CIO Magazine has just published an article called Seven Things the CIO Should Know About Telecommuting (found via SlashDot) by Esther Schindler. The summary is:

1. Telecommuting saves money for the company - you will save on lower office expenses for the telecommuter, you can hire people in different locales for less money than you would have to pay locally.
2. Telecommuters can be more productive - Many people thrive in a quieter environment, away from the hustle and bustle. Face time can sometimes be inverse to productivity.
3. Telecommuting doesn’t work for everyone - You need to be self-motivated and be able to be away from the social outlets that an office can provide in order to be a successful telecommuter
4. Trust your people - Having workers out of the office is not possible unless you trust them to be able to work away from your scrutiny.
5. Hone management skills for telecommuting - Communication is key. You have to be able to adapt your management style to focus on the parts of the job that need emphasis for the remote worker.
6. Keep the telecommuter in the loop -Email, IM, phone - make sure that you stay connected with them, and they stay connected with you. They are still part of the team.
7. Tools and technology make the difference - Get them a good computer, help them outfit their home-office, set up a VPN, pay for their office-related expenses, buy them a second (or third!) computer.

In short, telecommuting is a viable way for employees to work efficiently and productively, providing that they are supported by their employer and supervisor. See the article for more information and thoughts on the subject.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 27th, 2007 by Yaakov Ellis and is filed under Articles, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Tags: cio, management, managers, productivity, technology, tips
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