Managing Your Telecommuters

Choosing to hire telecommuters can be advantageous to both the hiring company and the employee. And telecommuters are a growing industry, being chosen by more employees looking to tighten their budget and by more companies trying to find a better employee system. Telecommuting employees can be a great choice for a company, because they cut down on time employees have to miss work due to illness or transportation problems, plus, employees are more prone to spend their time working if they do not have the distraction of co-workers. Although the idea of managing telecommuters may seem daunting, it can actually be quite an easy task.

Make sure you plan out how the telecommuting will work for each employee. Make sure goals are set into place for the employee’s work day or week and that the person has a strong understanding of the company’s long-term goals. Since they will have to make unsupervised choices, it is imperative that they know what the company is about and what they are looking for. By setting goals, the manager/employee relationship is sure to go smoothly.

 

A legal agreement needs to be written to protect both the employee and the company. The written agreement should be a contract of sorts that should go over all of the employee’s responsibilities, as well as expected work hours and any other aspect of the job. This agreement is imperative to avoid miscommunication and greater problems.

 

Make sure your employee has all of the equipment they will need to do their job efficiently. This should include telephone service, high speed internet access, a quality computer with all pertinent software installed, a web cam if needed, and any other equipment required fro the employee to complete their work.

 

Finally, set up a check-in system where the employee reports to the manager each day either via phone or email to give progress and goal reports. It is important to make sure the employee is accountable for their work. 

 

By following these steps, it is easy to set up a telecommuter situation. All it takes is hiring the right people and managing them correctly, ad the situation can be equally helpful for both parties involved.  And the situation can be a stress-free one for both the employee and the manager.