Telecommuting Team Members: How To Do It Right

 

One of the most dreaded events for a project manager happened to me the other day. I was in my office when a team member came in, sat down and closed the door. Everything was fine until she closed the door. Whenever a co-worker closes the door, project managers get nervous.

My team member said she needed to talk with me. I half-expected to see a white envelope with her resignation. Instead, she asked me for a favor (phew!). She told me about her lousy commute and how tired she was when she arrived at the office. I nodded, agreeing that the drive was lousy. Then she asked her favor: She wanted to know if she could start telecommuting.

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I thought about this for a moment. I did not know if the company had a formal policy on telecommuting, so I was not sure what to do. In prior lives, I allowed people to telecommute and use flextime, and I saw no reason not to allow it here. However, this request would be a first for our project group and for this team member.

As more companies offer--and more employees ask for--telecommuting options, project managers will need to deal with these requests. Here are some steps to help you evaluate and put in place a telecommuting program for your team members.

Evaluate the Work
Before looking at policies or procedures, take a close look at the work being performed. Can the team member's work be performed from anywhere without affecting the performance of the team? In software development, there are times when developers can work away from the office and be quite productive. However, there are other times--such as during testing--when the development team should be together to observe and react to the test event. Evaluate whether the work can be done remotely.

Evaluate the Worker
Understanding the habits of the team member is just as critical as evaluating the work. Telecommuting relies on elements of trust between both parties. The team trusts the telecommuting worker to deliver products when promised and to be available for questions. Likewise, the team member trusts the team and the project manager to keep them connected and involved in the project. Before agreeing to proceed with a telecommuting arrangement, you need to be comfortable with the work ethic of the team member.

Check the Assignments
Is this team member solely committed to your project or have they been committed to multiple projects? If they are committed to your project, then you can establish a telecommuting schedule for the team member. However, if the worker is involved in several projects, they may be asking you because the other project manager rejected the idea. When a shared resource requests to telecommute, you and the other project managers need to come to an agreement about how this will work in terms of tasking and schedule.

Check with YOUR Manager
Having established that the team member's work habits, tasks and schedule are amenable to telecommuting, making the option a possibility, go to your manager and raise the issue. Your manager will work with you to decide how to approach this arrangement. If the company has a telecommuting policy, they will direct you to human resources or some employee manual to review. If not, your manager will know what the general corporate feeling is toward telecommuting. You may work in an office where such activities are discouraged (the "if I don't see you, then you're not working" syndrome), or you may work at a place where it has never been tried, or has been tried and failed. Your manger will give you insights into how to go about this. Going to your manager also gives you a cover to say that you went to your manager and they approved it.

Establish the Ground Rules
If you get a green light to proceed, begin to lay down the ground rules. Telecommuting is not a chance to catch up on laundry but is an opportunity to give workers a change of scenery. Meet with the team member to set the expectations of the schedule and lay down basic ground rules for the telecommuter. Your rules might include:

• Requiring that at least one day a week the team member must work in the office. This day can coincide with team meetings to update the team member on efforts and to let them update others on their progress. The first day of the week works best to set the priorities for the rest of the week.
• Ensuring that the team member should have the ability to receive phone calls and e-mails to communicate with the team. Depending upon the nature of your work, Internet connectivity may also be a requirement.
• Setting times of availability during the workday. The telecommuting worker may start work earlier than when in the office and, thus, may end their day earlier. If that is acceptable, fine. If not, the workday needs to be defined by the project manager.

Start the Work and Keep Them Informed
Once you've set the ground rules together, start the program. Tell the rest of the team that this team member will be telecommuting on what days and pass out the pertinent contact information. Monitor the communications between the telecommuting team member and the rest of the team. If there are problems, intercede and work the issues.

As the effort proceeds, the project manager must work to keep the telecommuting worker involved and informed. Treat the telecommuting worker as though they were working onsite at a client location. If there are any project changes, let them know. If company changes any policies that may affect them, make sure they get the information. Nothing ruins morale like the feeling of disenfranchisement. Staying in the loop keeps the telecommuting worker engaged.

Emphasize and Conduct Reviews
When meeting with the team member to discuss the arrangement, make sure to stress the fact that the telecommuting arrangement will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. This puts the team member on notice that, depending upon the situation, the telecommuting arrangement can be suspended or stopped.

Schedule a regular time to meet privately with the telecommuter to review her progress. Discuss with the team member what has worked and what hasn't worked about the arrangement. If things are working well, say so and continue the effort. If something isn't working quite right, or if the telecommuter's work product has suffered, let them know and work with them to resolve the situation. Remember that suspending the program is always an option.

Telecommuting is a great idea for allowing team members a break from the office and a chance to reinvigorate their spirit. However, it may not be suitable for every worker. You, as the project manager, are responsible for setting the expectations of the telecommuter and for monitoring their effort. Using these steps will help you and the telecommuter understand the arrangement for the benefit of your team member and your company.

Paul Harder, JD, has been managing projects for a variety of commercial and government clients for more than 13 years. His experience ranges from requirements gathering, system design and development, and legal research and analysis. Paul currently works for Acton Burnell in Alexandria, Virginia, and can be reached at [email protected].