6
Steps To Successful Telecommuting
Advances
in telecommunication and IP technologies
has enabled millions of Americans to free
themselves from the office environment
and become what is now commonly known
as "telecommuters".
The
1990s saw a rise in the popularity of
telecommuting and there seems to be no
end in sight. The International Telework
Association and Council predicts that
a full one third of the workforce- up
to 50 million workers-will telecommute
full or part-time by the end of 2006.
The
obvious benefits of increased flexibility
and less travel time for workers makes
telecommuting an attractive choice for
many. But employees are not the only ones
to benefit from full or part-time telecommuting.
By allowing their staff the convenience
of working from home, business owners
experience lower overhead, an increase
in employee productivity, and a higher
level of employee satisfaction.
Is
telecommuting right for you?
Unfortunately
for some, many jobs are simply not prime
candidates for telecommuting. Careers
that require physical labor, or require
facilities such as a lab, hospital, etc.
are obvious non-telecommuting scenarios.
Employees or management executives who
spend much of their time attending meetings
or who need to interact with employees
face-to-face probably will find the need
to spend much of their time on-site.
But
for those that spend the majority of their
day in front of a computer, on the phone
or for those that simply do not need to
be physically in the office five days
a week, telecommuting can be the perfect
fit.
Confronting
the telecommuting issues
Once
the decision has been made to allow for
the option of telecommuting, both employee
and employer need to agree on a number
of basic issues. The following points
can serve as a checklist and step-by-step
process for successfully implementing
a seamless telecommuting solution that
works for everyone.
1.
Decide on which employees will be allowed
to telecommute. Before implementing
any technological aspects of telecommuting,
the first step is to determine which employees
or specific job positions can benefit
the most from a telecommuting scenario.
Individual work habits of employees should
be considered as a basis for identifying
possible telecommuting candidates. Working
from home carries with it distractions
that are not present in the office environment.
Personal phone calls, a crying baby, friendly
neighbors, television, and a variety of
other distractions can be counterproductive
to those who do not have the discipline
it takes to be a telecommuter. In the
beginning, allow just a few workers telecommuting
privileges so that all the "bugs"
can be worked out.
2.
Decide on a PC. Virtually all employees
will probably already own a home based
PC. The first step for successful telecommuting
is to decide on whose PC to use. If the
decision is made to use the already existing
home PC, the machine will need to be updated
with e-mail profiles, VPN and firewall
software, and the appropriate applications
needed to do the job. It is also a good
idea to partition hard drive space to
be used for work only and also to implement
a reliable means for data storage and
backup. Most importantly, the home PC
will require current and up-to-date virus
software to be installed at all times.
A
better choice is to have the employer
provide a laptop PC that can easily be
transported between home and office. With
this option, all of the appropriate software
can be installed by the company's IT department.
The convenience of a portable laptop also
makes for easy maintenance, repair or
replacement if necessary.
3.
Decide on the Internet connection. The
essence of telecommuting involves the
transfer of information from one location
to another. Since telecommuting requires
transfer of both data and voice, a high-speed
Internet connection in the home is required
- a dial-up connection simply won't cut
it. Not only is dial-up painfully slow
for even the most simple tasks, it will
never be able to handle voice and data
due to the low bandwidth and high latency.
Implement the fastest Internet connection
possible-you won't regret it.
4.
Decide on telephony endpoints in the home.
Once the broadband connection is in
place, you'll need to decide on just how
the telecommuter will make and receive
phone calls. For purposes of reliability
and ease in which others can reach the
telecommuter, it is best to have a variety
of telephony endpoints in the home. Certainly
you will need to decide on an IP-based
telephone. It is also a good idea to equip
the telecommuter with a IP headset to
enable hands-free communication. In addition,
having a cell phone in place provides
for one additional access point.
The
IP-based phone eliminates the need for
the telecommuter to use their home phone
number for business, as well as the need
to have two separate business phone numbers.
The IP phone can be set up to provide
one number access from both home and office.
Since the phone uses the same data connection
as the employee's e-mail and file access,
it provides seamless access to voicemail
and other features used most often within
the office environment.
Although
the IP phone is the best choice, a more
economical option is to connect an analog
phone to a one-port gateway in the home.
The disadvantage of this option is that
it does not provide all the features of
an IP-based phone such as caller ID, message
waiting, etc.
5.
Set up VPN access and Firewalls. Undoubtedly
the telecommuter will need access to files
located on the corporate file servers.
The next step is to set up VPN access
and firewalls so that the user can safely
and easily access corporate files over
the Internet. The necessity for VPN access
is also another good reason to use a company
owned laptop.
6.
Configure existing PBX with a gateway
extension. To provide remote workers
with the full benefits of PBX functionality-i.e.
complete voicemail features, access to
calling plan discounts, access to corporate
directories, call transfer capabilities,
auto attendant, etc. it is advisable to
implement a PBX extension or gateway to
the existing PBX.
With
the PBX-IP gateway, callers can reach
the telecommuter by simply dialing the
telecommuters normal office number. If
the telecommuter is unable to answer,
the call will automatically be forwarded
to their office voicemail box. The telecommuter
connects to the corporate gateway and
eventually to the corporate PBX using
their IP phone, their IP headset or their
analog phone connected to their one-port
home gateway.
The
rise in popularity of telecommuting makes
sense mainly because it benefits both
employee and employer. In response to
changing market demands and resources,
many companies are now turning to telecommuting
solutions to not only reduce expenses,
but to offer their employees a more flexible
and satisfying work environment.
