Tips for managing employees who work from home
by Kathryn Hawkins
Many employees would love the opportunity to work from the comfort of their own homes every once in a while—and, thanks to advances in technology that enable you to set up a secure workstation virtually anywhere, it’s certainly possible to give your staff that freedom. And given the rising costs of fuel, offering a telecommuting option can be an attractive incentive for high-quality staff to accept a position with your small business.
However, when your employees aren’t under a manager’s direct supervision, you may be concerned about whether they’re working as hard as they would at the office. Here are some tips for managing telecommuting employees.
Make sure that the role is suitable for telecommuting
Although many of your employees may be interested in telecommuting, it likely won’t make sense for all of your staff. Telecommuting works best for jobs that are largely independent, such as copywriters and graphic designers. For positions that require constant interaction—an administrative assistant or a project manager, for instance—a physical presence in your office may be a necessity.
Create a set of ground rules
When creating a telecommuting policy, you’ll want to establish a set of guidelines for all remote employees to follow: For instance, you may ask them to be available for instant-messaging chats for at least six hours during the workday, or request that they spend at least three days a week at the office. Write out your conditions in advance, and make it clear to employees that if they don’t follow your guidelines, they will lose their telecommuting privileges.
Determine equipment policies.
If your employees spend a considerable amount of time telecommuting, you should generally provide them with laptop computers for their work use, and supply them with all software and electronic equipment necessary to perform their workplace tasks at home. When it comes to phone calls, Internet usage, and other utilities, calculate how much of each month’s bills are likely to be work-related and offer them a monthly stipend to cover these expenses.
Focus on project milestones
When you can’t see what employees are doing, you won’t be able to monitor their progress on the spot. Instead, set up clear deadlines for particular tasks, based on the amount of hours the tasks would normally require. Use an online project management system to assign milestones, set reminders, and monitor whether your employee is meeting all deadlines. If not, hold a discussion about why the system isn’t working: If they are having trouble with time-management, telecommuting may not be the best option for them.
Ensure that your telecommuters aren’t breaching any security protocols
Before implementing a telecommuting policy, talk with your employees about best practices for protecting your business’ secure data. When they are outside of the office, there is a higher risk of security breaches, so make sure that they understand the risks involved. You may need to implement new procedures to increase your security measures, such as using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which will provide a level of encryption between your employee’s connection and your office’s private server; and asking your employees to improve their password security.
Take advantage of video-conferencing
Programs like Skype and other video-conferencing software provide employers with the opportunity to hold face-to-face chats with their employees from afar. Particularly in cases where your employee lives far away and never visits the physical office, using these programs provides a great opportunity to establish a more personal connection to your remote staff.
Use screen-sharing technology for training, demonstrations, and presentations
If your staff can’t be present for important training sessions and presentations, screen-sharing programs like GoToMeeting give you the capacity to share your own computer screen with your remote employees, so that they can easily follow your instructions.
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