If The Jetsons was any indication, the office of the future will be very different from an office today. It might involve robots, phone calls ringing right in our ears via audio implants and teleporting to meetings instead of walking, driving or taking public transportation. Or it might involve no office at all. And while we would not normally suggest planning the future of your business based on a 1960’s - era animated TV show, it may be best not to question Hanna - Barbera. People didn’t trust the Flintstones and now dinosaurs are extinct. You don’t want the future workplace to be extinct too, do you?

If, like us, you’d prefer there be a future workplace, you might ask, “How would anyone get anything done with no office?” Well, everyone would be working remotely, from a home office, a hotelling station in a business center or while traveling.

The concept of the “remote workforce” with employees located in various time zones and places around the world, collaborating to meet company goals and objectives, has been growing in popularity over the past few years. With the rise of smart phones and other technologies that make it easy for people to stay connected and productive no matter where they are located, it’s become easier for companies to allow employees to work remotely — and still keep tabs on what those employees are doing. (Is there an app for that? Most likely.)

There are a multitude of benefits to employing a virtual workforce, including reduced costs for office space, ease of accommodating differing schedules and the ability to bring together a team with broad knowledge and experience. On top of that, it can even result in a more “ecologically-friendly” workforce with less commuting (pollution) and less paper usage (resource conservation).

With all that being said, though, there are also a number of challenges involved in managing a remote workforce. Some of those challenges are obvious, such as the importance of setting and checking in on goals; some may not be so obvious, such as the importance of remote workers visiting the office on a regular basis to stay connected with co - workers (something commonly overlooked in the process). Whether your company has already deployed a virtual workforce or is starting to explore options for doing so, here are some things to consider:

• Consider what job roles are appropriate for working remotely and what are not. Not every job can be done effectively by people working outside the office — some things are still best done by a team working in the same location.
• Detail the parameters of the working arrangement. During what hours are employees expected to be available? How quickly are they expected to respond to email or phone calls? Is telecommuting allowed only on certain days?
• Set expectations and goals for each person, and revisit them on a regular basis. It may not be enough to check in on goals during annual or semi - annual reviews; perhaps a quarterly check - in is more appropriate.
• Establish a clear communication routine/process. Will employees be expected to provide weekly status updates? Will there be regularly scheduled team conference calls? How can remote employees best contact their supervisor? What is the best tool to use for the team to communicate (instant message, phone, email, Intranet message board, etc.)?
• Set regular in - person meetings — whether a quarterly team get - together, an annual company meeting or a monthly visit to company headquarters. It’s important for remote workers to feel “dialed in” to goings - on within their team and within the company.
• Make sure that your employee health plan covers implanting smart phones into your employees’ ears. And plan ahead so your capital fund budget can cover those robots, because that is one of the coolest things the future will bring...robots.