RE: Managing telecommuters

[kanerb -at- concentric -dot- net]

I work for a co. in which _everyone_ telecommutes. Management has asked
everyone to install and use ICQ. When your computer's on, you're supposed to
have ICQ on, and it should accurately show your status -- online, not
available, away, offline. This helps it feel like a regular office; you know
who's around, who you can talk to. I really like it! You and that employee
could both use ICQ. He could shoot you fast messages when he has questions,
and vice versa.

We sometimes start out discussing the weather, the weekend, a movie or
something, and it evolves into a work-related chat, which lets each person
in on what's up. Sometimes we don't send messages on ICQ for days. Other
times, some of us might chat off & on for an hour or more. The main benefit
for me is seeing that someone's available.

But ICQ doesn't necessarily convey what projects you're working on. So we
also fill out "daily diaries" that tell how many hours we worked on which
project. We have to e-mail these reports in every day. We follow a short,
simple standard format that helps the time-accountant track personnel &
project costs.

Beth Kane
Senior Communications Specialist
PersonalGenie Inc.
California & Arizona
kanerb -at- concentric -dot- net


-----Original Message-----
This list has discussed telecommuting many times from
an employee's perspective. I'd like to gain your
wisdom from a manager's perspective.

One of the problems for a telecommuting employee is
getting that visibility that the onsite people get
naturally. I'm managing an employee that telecommutes
full time and I'm wondering what strategies that I, as
a manager, can use to overcome that problem and best
get a feel for what's going on beyond the status
reports.