Managing Off-Site Staff for Small Business

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Lin Grensing-Pophal. Managing Off-Site Staff for Small Business

MANAGING OFF-SITE STAFF FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Foreword

Introduction

1. The Need to Retain Employees — Even in a Soft Economy

2. Telecommuting versus Managing Off-site Staff

3. Flexible Options, Morale, and Engagement

4. Changing Employee Needs

5. The Impact of Technology

1. Telecommuting: What It Is and Why You Need to Know

Executive Summary

1. The Origins of Telecommuting

2. The Terminology of Telecommuting

3. The Trend toward Telecommuting

4. The Growth of Telecommuting

5. Myths and Misconceptions

6. The Drawbacks and Challenges

6.1 For employers

6.2 For employees

7. The Benefits and Rewards

7.1 For employers

7.2 For employees

Table 1 — Percentage of Organizations Offering Various Flexible Working Benefits

Table 2 — Flexible Work Benefits by Year

Table 3 — Flexible Work Benefits by Organization Size

8. Case Study

2. Getting Started

Executive Summary

1. Which Jobs Are Best for Remote Work?

2. Is Your Business Ready to Manage Off-site Staff?

3. Handling Resistance from Managers and Employees

Figure 1 — Barriers to Implementation

4. What Resources Are Required?

4.1 Office equipment and tools

4.2 Safety considerations

Checklist 1 — Temecommuting Safety Checklist

5. The Characteristics of a Successful Program

6. Case Study

3. Policies and Procedures

Executive Summary

1. Policy Considerations

1.1 Work hours

1.2 Work assignments

1.3 Evaluation

1.4 Salary and benefits

1.5 Overtime

1.6 Equipment

2. Documenting Your Policies and Procedures

2.1 Policy statement

2.2 Selection criteria

2.3 Expectations/responsibilities of off-site employees

2.4 Work schedules

2.5 Equipment and supplies

2.6 Insurance

2.7 Employer’s right to inspect workplace

2.8 Privacy and confidentiality

2.9 Performance measurement

2.10 Company policies

2.11 Termination of the agreement

2.12 Employment-at-will disclaimer

3. Case Study

4. Off-site Relationships with Existing Staff

Executive Summary

1. Working Remotely Is Not for Everyone

2. Selection Criteria

3. Assessing Candidates

Table 4 — Assessment for Suitability for Telecommuting

4. Traits of Successful Teleworkers

Sample 1 — Common Traits of Successful Telecommuters

5. Perils and Pitfalls

5.1 It just doesn’t work

5.2 It’s not fair!

5.3 My manager won’t let me!

6. Case Study

5. Recruiting Employees for Telecommuting Positions

Executive Summary

1. Social Media for Recruitment

2. The Internet as a Recruiting Tool

Sample 2 — Examples of Job Recruitment Postings

1.2 Effective online recruiting

1.3 Using your own website

2. Other Sources of Applicants

3. Steps in the Hiring Process

3.1 Position requirements

3.2 Selection criteria

3.3 Interviewing candidates for off-site jobs

3.4 References

4. Perils and Pitfalls

5. Case Study

6. Training Off-site Workers and Their Managers

Executive Summary

1. Employee Training

1.1 Characteristics of employee training programs

1.2 A structure for training

Sample 3 — Sample Outline for a Telecommuting Training Program

1.3 Making it real

2. Supervisor/Manager Training

2.1 An unnerving transition for managers

2.2 A structure for supervisory training

2.3 Supervisor’s checklist

Checklist 2 — Supervisor’s Checklist for Telecommuters (California Department of Personnel Administration)

3. Team Training

4. Training the Rest of the Staff

5. After Training

6. Tips for Starting Telecommuters

7. Case Study

7. Managing Off-site Staff

Executive Summary

1. The Truth about Managing Off-site Staff

2. Traits of Successful Remote Managers

3. Setting Objectives

3.1 Establishing job standards

Table 5 — Example of Goals Outlined for Telecommuting Employees

3.2 Establishing goals

4. Providing Feedback

5. Communication

5.1 The technology of communication

6. Maintaining Involvement

7. Motivating Off-site Staff

8. If the Relationship Doesn’t Work

9. Additional Tips for Managers of Off-Site Staff

Sample 4 — Teleworking Issues — AG Communication Systems Telework Handbook

Sample 5 — Managing Telecommuters: Tips for Supervisors (University of Texas — Houston Health Science Center)

