Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

7 Things the CIO Should Know About Telecommuting

IT workers who telecommute share advice for their bosses about the process, technology, and attitudes necessary for staff to be productive when they work from home
Page:

Reader ROI

  • How not to create dissension, distrust and workflow confusion
  • What processes help remote workers interact with other team members
  • Who pays for what when you have teleworkers

Telecommuting provides employees with the flexibility and quiet they need to optimize their productivity. Plus, it offers employers opportunities to save money and recruit workers from a more geographically diverse — and potentially cheaper — talent pool. For IT professionals, telecommuting is certainly the best work/life option.

However, working from home isn't always easy for individuals or employers. For telecommuting arrangements to work for both parties, employees need to be self-motivated, have access to the necessary technology (such as a high-speed Internet connection and a VPN), and clearly define job duties that can be accomplished remotely. At the same time, employers need to make their teleworkers feel like they're a part of the team, integrate telecommuters into workflows and judge employee productivity by results rather than visual cues.

But too often, IT management doesn't understand the key issues that can affect productivity and team morale. Managers can make painful and expensive errors even when their hearts are in the right place. If you get telecommuting right, you'll have a crew of independent technologists who get their jobs done efficiently; if not, you'll create dissension, distrust and workflow confusion.

For telecommuting to succeed, you may need to change, or at least examine, a team's workflow

You don't have to repeat others' expensive mistakes. Several telecommuting IT professionals were willing to share their insights (via e-mail) about the benefits the practice brings to the enterprise, processes that help remote workers interact with other team members, and the irritations that twist telecommuters' knickers in a knot. Here's what your employees truly want you to know about telecommuting.

Telecommuters also need to adopt techniques for working at home, both to keep their sanity and to move their career along (see "Telecommuters Need to Develop Special Skills").

Page:

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: AMEC, Boss, Critical Path, Gizmo, Microsoft, PLUS, Speed, Sun Microsystems, Telelogic, Transportation, VIA
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Fibre Channel over Ethernet
    Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) is the proposed industry standard being developed by an ecosystem of Fibre Channel and networking product vendors to drive network convergence in the enterprise data center. The technology will map native Fibre Channel traffic onto Ethernet frames, and be capable of benefiting from proposed enhancements to Ethernet. FCoE’s Ethernet compatibility will leverage the ubiquity and economics of Ethernet networks while preserving the infrastructure, strengths, and tools of the existing Fibre Channel storage management framework.
    Learn more »
  • Yes. We. Can. Flexible Policy 2.0
    Social media may have changed the way we do business, but the rules of engagement are still the same. Dynamic business environments call for flexibility. Context is everything when it comes to deciding what information needs to be blocked or controlled, and when. Read this whitepaper.
    Learn more »
  • Justifying Business Intelligence Applications
    This white paper explores the decision criteria used in a build vs. buy scenario when considering the Oracle BI Applications. The major benefits of the BI Applications will be discussed in the framework of an overall buy vs. build argument.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments

HP and IDG news, product videos and resources