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1. General Telecommuting Questions

A. Is the number of telecommuters growing?

In 1999, almost 20 million people in the United States telecommuted, which is defined as working off-site for an outside employer at least one day per month or more.  Over 80% of those people telecommute part-time (1-3 days per week). The figure is a 80% increase from 1997, when there was 11.1 million telecommuters nationally.  And both of these figures are a dramatic increase from 1990, when there were 3.4 million telecommuters in the United States.  These statistics do not include the 50+ million mobile workers in which travel is a major component of their jobs. [top]

Note: Statistics taken from Cyber Dialogue www.cyberdialogue.com

 

B. Is employee productivity affected by telecommuting?

While productivity is a very broad term that cannot be equally applied to all work situations, or even all jobs for that matter, most cases of telecommuting have shown an increase in performance. Statistics show an average increase ranging from 3 to 25%. However, more important than average statistics, employers must first determine the methods by which they measure performance. Telecommuting can often force the issue and present a clearer definition of how job performance is measured.

While the list could fill several pages, the most common characteristics associated with productivity include work quality, customer satisfaction, meeting deadlines, and very often quantity.  These are elements that are used to evaluate employees' work, whether they telecommute or not. But more specifically, employers may fail to see the factors that enable performance to be evaluated in the first place.  These are factors that are directly related to the work environment. A work environment factor is defined as a system or process within the work environment of the performer that is not adequately supporting the desired performance. Taking a closer look at the impact of these factors will also assist both the manager and the telecommuter to better understand the entire performance picture. These factors have always existed in the office, but telecommuting often brings their inefficiencies to attention.  The real issue is: What is needed to support the most efficient exchange of information so that our customers are more satisfied and we have better bottom-line results? is the real issue.

MITE has grouped these factors into 8 categories that take into account the work environment and its effect on employee performance when telecommuting is involved:

    1. Support Duties – What tasks could be reassigned, streamlined, eliminated or added to support staff duties?  What tasks will telecommuters be required to do by themselves?  What tasks are done best off-site?

    2. Other Department Work Interfaces – Will other department functions need to change in order to support key results?  How will their work products be made available to telecommuters?  How will response times be maintained?  What kind of adaptation in information exchange or flow will be needed?

    3. Communications – What types of co-worker, supervisor and team communications, both written and verbal, are needed to maximize performance results? What types of non-verbal messages are needed?

    4. Document Security – What documents can the telecommuter take out of the office?  How will legal/confidentiality guidelines or company policies affect or impede data sharing, document transfer or telecommunications when the telecommuter is off-site?

    5. Database – How will current database requirements (availability, speed, accuracy) need to change to support teleworkers?

    6. Equipment/Technology – What types of technology are absolutely essential? What types are secondary?  What are the financial limits on purchase or leasing of needed technology?

    7. Teleworker Work Schedule, Attendance – How will the teleworker's flexible work hours affect results?  What types of back-up or emergency support is expected from teleworker?

    8. Emergency Back-Up – Define what an emergency is.  What types of situations will require in-house staff back-up?  What is the strategy to reach the telecommuter(s) in an emergency?

    An important thing to remember, and the reason why MITE has identified these factors as crucial to the performance of an employee, is that these factors should be addressed before an employee begins to telecommute.  If there is a deficiency in the role these factors play in the office, it will be magnified when employees telecommute. [top]

       

C. Are teamwork and telecommuting possible at the same time?

 In most cases, absolutely. In fact, in most cases, teamwork can actually be improved and the team can maintain more effective ties when telecommuting is part of the job. Of course, this isn't true all of the time, but in most cases, teamwork can be improved when some or all of the members telecommute at one time or another.  The success of the team relies on three factors:  Accountability, Communication and Technology.