10. Case Study

8. Program Outcomes

Executive Summary

1. Measuring Program Outcomes

2. Why Alternative Work Arrangements Fail

3. Case Study

Appendix 1 — Telecommuting Proposal

Sample Telecommuting Proposal The University of Texas — Houston Health Science Center (www.uth.tmc.edu)

Appendix 2 — Telecommuting Policy — AG Communications Systems Sample

Telecommuting Policy 1. 1.0 Policy

2.0 Scope

3.0 Purpose

4.0 Definitions

5.0 Responsibilities. 5.1 Employee responsibilities:

5.2 Team responsibilities:

5.3 Coach/Manager responsibilities:

5.4 HR Teleworking Facilitator responsibilities:

5.5 ITS Teleworking Facilitator responsibilities:

5.6 Health and Safety representatives will provide consultation or training information on setting up the office using good ergonomic practices. 6.0 Compensation and Benefits

7.0 Taxes

8.0 Hours of Work and Overtime

9.0 Safety and Worker’s Compensation

10.0 Disability Benefits

11.0 Proprietary Information

12.0 Computers and Security

13.0 Company-Provided Equipment and Support

14.0 If Employee Owned Computer Systems Are Used:

15.0 Expenses

16.0 Termination of Teleworking Agreement

17.0 Teleworking Handbook & Documents

Appendix 3 — Telecommuter’s Agreement

Sample Telecommuter’s Agreement California Department of Personnel Administration (www.dpa.ca.gov)

Appendix 4 — Telecommuting Agreement

US Office of Personnel Management Sample Telecommuting Agreement

Appendix 5 — Telecommuting Resources

Canadian Telework Association

Gil Gordon Associates

JALA

Telework.gov

Telework Recruiting.com

The Telework Coalition

WorldatWork

Appendix 6 — Merritt Group Telecommute Program

Rules of the Road for Successful Telecommuting

Appendix 7 — Merritt Group Cell Phone/Smart Phone Policy

Appendix 8 — Remote Access Permission

About the Author

Notice to Readers

Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook

Contents

Отрывок из книги

There’s a wonderful old Dilbert comic strip in which Dilbert is meeting with the owner of a small business with which Dilbert’s firm is forming a strategic alliance. Dilbert comes in with a very thick binder in his hands and tells the other man that the binder contains the procedures his company uses for project management. Dilbert then says, “I guess a small company such as yours is used to flying by the seat of your pants.” The small-business owner replies, “Not exactly,” prompting Dilbert to ask, “You mean you’re flexible?” which draws the reply, “I mean I’m not wearing pants.”

When it comes to implementing telecommuting, there is quite a collection of policies, guides, training programs, and all other kinds of resources available in books and on the Web — but most of them are directed at the large organizations that are typical of where telecommuting got its start.

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The bottom line is that the decision must be made by the company and by the manager. With a telecommuting program, you make no guarantees that everyone can be a telecommuter. Part of the process is establishing clear guidelines, standards, and policies.

Everyone will want to telecommute and there will be nobody left in the office. Just as you may not want certain employees to telecommute, you will have employees who prefer the standard workplace environment. Many employees enjoy the social aspects of work. They like the interactions with others, and the opportunity to leave home and enter a different environment. For those people, telecommuting is unlikely to become a preferred option. As a manager, you are in control of how you staff your department. There are some managers of workforces comprised entirely of telecommuters — in fact, the manager may be a telecommuter too. There are others who, for whatever reasons, do not find that telecommuting is a viable option. And there are many, many more who find that the right solution is somewhere in between. Ultimately, though, you are responsible for staffing your workforce to provide the optimum service to your internal and external customers.

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