Telecommuting
Mar 02, 2008
Some companies rethink the telecommuting trend. Should the home based worker be concerned?
A few big promoters of home-based and mobile-office work arrangements, including AT&T, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and parts of the federal government, have called some home-based workers back to the office, causing some to quit. The callbacks are small and don’t reflect a full retrenchment, but the factors at work - a push to consolidate operations, and the notion that teamwork improves when people work face-to-face - suggest other employers might follow suit as recession clouds loom.
It is a bit surprising to us that the reasons for the callbacks slap directly in the face of what most of these companies actually provide in their products. Collaboration for one. We are talking about three companies, leaders in technology. Using the tools designed, marketed and sold by these companies, every telecommuter has the ability to collaborate with co-workers. And using technology, every telecommuter can hold a face to face with other co-workers via web based meetings.
And, why would consolidate operations be a good reason to callback telecommuting workers? Would calling back workers slap in the face the idea of saving overhead and eliminating unnecessary cost? The Home Office Warrior thinks so.
Hopefully, this is a short term shift in the trend and these companies who in the past have been big supporters of telecommuting will come back around. In the meantime, here are some tips on keeping that work-at-home gig.
- Perform Well.
- Increase your visibility.
- Make an effort to collaborate.
Take the tools available to you, with the technology available to you and be a continued champion of telecommuting. There is no reason this should not be a short term trend.
Telecommuting
Oct 22, 2007
Like many, I have weighed the options as to what phone service to use. Most recently I have been looking at VoIP. And Vonage is one of the companies I have explored. But, with the post today at BusinessWeek Online — Tech Beat I am going to keep my options open.
“Just when things began looking a little brighter for Vonage, which recently settled a patent infringement lawsuit with Sprint, the Web-calling company got hit with another lawsuit. The way things look, Vonage will have humongous legal expenses for months — if not years — to come. And it might have to adjust its cost structure further for that prospect.“
Please leave your comments here to what, if any VoIP service you use. I need help in deciding.
Telecommuting
Oct 17, 2007
My good friend and fellow Home Office Warrior, Chuck Netwon had a very good post today concerning the fact that Houston, Texas is affordable to Home Office Lawyers.
You see Chuck is a lawyer and a friend. And he is a prime example of how a professional service business will work from a home office. For a great source of information on working from a home office, I would urge each of you to check out Chuck’s great blog, Chuck Newton — Rides the Third Wave.
Telecommuting
Sep 29, 2007
Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel of Build A Solo Practice, LLC
If you thought a commute was just about the time lost think, again. Your commute can literally be killing you.
You might have heard that your commute is killing you. But it’s not the doughnut and jumbo-sized coffee you’ve been downing every morning that’s doing it.
What’s really taking a toll on your health is the polluted air you’re breathing, lengthy traffic delays and dodging accidents to and from work. Even as the stress mounts, we put up with it, since most of us can’t afford to or don’t want to live near our offices.
This isn’t meant to make you feel bad about something you may not have control over.
However, the reality is to a great extent, solos do have control over this choice. If you are on the fence about where to set up shop, consider this article in your pros and cons list. At the very least, if you are not comfortable at home, get as close to home as possible to minimize the effects.
Telecommuting
Sep 29, 2007
I use a virtual assistant. She works out of her home just as I do. In a sense, she is a telecommuter. One comment I get a lot is how you make sure she has your interest at heart and is working on the projects you give her. And quite honestly, I have never worried about it. But, I know there are others that do.
I was pleased that in today’s RSS feeds I received a great post called Managing Telecommuters from a great blog called Management Craft. What a timely post.
Lisa Haneberg points out a key point in her post when she states,
I believe that the KEY - the key - to telecommuting situations is connection, engagement, and relationship. An invested employee works hard and is more likely to exercise good judgment.
One thing we have to remember is that we don’t have control over how our telecommuters/virtual assistants work. In fact, that is key to the arrangement I have with mine. In fact, she is not an employee, but an independent contractor. And I get value. She gets paid for the work she does for me and not by the hour. She doesn’t get paid unless she deliveries results and that is finished work.
Our only hope to get value from this arrangement is connection and engagement - true partnership and collaboration. Treat these people more like you would a trusted and valued contractor.
And that is just how my arrangement with my virtual assistant works.
