suitecommute.com