TELECOMMUTING: EFFECTIVELY MANAGINGTHE TELECOMMUTING EMPLOYEE

摘要

Environmental pressures are pushing business organizations to adopt telecommuting, while technologicalrnbarriers to telecommuting are diminishing. These factors are contributing to the overall trend of increasedrnutilization of telecommuting employees (TCE). Therefore it is crucial for business organizations to recognizernwhich functions can be successfully transferred to TCEs, which characteristics an ideal TCE should possess,rnas well as the challenges of managing from a distance. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview ofrntelecommuting and identify opportunities for research that are relevant to both practitioners and academicrnresearchers.rnThe environmental pressures are leading organizations to pursue the utilization of TCEs as a viable solutionrnto cost reduction, disaster recovery, and hiring in areas of low unemployment. Incorporating TCEs into thernworkforce can reduce requirements for parking, office space equipment, utility costs, and incremental overtimernpay. Cost savings can also be realized by local municipalities as roadway and access requirements, congestionrnof public transportation systems, and pollution are reduced. TCEs have also proven to be an integral part ofrncontinuing operations after catastrophic events such as the earthquakes in California that crippledrntransportation systems and the terrorist attacks in New York City. Low unemployment in areas in which anrnorganization has a physical presence can make it difficult to fill open positions; However, an organization canrnovercome this difficulty by hiring qualified TCEs in areas of the country with higher unemployment. In addition,rndiminishing technological barriers are also influencing the increased utilization of TCEs, which includernreductions in the cost of telecommunications, increased bandwidth, faster computer processing, and user-friendlyrnsoftware, equipment, and channels for web access.rnOnce a decision is made to incorporate TCEs into the workforce the organization must identify functions thatrncan be successfully performed by a TCE. In order to facilitate success it is also important to test potential TCEsrnfor basic skills, a willingness to ask for help when needed, an ability to work on their own, and an overallrnunderstanding of the nature of the job. One of the most important issues in facilitating the success of a TCErnis effectively managing the TCE from a distance. This involves trusting the TCE to do the work, providingrneffective motivation, providing training and support, monitoring their productivity level, supplying all necessaryrnequipment, paying for high speed connections, addressing increased security risks, and fostering socialrninteraction with other employees within the organization. Therefore research is needed to identify measuresrnof successful utilization of TCEs, the functions TCEs can successfully perform, the skills and psychologicalrncharacteristics of an ideal TCE employee, effective training and support, and a means to involve the TCE asrna member of the social work environment.