Techniques for Highly Successful Telecommuting

Today I read a great blog post from the Cali & Jody blog. It’s a humorous Telecommuting Success Tips list. Go on, give it a read. Let me know which is your favorite.

They asked for addtions. Mine is:

Take a digital picture of yourself every day after you get dressed and email it to all your coworkers and your boss - so they can see you each and every day as if you were in the office!

OK, I exaggerate a bit. But I just found out something so cool that will allow me to use my VPN less than I used to. Makes telecommuting that much easier!

But let me back up. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, VPN or Virtual Private Network, is the technology you probably use when you’re working at home to “tunnel” into your corporate intranet - so you can access your email, shared files, etc. This VPN technology is used because your home-based internet is probably not very secure. And your company does not want people getting into their network and their critical files, through your insecure environment.

Anyway, depending on your company’s implementation, to get into your VPN you might only need to type in your login and password. Or you might need to type a pin number into a device that gives you a one-time-passcode that you then have to type into your computer. Or you might need to use a device that stores a digital certificate, and need to type in the pin for that. Then you wait while a gateway is found and you connect.

This whole process may take a while. I do this every day. But I just found out that my email application (we use Microsoft Outlook) and my Instant Messenger  (we use Microsoft Office Communicator) can be setup to work outside the VPN. This means as long as I have internet access I can do email and IM with my coworkers without having to go to all the hassle of connecting to the VPN.

OK, when I work a full day at home, chances are I’m going to need to access corporate web pages or shared files that are only accessible internally. But if I just want to check email in the evening after the kids go to bed, and maybe IM my team member who is in Asia, I don’t have to worry about getting on the VPN first. How cool is that?!

And, I’ve just been asked by my team-mate to help him test the beta version of our new VPN software. That used to make me nervous, because if it didn’t work, I’d be stuck outside the VPN with no easy way to contact anyone for help. But now I can email or IM him if I have problems and get the issue resolved. <Big sigh of relief>

The technology just keeps getting better and better!

Technorati Tags: telecommuting, VPN, work from home, work at home, remote access

More and more these days, people are starting to work in environments where they are not face-to-face with others. When it comes to co-workers, this applies to telecommuters, to people who work in teams that are geographically distributed, and to people who work with teams that are in low-cost off-shore locations. When it comes to clients and customers, this applies to anyone (whether they are at a large corporation or run their own small business) who interacts with non-local clients and customers

Whenever you have relationships, professional or personal, you have to maintain some level of presence with them. You need a way to keep yourself in their mind, to maintain a rapport, to make sure they think of you when they need whatever it is you want to provide, and to keep them sufficiently vested in the relationship to be willing to help you when you are in need.

When you see your coworkers in the office every day, maintaining that presence is easy. However, when you aren’t face to face, your relationship with someone can slowly erode as the out-of-sight-out-of-mind phenomenon can chip away at any level of comfort and familiarity that person has with you. Maintaining that presence virtually requires a new set of skills and techniques that may not even occur to you.

Let’s take Stan, a friend of my family who has a great humor mailing list – and frequently sends out some really good ‘funnies’. He really takes the time and effort to maintain this. I replied to one of those emails and happened to include my standard email signature which asks people for their feedback on their challenges with telecommuting and virtual presence. Stan wrote back and told me he didn’t even know what “virtual presence” means.

I find this ironic as Stan’s funnies list actually makes him very successful in maintaining his virtual presence with his friends and family. I told him that every time I get an email from him I think of him. His emails keep him up near the top of my mental awareness. If I were to encounter something that would be useful or valuable to him, I’d be more likely to think of him and send him a note than I would other friends of the family who are not as successful in maintaining their virtual presence with me. When I do see Stan in person I feel closer to him and more comfortable, more eager to catch up on his life and plan to see him again.

As technologies advance, the people we interact with are less likely to be located in our home town anymore. Having the right skills to maintain your relationships with them is becoming a critical necessity in the business world. And it’s even starting to become, if not necessary, then definitely advantageous, in personal situations.

Whether you use the term “virtual presence” or something else, now more than ever you still need the ability to interact with people and successfully maintain your presence in a non-physical (virtual) manner. There are many different techniques and methods you can use to maintain that virtual presence, if you know what they are.

How good is your virtual presence, and is there room for improvement?

Technorati Tags: telecommuting advice, telecommute, virtual presence, work from home, work at home

Building relationships can be harder when you telecommute, and there are always little incidents here and there that remind me of techniques that telecommuters should be more conscious of to make their working relationships more successful.

