Experts managing remote workforce?

Caroliso

We've had a request from a PD for help thinking about how to manage people who work primarily offsite from home offices.

Where would I start looking for such a resource, or does anyone have people to recommend? We're thinking we might bring in a consultant to speak with all interested staff, particularly PDs.

TN HR

Are you asking about the actual supervision or more along the lines of the administration piece? I'll give you my thoughts on the latter since, IMO, if you haven't nailed down the earlier, you shouldn't even be considering this.

You may start with an IT consultant (or your own IT folks) in order to get the IT resources set-up. I would imagine a VPN (virtual private network) with high-speed access at the home offices so people have access to network resources and shared files. I would strongly reccomend serving all files from a server at your main office. It will certainly make transitions easier down the road if you have to term a remote employee.

You may also want to consider outsourcing benefits admin, payroll, insurance, etc to a company that offers phone as well as web-based, self-service features.

Now, timekeeping/payroll! You may want to consider a program like Kronos that allows you to submit timecards/records online from any web browser. The remotee ee enters the time, the supervisor (wherever he/she may be located) approves and then it gets loaded to your payroll admin's files.

I'm sure there's a lot more, but this is a start.

Caroliso

Thanks, TN, I am indeed asking about the supervision part. We have a lot of what you describe in place for folks (including IT) who work from home after normal business hours, on the weekends, or while travelling.

The question has to do with anticipating and planning for the challenges of supervising a telecommuting workforce before a supervisor grants permission to do this.

It occurs to me I just received an e-mail about a report on this, possibly from the group that runs this website.

You've given me another idea, however. I bet some IT consulting groups have folks who can speak to the supervision side of this.

Brad Forrister

Yes indeedy, our latest HR Executive Special Report is on telecommuting. It does deal with management issues, including the planning part and the important determination of who's a good candidate for telecommuting.

[url]http://www.hrhero.com/specialreport/[/url]

Brad Forrister
VP/Content
M. Lee Smith Publishers