Recently, Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo pulled all of the company's remote workers back into the office essentially ending their telecommuting practice.While she may have had legitimate reasons for this, I believe she may have acted too hastily. According to an article from Harvard Business Review written by Nicholas Bloom Jan-Feb 2014, home-based workers are more productive and less likely to quit (think retention strategy here). This study found that employees who telecommuted reported higher job satisfaction and the savings to the company in both furniture and space was estimated at $1900 per employee over a nine month period. I believe the telecommuting train has left the station and will not be returning anytime soon. In other words, it is here to stay.

So, what are three mistakes manages make when deciding who should telecommute, what types of jobs qualify and how to best manage these remote workers?

1. Thinking everyone is eligible. Telecommuting is not for everyone. Make this option a reward for those employees who have proven themselves in terms of work ethic and discipline. Is their work thorough and completed on time? Often times, employees who are very sociable and distractible have difficulty working alone at home.  Just as the perk is given, it can be taken away if work performance slips, i.e., deadlines missed and incomplete work delivered. It is advised to give at least one week's notice to an employee that you are pulling back into the office. According to Anita Bruzzese of Fast Track magazine look at how much the work is done independently, how often the person must meet with others and when and how they have critical conversations. These three criteria will help you decide whether the job is able to be performed remotely.

   
    

2. Unclear expectations of remote worker. In other words, clear expectations are needed of the job. Nothing new here. Every great manager must clearly communicate expectations of a position whether they are working in the same office or remotely. While this may be easier with a sales position, i.e., meeting sales goals, it can be achieved with a manager who is willing to create key objectives that must be met. Any time you can make those objectives measurable, i.e., complete reports within 30 days, is more effective. Encourage collaboration with other team members and develop team goals to foster cooperation and alleviate some of the loneliness.

   
    

3. No system for accountability. It has never been easier to hold employees accountable than now with advances in technology. With the availability of free video conferencing through Skype and Google hangout, start your morning with daily check ins of no longer than 5 to 15 minutes held at the same time each day. Have every member of your team check in via their own computer even if several are at the same office. Allow everyone to share what they will be working on during the day. Weekly videoconferencing meetings held at the same time and date each week will also build a sense of team and allow for accountability and updates of projects. Also, use instant messaging, email, voicemail and phone calls to informally drop in and see how the employee is doing. As a manager, put up the little green "available" icon in your interoffice chat to show you are available, similar to an open door policy. Also, using Google docs or any secure, quality cloud-based software will allow employees easy access to whatever they need. Make sure corporate data is protected on laptops and mobile devices by encrypting them or requiring usernames and passwords to retrieve information. 

Question for You:

 Are you seeking more effective ways to manage employees working from home? Are you considering adding positions that may work from home?

Action for You:

When considering which positions are best suited for telecommuting, look at how independently they are being performed today. Also look at the individual who is performing the job to see if they are reliable and self-disciplined.   When managing these folks, make sure you are communicating your expectations clearly and dropping in via technology to see how they are doing. Because you don't want "out-of-sight" to mean "out-of-mind."

                  "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." 

                                                       Ernest Hemingway