My boss is relatively new to our team, and a lot of people don’t know him very well yet. Especially those who work in other parts of the country or world, who don’t get to talk to him face-to-face. Some people aren’t comfortable with him, don’t feel like they know his personality, and haven’t seen the personal, human side to him yet.

I noticed that when we have a team meeting, once my boss dials in he immediately stops any chit-chat and gets right down to business. I imagine part of this is because he is busy and he knows the team is busy too and doesn’t want to take up any more time than necessary. But those first couple minutes of chit-chat are a valuable way for people to get to know you, know what you’re like, and to build a connection with you. Even if it’s simple talk about the weather or tossing around a few jokes.

Today my boss reviewed the results of our company’s annual employee satisfaction survey. He struggled getting people to give their thoughts or comments on the statistical results. He urged people to feel comfortable being honest with him and that he wants to hear what people think and they shouldn’t be afraid of speaking up. He even said he welcomed any personal constructive criticism. Good for him.

So after the meeting I politely gave him the feedback about having a few minutes of casual conversation at the beginning of team meetings. He appreciated it and said he’d give it a try. Hmm - it will be interesting to see if he was just being polite (and that giving my ‘constructive criticism’ was actually a career-limiting move) or if he actually gives it a shot. And of course, it will be even more interesting to see if it helps. Keep reading - I’ll keep you posted in future blogs on how it goes!

Anyway, this same lesson can be applied to telecommuters - to help maintain your relationships with those people you don’t see very often.

Technorati Tags: telecommuting, telecommuting advice, distributed teams, work from home, work at home

When it comes to telecommuting, I have to tell you one of its biggest benefits comes when you are sick.

I’m sick right now. I have a lousy cold. I got sick on the short vacation I had a few days ago, was feeling bad yesterday, and am feeling downright awful today. Yesterday if I couldn’t telecommute I probably would have gone into the office - because I’d just been gone for 3 days so wanted to get caught up, and because I didn’t feel *that* bad. And I probably would have infected all my coworkers.

Today on the other hand, I wouldn’t have gone in. And yes, maybe the inability to work when you’re really sick isn’t so bad. But I do plan to take some breaks, some naps, etc. That’s important - you have to have a little self-discipline there. If you work all day and don’t take time to rest and recover, you’re just going to be in worse shape the next day.

But, given that I do have the self-discipline to take some breaks, at least this way I can check up on things by email, handle (or delegate) any emergencies, and participate in a couple of meetings by phone. And on Monday morning my inbox won’t be overflowing.

So enough blogging for now. I gotta go check my emails, dial into a call, and then it’s off to bed with me for some much needed recovery time. I might even take my laptop to bed so when I wake up I don’t have to stagger to my office to check email!

Technorati Tags: telecommuting, telecommute, sick time, work from home

Wow - the big day is here. My Telecommuting advice book, “How to Avoid Going to Work without Quitting your Job” is finally ready!

This book is packed with all the information from my own and others’ experiences on all kinds of topics related to telecommuting. It tells you how to determine if telecommuting is right for you, and how to get a telecommuting job. Once you have your work-from-home arrangement, it goes on to help you setup your home office for telecommuting and then teaches you how to interact with your peers and manager in such a way as to ensure your telecommuting career is as successful (or more so) than when you went into the office every day.

Plus there’s hundreds of dollars in free gifts for people who purchase my book - interviews with experienced telecommuters, an interview with the “Queen of Networking” on how to network successfully when you telecommute, a report on setting up your home office in an affordable manner, and much more! I’ve also thrown in a free teleseminar with yours truly to the first 200 purchasers of my book - where you get direct access to me to ask whatever questions you wish!

Don’t delay. Sign up in the list on the right hand side to get a free report from me and get more details about how to buy my book!

Technorati Tags: telecommute advice, telecommute book, telecommuting, work from home

Ouch - my wrist is killing me. And yes, what has that got to do with telecommuting?

I don’t know what I did to my wrist. It’s been getting progressively worse over the last week. I really need to see my chiropractor and see if something needs to be popped back into place or something. Darn him for being closed on mondays!

Of course, it’s my right wrist - and I currently mouse with my right hand. Thank goodness many years ago I learn to mouse with my left hand. I’m switching the mouse to the other side of the keyboard right now in fact, to give my right wrist a break until I can get it looked at.

Actually for ergonomic purposes, learning to mouse with your left hand is one of the best things you can do - especially if you’re a woman. Have you ever noticed that keyboards typically have a bunch of extra stuff on the right side? The number pad and a bunch of other function keys usually. Which means if you’re sitting centered in front of the letters, it’s a long reach to your mouse if you keep it on the right side. And if you’re a woman, with shorter arms than the average man, it’s an even longer reach. That is a very bad ergonomic setup - having to stretch so far if you spend all day infront of your computer - and chances are you lean a little to make that reach.

