More from the IQPC confab.
This blog is by Doug Utley, a Raleigh, N.C.-based partner for management
consulting firm ScottMadden.
Telecommuting
continues to spread across the business world. Now it's arriving in shared services.
Thing is, shared-services centers often are staffed by non-exempt employees accustomed
to close supervision. Allowing these staffers to telecommute presents both
positives and negatives.
Before
even considering such a set-up, companies need to nail down some prerequisites.
You need responsible employees, obviously, but also policies in place governing
the telecommuting, with the first one being that it's a privilege, not a right.
Remote software capabilities need to have adequate bandwidth and probably ought
to be facilitated by VoIP systems. You'll also need remote monitoring and
training software.
Got
it all? Then consider the advantages of allowing your shared-service employees
to telecommute. They include: the chance for improved productivity because commuting
time goes to zero, better work-life balances and morale, a larger pool of potential employees and less reliance on
"face time" to measure employee achievement.
The
negatives are manageable but real: Scheduling challenges, virtual workers not
set up to "team" well with at-the-center employees, less flexibility in moving
employees from job to job and, of course, a lack of direct supervision.
A further word on the teambuilding aspect: Service centers are built to spark
team work. So employees need to be there long enough to become part of the team
before being granted the privilege of telecommuting. That could take as
much as a year or longer.
Organizations
also need to take a look across the whole operation and ask: "How much telecommuting
should be allowed? What's the max? What's the ideal? The answers to
those very important questions will be influenced by the corporate culture and
the past experiences, if any, with telecommuting.
I'd
love to hear about your shared-service telecommuting experiences and
impressions.
Do you have a question, comment or suggestion?
