Employers: Make Telecommuting Work for Your Company

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Being a telecommuter myself for three years now, I can say that the flexibility of work schedule, the freedom of when and where to work, and the savings I get from not having to commute or spend for meals outside benefited me greatly. I am much more productive now because of the less stress and my finances are getting better. Plus, working from home allows me to stay close to my family and afford me more time with my kids.
Just something I've noted. You mentioned how bosses can ensure their employees are really working while at home. In our company, we use a software called “TimeDoctor”— a time tracking and productivity monitoring software that not only logs work hours, it also takes periodic screenshots and monitors AFKs (away from keyboard). Bosses who are interested in making telecommuting work should check this app out, especially if they are having problems with regards to employee productivity.
That being said, thanks for this interesting read. I’m sure many people will find the answers they seek here.
As for additional tips, I found this interesting slideshow that discuss tools you can use to manage remote employees: http://www.slideshare.net/cloydwaldo/preparing-your-business-for-telecommuting

Barcaramon of AL 1:32AM July 25, 2012

With the availability of high speed internet and faster computers, the types of jobs that are available to work from home is increasing drastically.
If you visit any job portal (eg. Indeed) you will see there are thousands of legitimate work at home jobs posted by legitimate companies such as American Express, Humana, Enterprise Rent A Car, K Force etc.
The Work at home portals such as http://workathomejobsblog.net compiles work at home job opportunities from various sources.
Even jobs such as Nurse, Pharmacist etc. are now available to work from home.

Kishan of DC 6:41PM August 21, 2011

We continue to see companies embracing the work from home concept. In addition we are seeing more pure play work from home companies emerge given the social contract between employees and employers has changed.
Tamara
www.8athome.com

Tamara of FL 8:00AM August 21, 2011

If you are considering telecommuting for yourself or your employees, but are concerned about the quality of the home office environment, you might consider utilizing a remote office center. Remote offices provide quality infrastructure (office and network) for employees in a location that is more convenient to the employee and less expensive than many downtown office facilities.

AU of TX 11:10PM August 18, 2011

This is such an important topic! Often, employers are scared to try telecommuting because they believe that if they can't see their employees, they won't be able to tell if they're working or not. Building a trusting relationship is one of the most important parts of a telecommuting arrangement. I work for a company with a team of 16 telecommuters from all over the US and Europe, and our biggest management tool is COMMUNICATION for sure.
We use a variety of communication tools, including IM, a Yammer message board, email, phone, and weekly conference calls to stay connected. We all send our manager a monthly log of our activity, which tracks our daily work, so she has a great sense of how we're spending our time.
Part-time telecommuting is a great way for employers to "dip their toes" into the telecommuting arena without jumping in head-first and unprepared. The benefits are huge - decreased operating costs, increased productivity, lowered employee turn-over - I think all employers should give telecommuting a try.
There are two great websites for employers looking to start a telecommuting program - www.FlexJobs.com to find telecommuting job seekers and post telecommuting jobs, and www.FlexPaths.com to help employers start telecommuting programs. (the companies are partners, but not the same company)

Briana of GA 2:45PM August 18, 2011