Telecommuting Advisor

Recruiting: Enlisting Existing Staff for Telework

September 5, 2008 on 2:31 am | In Recruiting |

There are two approaches you can take as an employer to recruit employees for your telecommuting program. You can either select current employees and move their jobs offsite or hire entirely new employees who will function in a telework role. In this section, we’ll look at the using existing staff approach.

From the very beginning, please recognize that not everyone is cut out to be a teleworker. Here is some information for your consideration.

Traits of Successful Teleworkers

Telecommuting introduces some parameters that go beyond whether or not someone is skilled at their job. To be sure, being very familiar with job requirements and knowing how to do the job well are prerequisites. However, telecommuting experts report that there are other traits that also should be present to ensure that the telework arrangement is a successful one.

For starters, some individuals are more social than others and love the interaction they have with fellow workers in their work environment. They like the camaraderie and sense of team spirit that comes with associating with the same people day in and day out. To put them in a telework situation would lessen their opportunities to interact with others face-to-face and that might make them feel isolated and depressed.

A good candidate for telecommuting can still enjoy people interaction, but does not necessarily require that it be face-to-face. Excellent communication skills and a good command of technology are required because work is accomplished remotely without the benefit of visual queues and body language to guide the process. Telecommuters should be self-motivated, proven, results oriented performers. They need to achieve their work goals and objectives with a minimal amount of supervision and must be able to accomplish specific work tasks within a predetermined amount of time.

Some other personal attributes that successful teleworkers possess are:

• They enjoy working independently and are able to complete assignments without intervention.
• They stay connected with co-workers and the boss. They are proactive in their communications and take initiative to make sure they know what’s going on.
• Good organizational skills. They often don’t have the administrative support they had at the workplace, so they need to be self-reliant in this area.
• They are results oriented and comfortable setting priorities and deadlines.
• They still get out of the house. Successful telecommuters take advantage of opportunities to network with coworkers, peers and other colleagues and are active in professional organizations related to their line of work.
• They have the ability to separate home from work by having the discipline to keep personal tasks separate.
• They embrace and take advantage of technology to enable them accomplish things remotely efficiently and effectively.
• They know when to stop work. A downfall of many a telecommuter is the tendency to work too much or not know when to stop. As a result, their work and personal lives meld together.

Beyond personal traits, teleworkers need access to a quiet area or office space at home free from interruptions. Any child care or elder care arrangements that are required because of their family situation need to be in place. They also need the ability to be flexible about the telework arrangement in order to respond to the needs of their manager, workgroup, or employer.

Selection Criteria

In addition to demonstrated proficiency in the areas outlined above, companies should develop guidelines to assist in the screening of potential telecommuting candidates. The University of Michigan Telecommuting Task Force came up with the following recommended qualifications in their telecommuting guidelines:

• Telework candidates should have a good performance record with positive evaluations and no documented absenteeism problems.
• Telework candidates must be able to provide an appropriate telecommuting work environment that meets company standards.
• The Telework candidate must have worked at the company for a minimum of one year in an on-site position. If this is not possible, the manager needs to ensure that the candidate is familiar with company culture and environment.
• Telecommuting is appropriate for regular full-time employees, as opposed to temporary employees, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

In addition to all the prerequisites noted above, it cannot be overemphasized that the candidate should have the desire to telecommute. Being forced into a situation where they are not a willing participant can only be a setup for failure.

There are two sides to the telecommute equation. The teleworker’s supervisor should also meet a list of criteria. Telecommuting supervisors must:

• Possess above-average organizational, planning, and coaching skills
• Manage by work produced and not hours worked
• Demonstrate good communication skills (both electronic and face-to-face)
• Maintain the ability to establish and evaluate well-defined measurable objectives and goals
• Provide timely and constructive feedback
• Build a relationship of mutual trust and respect with the teleworker

Perils and Pitfalls

From the onset, it must be recognized that for some employees, telecommuting will not work out. Not everyone will thrive in this role, regardless of the preparation and support that might have gone into the effort. To plan for this possibility, the telework agreement should provide provisions for employees to revert to a non-telework role. See the Policies and Procedures page for more information on this.

Another area where you are likely to encounter issues are in situations where willing employees have not been selected for a telecommute role, either because the nature of their job does not lend itself to telecommuting or because the employee’s attributes are unsuitable. Having a clearly defined process with well-established criteria for selection will help to alleviate problems of perceived inequities or favoritism. Just as in the hiring or promotion process, some candidates are successful and some are not. There may be disappointment, but there should also be understanding.

The mindset of some managers, who will not permit their people to telecommute, can also cause problems with employees whose positions are clearly eligible. This issue should be addressed at the upper levels of management where executive-level support for the concept should be communicated and demonstrated.