Implementing and Managing Telework: A Guide for Those Who Make It Happen

Does telework work? Telework, or telecommuting, offers numerous benefits to both workers and the firms that employ them. Off-site workers enjoy flexible schedules and avoid the costs, stress, and wasted hours of workday traffic. For employers, telework is a powerful incentive in a firm's efforts to be considered an employer of choice. Firms that implement successful telework programs enjoy reduced absenteeism, enhanced employee retention rates, and increased productivity. This book provides indispensable guidance in designing the tools for choosing and managing teleworkers―the telework guidelines, policies, assessments, evaluations, home safety inspection forms, sample labor union telework agreements, and advice from human resource specialists and managers who have successfully implemented telework.

Even if you decide that teleworking isn't appropriate for your firm at the present time, the information included in this book may convince you of the soundness of a telework contingency plan, especially in the aftermath September 11. When the unexpected happens, having a telework plan in place can ameliorate the chaotic conditions facing workers who are suddenly displaced from the office. Among the challenges addressed in this book are compliance with the law, ergonomically correct home offices, and remote computer security issues. Replete with valuable resources, including Web sites, consultants, and software, this book also explains how to avoid such primary stumbling blocks to successful telework as teleworker isolation, coworker resentment, and managerial resistance.

BILL FENSON has been a leader in improving employee performance through individual career alignment for over twelve years. Through his workshops and counseling services, provided most recently through his own consulting firm, The Skills Emporium, LLC, in Binghamton, New York, he has helped thousands of people.

SHARON HILL is owner of De Scribe, offering business writing, editing, and advertising copywriting services from a base near Atlanta, Georgia. She specializes in career and recruitment issues.