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Telecommuting aids companies in talent recruitment, employee retention
A recent study by The Polling Company Inc. estimates that 25 percent of U.S. workers are telecommuting from home or another off-site location.
Though the concept has been around since the 1970s, many signs indicate that telecommuting is on a fast-track adoption rate. Indeed, 84 percent of the companies on Fortune's 2008 list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" offer employees the option to telecommute for at least 20 percent of their work schedule.
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A look inside the modern telecommuter's toolkit
There was a time when a telecommuter's toolkit included little more than a computer with high-speed Internet and email. These days, however, there are applications that enable home-office workers to operate as smoothly as their cube farm counterparts.
Mastering the long-distance relationship
Telecommuters have a more difficult time fostering relationships with managers and colleagues because they're physically absent from the office's daily grind. To ensure a successful telecommuting relationship, remote workers need to take extra steps to build trust and camaraderie and be recognized as a valuable team member.
Businesses with telecommuters should take precautions to eliminate risks
Telecommuting can be a win-win scenario. Business owners save a bit on overhead expenses and gain access to talented professionals no matter where they live, and telecommuters enjoy the flexibility of working from home. However, employers with telecommuters should take additional steps to safeguard company trade secrets and other information.
Setting a tone from the top is key to managing a remote workforce
In the age of Web 2.0, the definition of "workplace" is changing. Given the right tools, an employee can crank out a day's work, participate in meetings and never step foot in the office. A company can slash overhead expenses by leveraging a remote workforce, but this introduces new challenges. If left unchecked, a business can suffer from poor internal communication, inefficient processes and an ambivalent culture....
Experts share time management tips for the home office professional
If you're working from home, don't multitask, don't fail to set priorities, and whatever you do, don't let the people on the other end of the conference call hear the microwave ding -- or the toilet flush.
Get real results from virtual meetings with these helpful tips
There are a host of integrated audio, video and chat tools that allow people on opposite coasts to do business online and in real time. But if you don't learn the terrain before trekking into this virtual environment, all that technology isn't worth a hill of beans.
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