HR Telecommuting: Solutions for the Human Side of Remote Work

Remote Work and Telecommuting are not just good ideas for large organizations who want to encourage work life balance and attract and retain their top talent. It is simply good business for small business too! Today’s economy is forcing many small businesses with 5-100 employees to re-evaluate everything: overhead costs, new markets, current customers, employee productivity, profitability, and so much more. Telecommuting allows these small businesses to capitalize on much more than just reduced real-estate.

• A recent survey by 7^th Sense Research found that:
• 60% of employees said they could do their jobs remotely
• 72% of employees prefer to work at home
• 73% of companies didn’t have a formal policy (VERY DANGEROUS!!)
• However; only 14% of employees said their employers were supportive of telecommuting or remote work

By allowing a small business’s employees to work remotely, they can:

1. Drastically reduce their office footprint- thus reducing office rental space.
2. Many employees are willing to pay for their own internet and computer thus- REDUCING equipment and utilities costs on the company.
3. Expand the hiring pool to truly the best in the industry
4. Retain employees longer- people with telecommuting jobs are proven to be less likely to leave.
5. Improve productivity which improves the company’s PROFITABILITY.

While it seems obvious to many employees the benefits of Remote Work: no-dry cleaning, cheaper lunches, no commute, etc. The benefits are not just one sided and small employers are starting to discover this fact. Most small business owners, however; need to CHANGE they way they manage employees though. Remote Work is more productive because it breads independence and accountability for results. If you have a manager who is uncomfortable managing by results, they probably won’t make a good Remote Manager. Additionally, if you have employees who don’t like their performance to be judged by results, they probably won’t do well in a Remote environment (of course I’d argue they don’t do well in an office environment either).

Bottom line. Many small employers are moving to Remote Work models because it is simply more efficient. Transitioning takes time, training, and a formal program, but the companies who are making the switch are beginning to wonder why they hadn’t done it sooner.

To learn more or if you are curious what it takes to transition please feel free to contact me directly.

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

Every week it seems as though I am reminding Remote Managers about the importance of praise and recognition for their Remote Workers. Praise and recognition is vital to the success of any remote work arrangement and probably one of the key elements to successful remote management. Put simply Praise and Recognition:

1. Affirms Employees of proper actions.
2. Keeps Employees connected to office culture.
3. Promotes a sense of team when done publicly.
4. Increases and employee’s productivity.
5. Engages employee in developing themselves professionally.

Done right, praise solves many of the issues that plague remote managers. With the proper use of praise employees feel they are still connected as part of the team and when done in a form that shows them off in front of office workers, can help break down the office vs. work-from-home tensions that sometimes arise.

For more tips/tricks email me directly.

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

The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article discussing new trends in mobile work: For-Profit Coworking facilities. This new trend highlights an essential point to Remote Work. It’s never all or nothing.

Working in public locations such as coffee shops, bookstores, and cafes has largely been the life for those who work for themselves. Choosing to eliminate the costs of real estate, the self-employed are largely turning to these spaces for a due to a lack of office amenities the biggest one being- meeting space. However, with more and more people turning to self-employment and more companies allowing Remote Work, demand is growing for a more professional atmosphere; one that gives privacy and has a few more amenities similar to an office. Similar to the government subsidized Telework Centers in Washington DC, private companies are now launching “Coworking” facilities that offer cubicles, desks, private offices, conference rooms, phones, copiers, and even coffee machines and water coolers!

This article shows that people need a balance when working remotely. Too many organizations see Remote Work as an all or nothing scenario where employees are either working in their office or they are working from home in their pajamas and don’t need any support from the company. Nothing could be farther from the truth, employees still need access to many of the functions that an office performs. For this reason SuiteCommute has always advocated Part-Time remote work.

With Part-Time remote work employees still maintain an office or share an office with someone at the company’s location (a situation often referred to as hotelling). The employees report to an office 1-2 days a week to conduct meetings or utilize the office equipment and work remotely the rest. This provides the best of both worlds and truly is the best scenario for remote workers. Just because someone is remote doesn’t mean they don’t ever need an office, they just don’t need it as much or all of the space.

When setting up your remote work program consider the office needs people may have.

1. Don’t assume that since the employees are working remotely that they won’t ever need an office. Make sure that conference rooms, cubicles, and office equipment can still be accessible if employees have been used to using it.
2. Make sure employees understand it is “OK” to come back into the office. Some employees are hesitant to come into the office when working remotely, because they fear it will show that they can’t work remotely. Employees need to understand that the a formal office is still available to them should they need it.
3. Analyze what equipment can be purchased cheaply for employees to have at their home. A $50 printer makes a lot more sense than having an employee come into the office every time they need to print something. Consider what function the employee performs and what equipment could be supplied to them.
4. Set up a scheduling mechanism for employees. Remote Workers need some way to inform office staff that they will be in the office or reserving conference rooms. Some sort of scheduling tool should be used.
5. Stay focused on results of your workers and not just the time the y spend in locations. It’s vital that managers focus on the results of their remote employees and not just the time they spend in any one place.

For more information on how to set up or improve your Telecommuting or Remote Work program please feel free to contact me directly.

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

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