Six Things to Consider Before You Go Office-less

Can you see an office-less company in your
future? Estimates of how many people telecommute and how often they do
it vary widely, but the result is the same: telework is growing rapidly.

According to the research firm Forrester,
more than 34 million U.S. adults telecommute occasionally and an
estimated 63 million will do so by 2016. The latest American Community
Survey data reveals that some 2.8 million American workers — or just
over 2% of the working population — consider home their
primary place of work
 (the data excludes self-employed or unpaid
volunteers). Meanwhile, the number
of people working from home
 at least one day a month, according to WorldatWork
Telework Trends
, grew from 9.5 million in 1999 to 17.2 million in
2008
.

The numbers, though varied, all point to one immutable fact: the
workplace of the future is our home.

What’s behind the accelerating trend? Based on the number of articles
on blogs, questions on LinkedIn discussion
boards, and a recent report
on telecommuting
 in Inc. magazine, going virtual is a
decision many CEOs and owners are wrestling with. It seems that the
convergence of technology, a changing
workforce
 and recession that forced most companies to look for new
ways to cut costs enticed many executives and business owners to take a
hard look at taking their company virtual.

The most tantalizing and obvious benefit of going virtual is
significant savings: no rent, no building maintenance, no fees, no real
estate taxes. Getting rid of the office and working remotely also has
appeal to younger workers, new parents and contract workers. It is also
better for the planet.

But eliminating the costs of owning, renting and maintaining an
office has a blinding appeal if the CEO/business owner doesn’t have his
eyes wide open.

I was one of those business owners who took the plunge into the
depths of the virtual business world a few months ago. For the record, I
had been the teleworker in my business for the previous six years. For
those six years, my employees went to work in an office — and I worked
remotely. When it came time to renew the lease, my employees and I
evaluated several alternative office locations including staying put.
But after very little deliberation, they opted to work from home. The
decision was made. My business would become office-less.

All-in-all, we have no regrets. In fact, the transition was virtually
uneventful (pun intended!), barring a few technology hurdles and
hitches. But compared to over a dozen moves during the past three
decades — a combination of business and residential — going virtual was a
piece of cake.

Despite the rosy picture I’ve painted, I will be the first to point
out that a virtual business is not for everyone. Based on my
experiences, I recommend management, partners and employees consider the
following questions.

1. Have all the
senior managers, owners and/or partners worked virtually before?

If not, I’d encourage everyone to take the next 30 or more days to work
from home and see how it works. Spending your entire adult life working
in an office causes you to develop habits, such as eating lunch with
co-workers or scheduling meetings to break up the day. Working from home
disrupts the routine. You may like it or hate it. If the decision to go
virtual is already a done deal, this time will give management the
opportunity to work out the technical glitches and emotional hiccups.

2. Do the same thing for your
employees.
 Even if you provide the technology for everyone to
work virtually, not all your employees may be disciplined enough or
comfortable enough to do so. In other words, do you have the right
people in place to do this? In addition, do the employees have space for
a home office or will they be forced to use the kitchen table? What
about office furniture and equipment? Who will provide it and where will
they put it?

3. How will you hold out-of-sight
employees accountable?
Even if your employees don’t always get
along in the traditional office space, a co-worker or manager is only a
few steps away from a face-to-face meeting when it comes time to work
out a disagreement, adjust priorities, mentor an employee or collaborate
on a project. When everyone is working remotely, you have altered roles
and responsibilities. Instead of employing a group of competent
generalists, the expectation is now one based on specialists who are
productive, efficient, and good at meeting deadlines without someone
looking over their shoulder. Are your employees ready and able for this
challenge?

4. When working remotely,
high-speed connectivity is critical.
 Don’t assume every
employee has the bandwidth capacity to work from home on a regular
basis. In fact, some employees in rural or remote locations may be
limited to dial-up or unreliable connectivity. Other workers may not
have purchased the fastest Internet service package. Who will pay for
the upgrades and monthly service fees? How will co-workers communicate
with one another and with clients? Will they use home and/or mobile
phones or will you (the employer) be setting up a VOIP
(Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol) phone system? Where will your data be
stored — on a server or in the cloud? In either case, how will employees
access the data? Who will be responsible for setting up and maintaining
the necessary technology in each employee’s home?

5. How will your customers react?
Will a virtual home alter your “brand” or client’s perception?  Where
will you hold client meetings? Will the neighbors, customers and
competitors think you have gone out of business and going virtual is a
prelude to shutting down the business altogether? If employees meet
clients, prospects and vendors in their homes, will the setting be
business-like enough for the guests? 

6. Supervising employees in a
virtual business opens up a quagmire of the unknown.
Compliance
with compensation, benefits and safety guidelines are still the
responsibility of the employer. But OSHA
and Fair
Labor Standards Act
are still based on the traditional workplace and
predicated on a static work week. How will you hire and train new hires
and develop current employees? How will you monitor hours worked? What
about overtime? How will you handle a dismissal of a terminated
employee? If terminated, how will you retrieve the equipment, furniture
and data? It’s not like you can escort the employee out of their own
home and pack up their belongings in a box.

It’s my belief that many businesses will go virtual over the next few
years. But I also believe that many will fail if the decision is driven
by the allure of cost savings alone. The savings won’t compensate for
productivity loss and mismanagement due to human factors relating to
working virtually and remotely.

Are you ready to go virtual?

Click here to learn more about Telecommuting
by the Numbers

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