As you may already know, telecommuting requires a certain amount of accountability on its own.  Employees who telecommute are expected to return e-mail and phone calls on time and on a regular basis and to finish their work on time and in a professional manner, and employees expect the same from their managers.  When a team is spread over a distance, accountability is a crucial part of the equation.  Each member of the team is now accountable to every other member. If some of these team members were good employees as telecommuters before they were placed in the team, they already fit the profile of a good teammate and can be expected to incorporate those qualities into their work. That is, being a telecommuter, they are in the habit of being accountable and most likely will have no trouble doing their part contributing to the success of the team. When the other members of the team discover this, their motivation to do their part is often increased, thus strengthening the team as a whole.

The second factor that enables telecommuting to be a successful part of a team is communication. This factor lies at the very heart of accountability, and it is the key to an efficient and successful telecommuting arrangement, as well as a team.  While telecommuting focuses on other types of communication rather than "old-fashioned" face-to-face discussion, it also benefits from regular, effective meetings, especially if there is a team involved.  Therefore, if a telecommuting employee who usually comes into the office once a week is placed on a team to complete a project, he/she might benefit from increasing his/her trips to the office to twice a week. This will reinforce that employee's commitment to the success of the team, as well as allowing that employee to form their role in the social aspect of the team.  It will also allow the group to make sure that all members understand their roles, as well as evaluate communication within the group.  The group can determine if e-mails are being understood and replied to, if voice-mail is effective, and whether or not other options of communication should be explored, such as pagers, cell phones or courier service. In short, the team must constantly adapt and evaluate the communication between its members in order to effectively achieve the goals it has established.

Finally, on a seemingly daily basis, technology increases the ease and effectiveness of communication. Technology has also drastically increased the effectiveness of telecommuting. Within a team, technology makes the errors that come along with communication a little more manageable.  From simple telephone calls or ground mail, to videoconferencing and e-mail, team members should use as many forms of communication as necessary to do their jobs effectively. While these methods don't make solve the mysteries of productive communication within a group if that doesn't already exist between the members, it does increase the ease and speed with which a group can operate if all the members are on the same page, and it also makes telecommuting that much more practical in a team setting.  [top]

 

D. Do telecommuters only work for large companies?

Recent studies have shown that most telecommuters work for small companies.  This statistic is not surprising because most people in the United States work for small companies. Smaller companies, as a rule of thumb, are also more likely to be willing and able to quickly and effectively implement telecommuting work arrangements. Many small companies are striving to become bigger, and therefore look for ways to reduce the costs associated with new employees, while increasing output. Changing policy within a small company isn't as difficult or time consuming as it may be in larger companies. [top]

 

E. Can teleworkers be non-exempt, hourly employees?

Teleworkers are the same as any other employee, they can be paid hourly or can be salaried. Examples of hourly telecommuting jobs are medical transcriptionist, secretary, data entry, customer service representative, and the list goes on. Federal law mandates the reporting of hours worked by non-exempt(hourly) staff for both in-house and telecommuting employees. State law may also vary on definitions of employee rights and entitlements. Overtime compensation and the process telecommuters use to report overtime should be addressed in the telecommuting policy statement between the telecommuter and the company.  Also, the company must make sure that all hours worked, regular pay and overtime hours, are well documented.

The second important aspect to consider is employee travel.  Hourly employees whose primary office is at home must be paid for the time it takes them to travel to the company's office.  The company is not required to pay that employee for mileage, only for their time, and only if their main office is at home.  A primary office may be a location where the employee works over 50% of his/her time, although this is a general rule of thumb. These are terms of employment that should be addressed in the policy agreement between the telecommuter and the employer.

 

F. Do teleworkers have difficulty changing careers because they used to telecommute?

This question is most often asked because people think that telecommuters are employees that are "never around." In fact, some telecommuters are in the office more than they are at home. They usually work remotely only 1 or 2 days a week and are in the office the rest of the time. Therefore, they aren't easily forgotten. Also, most telecommuters are given the chance to work outside of the office because they show initiative, responsibility and decision making abilities.  In the long run, these are qualities that make a person an above-average candidate for promotion. There are no long term research studies (at least that we know of) that have addressed this question. [top]

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