COVID-19: A Crash Course in Remote Work - Page 2 of 3

Employers

Telecommuting Plans

The first step is to develop a telecommuting plan. This will help you think about your business and how remote work can fit it.

Define who is eligible. Most people think eligibility has to do with the role or a job function. This might be true. Some positions lend themselves to teleworking better than others. Decide which positions are eligible and when.
- Positions: Sales positions spend most of the time on the road and field production agronomist are in fields away from the main office, so these people are used to being remote, even if these positions are not regularly called remote. Plant geneticists that require specialized equipment and lab space, might not be able to work remotely. Similarly warehouse managers, need to be in the warehouse most of the time, so there will be fewer opportunities for teleworking.
- When: The receptionist might not be eligible for long-term teleworking or weekly teleworking, because he needs to be in the office. However, if he has a fever and feels up to working then the calls be transferred to a phoneline at his house. Similarly, most of the plant geneticists work might be done in the lab, but there are always data entry, data analysis, and report writing days that can be done remotely. With the proper planning and technology, most employee can successfully work from home some days.
Define who is suitable. Not everyone has the personality to work remotely. Many people need to go to the office. Employees that work best remotely are generally self-starters, not easily distracted, comfortable working alone, and people that have a proven history of managing their own work to meet goals and deadlines. No one wants to be set up to fail and managers will require special training to help teleworking employees succeed. If someone cannot meet their deadlines, then they may not be suitable for regular teleworking.
Create a policy. This might be the hardest part. It’s critical to think through many different aspects of what a work from home agreement will look like. This will be different if the employee is working from home in the short-term because of an illness or if it is an ongoing benefit that the company offers. In this section, it’s important to ask as many questions as possible to prevent issues later on.
- Expenses: It’s important to define what the company is paying for and what the employee must pay for. Who pays for furniture? Is there a stipend for a co-working space? What are the technology requirements for a home office and who will pay for the upgrades? Who will pay for specialized equipment that is needed? Can work equipment be used for personal uses?
- Time tracking: How will time be tracked? Is overtime allowed? Do employees work the same schedule as people in the office or is there a flexible work schedule? Are there core hours, when everyone works?
Sign the policy. Once you’ve created the policy and offered it to an employee, both parties should sign it. This way everyone is clear on the rules and responsibilities associated with telework and the reasons it might be terminated.

Ensuring Success

Working in the main office all the time is not the same as working remotely. While most people with a computer, a decent internet connection, and a quiet space can work from home, it takes a bit more effort for this arrangement to be successful in the long-term.

Train managers. Don’t assume that your managers will know how to manage telecommuting employees. Managers will require additional training, guidance, and resources to ensure this transition goes as smoothly as possible. Make sure they have the resources they need.
Pick technology. What systems does your team need? Do you need video or audio conferencing services? Will teams use emailing software to communicate or an instant messaging service? Does your company have it’s own prioritary software? Do you need to transfer large files? Does your company allow services like Dropbox or do you need a different file sharing system?
Tech support. Working remotely is possible because of the technology and tools available that let us work from anywhere. When those technologies breakdown, no work gets done. How will tech support issues be solved? Will there be training on the new services that employees need to use to be successful? In many rural places or countries around the world, the internet connection is not stable enough for regular work or communication, let alone video conferencing. How will limited internet connectivity be addressed? How will an employee telecommute if the power, internet, or phone service fails or will she be forced to take time off?
Comply with laws. Review both federal and local laws about teleworking employees. How will your company manage work related claims at home? The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) still applies. How will you ensure compliance? How will employees track their hours, and overtime? What steps are you taking to prevent off-the-clock work?

Managing Remote Employees

Beth Hales from AgCareers.com manages a remote team. For her, the hardest part is managing connectedness. She has three recommendations for people responsible for remote employees, use technology, be intentional, and manage expectations.

Utilize Technology. There are several video conferencing service providers like Skype, Zoom, Hangouts, and GoToMeeting. These tools give you the change to have face-to-face meetings and interact with your team. A good place to start is one video conference meeting per week, which can be adjusted up or down depending on the people, the project, or the deadline. To improve communication in between video calls, instant messenger services are help. Programs like Microsoft Teams and Slack let teams communicate instantly as well as share files within conversation threads. If you haven’t tired these programs yet, think of it like dropping into someone’s office with a document for a quick chat.
Be Intentional. People are much better with people and things directly in front of them. When part or all of your team works remotely, it can be easy to forget about their needs and making them feel included. Have you ever called into a meeting, when most of the other people were in the room and you were not? Eventually someone references a document or something visual in the room and the conversation takes a sharp detour. Suddenly you are on the phone, you have no idea what anyone is looking at and no idea what they are talking about.
- This happens all the time. CNBC is a cable channel with business news. They also broadcast on SiriusXM in the car. Since the programming is designed for TV, the anchors and guests are used to showing charts and assuming the audience can see it. One time, I heard the anchor stop and describe the chart being discussed for all the people listening in their cars. Thinking about how to include the people not in the room is critical.
Manage Expectations. A big concern employers have with remote work is a fear that the work will not get done. There is a level of accountability sitting in an office. A manager can see that his or her team is at their computer and doing work. If the employee is working from home how do does the manager know they are doing work? This is a challenge for everyone in a remote work situation. Working remotely requires trust and clear expectations. What information to remote employees need to provide their managers? What metrics are they being judged on? What hours do they need to be available and how is be available defined?

A telecommuting agreement will layout the expectations for both sides. It will also include guidelines to define some of the questions listed above. There are also software solutions that freelance providers like Upwork and Fivrr use to record what people are doing on their computers. This might be extreme for the average workplace, but there are a lot of options out there.

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