Try mousing with your left hand instead. Sure it feels as awkward at first as crossing your arms infront of your chest the wrong way. But trust me, after about 2 days, you’ll be mousing left-handed like a pro.

The other advantage of learning this skill is if your wrist ever starts bothering you, like in my case, you can swap the mouse to the other hand. This even helps lefties. And in general I normally swap sides for my mouse every month or so, just to help keep myself balanced.

So what has this to do with telecommuting you ask? Well when you’re working all day from home you have to pay extra attention to your ergonomic arrangement. At a fancy office building chances are your company provides pretty decent ergonomic setups for their employees (they don’t want to lose your productivity due to ergonomic problems, or deal with lawsuits either). They might provide adjustable height desks, expensive chairs, wrist-rests and whatever else comes to mind.

But at home you’re providing everything yourself. So the setup may not be quite as good. Thus, paying closer attention to your body (in my case, my wrists) and taking action to alleviate symptoms before they become exacerbated, is critical.

By the way, my book covers many more tips on achieving good, affordable ergonimc setups - sign up on the right side of my blog to get to the sale page of my book. I know this is a shameless plug, but my book will be released very soon and I’m so excited I can’t stop myself!

Technorati Tags: telecommute, telecommuting, ergonomics, work from home, work at home

So my manager just announced a change in roles on my team, resulting in a European coworker taking over a service that’s tied in very closely with my own. This means I’ll be needing to communicate with him on an ad-hoc basis. Which means, as has been necessary at other points in my career, I’ll be resuming the occasional 7am work meetings (I’m located in California if you didn’t know).

Additionally, we’ve just change the guy who performs deep support for my service - it will now be handled by a team member in Asia. So now I will be looking at some 5pm or later meetings too.

Thank goodness for telecommuting. Sure, I could shift my hours one way or the other to handle talking to one of these guys but there’s no way I’d want to be in the office from 7am to 6pm! But I have no problem rolling out of bed at 6:45am and getting on a call at 7am, then working and taking a few breaks for personal tasks around the house (or even a nap) and sticking around for a final phone meeting at 5pm or later.

Telecommuting provides flexibility for both the employee and the employee - allowing both to meet their needs and keeping everyone happy.

Technorati Tags: telecommuting, telecommute, global teams, work from home

I am thrilled to tell you that my book, “How to Avoid Going to Work without Quitting your Job” is nearly complete. After the many, many months of work on this, and multiple rounds of feedback, I am finally putting the  very last tweaks and touches on it and then will be able to make it available to you, the cadre of telecommuters and would-be telecommuters who are looking to improve your skills and remote work success.

When it’s ready I will be offering a significant discount to those people already on my mailing list for just a short time. But if you’re not on it, you won’t get the discount. So make sure you sign up now (just provide your name and address in the form on the right - you’ll get my free report too).

Watch for my release - coming very soon!

Technorati Tags: telecommuting, telecommuting books, telecommute, work from home, work at home

I’m so excited. I just came across a fascinating article in CIO.com titled “Everyone Works at Home at Chorus“. OK so the title isn’t very exciting. But the article is about a company named Chorus that moved entirely to telecommuting. They’ve shut down all their offices besides their data center and all their employees work 100% of the time from home.

Now the exciting bit is that they went about this, for the most part, correctly. They didn’t just throw all their employees out of the offices and say “Go work from home”. Instead they put together a plan and processes, considering everything from technology requirements, to their home workers’ environments, to ’softer’ issues such as people interactions and work relationships.

The article is broken into 3 parts. The first part focuses more on the technology and, while interesting to folks setting up the IT, probably isn’t as exciting to the rest of us. The second and third parts are how they handled things like IT support for their home workers and then how they handled the communications, relationships, and management of these people. That third part is definitely the most interesting to me.

As I said, they really thought all this stuff through and did it right. They made it easy for their home workers - made sure their needs were addressed and looked at the human factors and not just at the bottom line. One part I read said their workers had a hard time because when they made the switch they did it all at once and the employees found themselves missing the social interactions of being in the office. I immediately thought they should have gone for a more phased approach - starting the employees working a few days at home and then gradually increasing it to full time telecommuting. I was glad to see that the manager of that group said the exact same thing in the very next paragraph. People really do learn!

Definitely worth a read if you want to see how some companies are handling the challenges of telecommuting in a very real way.

Technorati Tags: telecommuting, telecommute, work from home, work at home, work at home moms