Telecommuting in the 21st Century: How to Implement or Improve Virtual Teams and Flexible Work in Your Organization (Part 1: Intro/Why Telework?)

I was happy to hear that Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine declared today (Monday, August 3rd) as Telework Day for the State of Virginia. Although this started as a statewide effort to “green” Virginia and reduce energy consumption and efficiency – many are adopting this as a national initiative and encouraging organizations and individuals to telework from home or a remote location.

We thought this was a perfect opportunity for us to launch our 13 part audio series on Flexible Work and Telecommuting –  “Telecommuting in the 21st Century: How to Implement or Improve Virtual Teams and Flexible Work in Your Organization“.  It’s no surprise that given the hassles of air travel, rising fuel prices, and today’s economy that telecommuting is becoming even more attractive as a win/win situation for many organizations. While in no way a new practice – many companies are looking for tips and best practices for how to implement or improve telecommuting in their organization. So we are here to help!

Starting today and for the next 13 weeks we will be providing a series of audio posts from a recent teleseminar featuring a panel of experts answering some of the most pressing questions regarding implementing or improving a telework program.

The 13 weeks will cover the following topics:

• Part 1: Why Telework? A look at the reasons a company should consider offering telecommuting as an option and an overview of some of the benefits
• Part 2: What Jobs are right for Telework or Remote Work? Identify job types that are suitable for remote work.
• Part 3: What to Look for in a Telework Candidate? How to evaluate candidates for telecommuting consideration based on a number of factors.
• Part 4: What Makes a Good Telework Manager? A look at what qualities and best practices are needed for managing remote employees.
• Part 5: Common Telecommuting Pitfalls. A discussion on some of the typical challenges organizations face when implementing telework and how to avoid them.
• Part 6: The Ground Rules. Some essentials to discuss with HR and your employees to make sure everyone is on the same page.
• Part 7: Where Do We Start? Steps for successful implementation and how to get started.
• Part 8: Managing Expectation. The importance of having clear measurable objective, getting feedback, and training.
• Part 9: Security and Confidentiality. Tips for how to maintain the security and confidentiality of your data and work product
• Part 10: Keeping At Home Workers Safe. How to ensure safety to reduce risk of injury and limit liability
• Part 11: Legal, HR, and Tax Issues. Common questions regarding workers compensation, wage vs. hourly employees, and home office deductions.
• Part 12: Next Steps. A discussion of how to conduct research, setup your pilot program, and roll out your telecommuting program.
• Part 13: Q&A. Our panel of experts answer questions from those who attended the teleseminar.

These 13 posts/sessions comprise over an hour of informative content and will provide you with all the information you need to help you evaluate if telecommuting is a good fit for your business and how to get started or improve your virtual team work.

So let’s jump right in: Part 1 – Why Telework?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:16 — 8.5MB)

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Here is a brief introduction to our panel that will be sharing their expertise with you.

OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS:

Jeff Zbar : The founder of ChiefHomeOfficer.com works with corporations hoping to better target the small business and emerging home office and teleworking markets, as well as those individuals striving to enter or excel in those arenas. Jeff serves as a Subject Matter Expert for marketers to help them understand and target small business owners and home officers. Several times a year, Jeff partners with top brands in the small or home office (SOHO) segment to host satellite and
ground media tours, and frequently is engaged to lead seminars, moderate panel discussions or present as a keynote speaker on topics related to entrepreneurship trends, home officing, telework, and emerging work trends.

Part expert, part spokesman, Jeff is all insight – revealing how the latest technology, Web services and other products can help small business owners, home officers, teleworkers and many others work more efficiently and live more completely amid a balanced work/life experience. Jeff acts as the facilitator for our discussion on telecommuting.

Rachel Hastings: The Vice President of WFC Resources Inc. She has over 17 years experience in international business and marketing and has also lived and worked in the U.K. and Mexico. She has worked with the public and private sectors in refocusing services toward changing demographic profiles and in considering the needs of the future workforce and workplace.

Rachel works with employers to implement policies and practices which bring about flexible, effective and  innovative work practices. She speaks to and trains groups of all sizes , from C-level through to employees. She was also the project manager for an award-winning local government initiative in the UK which brought together an inter-agency group of health and social services workers, building relationships and utilizing technology to enable them to work collaboratively in rural areas.

Phil Montero: An advocate of working virtually? It would be more precise to say that Phil Montero is an evangelist for distributed work. He’s been the spearhead of the remote work movement for more than a decade: teaching how to work effectively from a home office, the road, or practically anywhere.

The consultant, writer, speaker, and coach is the founder of YouCanWorkFromAnywhere.com and TheAnywhereOffice.com as well as CEO of Montero Consulting, an eBusiness and workplace consulting firm that assists organizations to leverage mobile work technology and create effective virtual teams.

Montero, author of Lose Your Commute and a series of mobile work tip books, has been cited, quoted, and reviewed in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, PC World, Telecommuting for Dummies and more.

Want the whole story?
Listen to all 13 parts of Telecommuting in the 21st Century.

We hope you find this audio series useful – please take a moment to post a comment and share your thoughts and feedback with us below!

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