The introduction of telecommuting several years ago was thought to be the way most of us would be working in today’s world of business. With the expansion of technological capabilities such as the Internet, telecommuting was heralded as an innovative approach that would allow many employees to work from home or from a remote-access center by connecting electronically with main offices and each other.

All the benefits – enhanced work-life balance, higher productivity, reduced traffic congestion, and reduced need for office space – were supposed to make telecommuting the best workplace enhancement since the introduction of the desktop computer itself. However, this predicted trend has yet to emerge as the dominant way of working. In fact, the number of telecommuters is estimated to be between 9 million and 24 million, much less than the 55 million workers that were expected to be telecommuting by the early part of this decade.

While telecommuting may still be considered an alternative work approach, the number of employers offering telecommuting programs is on the rise. The majority of Fortune 1,000 firms offer telecommuting, according to a 2001 report by Cutter Consortium LLC, an Arlington, Massachusetts-based IT business strategy company. Telecommuting in the U.S. alone increased by 21% in 2000 over the previous year.

If more programs are in place, why aren’t more employees able to take advantage of this work arrangement? Experts say reluctance by middle management is one of the biggest barriers to effective use of telecommuting. Part of the reason is that many employers still value and reward commitment to the office and being there to prove it. With this kind of work culture, how does it reflect on a manager whose department is nearly empty rather than bustling with busy workers? How likely are employees to take advantage of telecommuting if their performance is measured heavily on being seen in the office and the amount of "face-time" with their managers?

Altering this long-held cultural practice is the key to unleashing the efficiencies and benefits of telecommuting. Here are some tips for helping your organization embrace it:

• Provide managers and employees with written guidelines on the organization’s telecommuting program. These guidelines should explain how managers and employees can work collaboratively to ensure success of the effort.

• Give managers guidance in detailing which employees are eligible to telecommute. The American Telecommuting Association has on-line tools that help determine the employee’s affinity for telecommuting as well as the jobs and work that are suitable for a telecommuting arrangement.

• Make effective use of telecommuting as part of the criteria for the selection and promotion of management-level candidates. Human resources departments can take a leadership role in recruiting and developing managers who are already predisposed to alternative work options.

• Provide supervisors and managers with objective data that can help evaluate the effects of telecommuting on recruitment and retention efforts. This can be determined through targeted questions asked during new-hire and exit interviews.

• Select the best managers to help expand telecommuting, and make their successes an example within the organization. The best managers of telecommuters are good communicators who trust their employees and value their suggestions. They also tend to reward results.

• Target employees who are independent, focused, dependable, self-directed, self-motivated, and well-organized.

• Also look for employees who have been in their jobs long enough to have developed solid, successful relationships with their bosses and co-workers.

• Find staff who already spend 20 hours or more each week out of the office. These people are probably more comfortable working in alternative work settings and have a greater chance for success in telecommuting.

• Provide a trial period where employees get to practice working on their own out of the office and receive training in how to troubleshoot problems with the PCs, software, and other equipment they will use at home.

An effectively designed and managed program can increase productivity, reduce costs and boost employee retention. For example, the investment brokerage firm Merrill Lynch reported a 15-20% increase in productivity among their telecommuters, 3.5 fewer sick days a year, and a 6% decrease in turnover during the first year of their program.

For more information on building a telecommuting program, see the following resources:

www.knowledgetree.com

www.telecommute.org

www.langhoff.com

The Mining Company (Internet telecommuting links)

http://telecommuting.miningco.com/msub3.htm

http://www.sangabriel.com/telecommuting.htm

Telework and the New Workplace of the 21^st Century (DoL Report)

http://www.dol.gov/asp/telework/main.htm